It was a beautiful night in Buena Vista last Friday and a great night for the visiting Craig County football team as the Rockets took on the host Fightin’ Blues of Parry McCluer. When this fight was over the hosts were blue and the Rockets were victorious, 33-6, to remain undefeated after seven games.
“Parry McCluer has such a storied program,” said Craig coach Jimmy Fisher. “I think they have won 20 or more different district titles and five or more state titles. It was a huge win for our season and our program.”
The Rocket offense was led by the usual cast of characters. Senior fullback Carter Calfee had 28 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns while senior wingback Jerry Smith had nine carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
“Those two have been a very effective one-two punch,” said Fisher. “Carter has been a workhorse and Jerry has just been electric with the ball in his hands.”
Calfee topped the 1,000 yard mark on the season with his second straight 200-plus yards performance. He now has 1,061 yards rushing with three games left in the regular season.
“To the best of my knowledge, Carter is only the second Rocket to have multiple 1,000 yard seasons,” said Fisher.
The only other player to do it is hometown legend Casey Hancock who did it three times, in 2003, ’04, and ’05. The Rockets have never had two players in the same season rush for 1,000 yards but that should change soon as Smith is also closing in on the elusive millennium milestone.
“Jerry is 104 yards away from a 1,000 yard season,” noted Fisher. “He might have had it Friday as well but there was a lot of yellow on the field. Jerry had a beautiful 61 yard touchdown called back because of a holding call. I have watched that play 40 or more times and cannot find what that line judge thinks he saw.”
Junior tailback Noah Paxton rushed for 25 yards on four carries and was two-for-two passing for 24 yards and a touchdown. Junior tight end Caleb Cregger caught his eighth touchdown pass of the season.
“We have not had to use them much but we have an outstanding group of pass catchers,” said Fisher. “Cregger, fellow junior tight end Marcus Donithan and sophomores Bentley Smith and Bradyn Dunbar are also tall, athletic receivers that can go up and get the ball. Jerry Smith is a fantastic receiver and junior Wyatt Huffman also does a great job. We are blessed to have a great receiving group and a stable full of capable backs.”
Calfee, Smith and Paxton have gotten the lion’s share of the carries but senior wingback Isaiah Nichols has also performed well when called upon.
“Super proud of Isaiah Nichols,” said Fisher. “He is the epitome of what we are trying to do. He works extremely hard, does whatever you ask of him and never complains. He is a true team player.”
The Rocket offense has gotten most of the press but the defense has been just as impressive. Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach Jayke Dowdy has built what may be the stingiest defense the hometown team has ever had. The Rockets have only allowed 48 points through seven games, an average of fewer than seven points per game and only once has a team scored in double figures against the Rockets.
“We gave up 28 points to an outstanding Twin Springs offense and the Mount View touchdown was a scoop and score given up by the offense because of my mistake.” said Fisher. “Take away Twin Springs and the defense has only allowed just two scores in the other six games. Coach Dowdy, who I view as a co-head coach and equal, has done an amazing job at everything he touches and has built a stout defense.”
That stout defense is led by junior middle linebacker Paxton, who again led the Rockets with 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Junior defensive tackle Carter Price had seven tackles and forced a fumble while senior outside linebacker Tristan Dooley had five tackles and an interception. Junior middle linebacker Marcus Donithan had five tackles, sophomore cornerback Bentley Smith had five tackles, sophomore defensive end Jeremiah Fowler had four tackles and a sack and safety Cregger had two tackles and forced a fumble. Calfee had a big interception.
Meanwhile, the Rocket varsity team is not the only undefeated team in town. The Rocket JV team is also perfect on the season with only one game remaining.
“Our JV group has had a fantastic season,” said Fisher. “We have some really good football players on JV that would have been playing a lot of varsity in years past but we have the luxury of letting them play JV this season. The trio of sophomore running backs Dylan Sarver, Robbie Eakin and Dreydin Smith have performed outstanding and we have a big, physical group of JV linemen.”
The JV team will wrap up their season tonight, October 22nd, with a home game against Bath County on Mitchell Field at 6 pm.
