The Craig County Rockets have high hopes as they open the football season at home Friday night. Game time is 7 pm at Mitchell Field.
The Rockets will play host to Bland County to open. Last year Craig traveled to Bland and took a 32-6 win over the Bears. Rocket head coach Jimmy Fisher is hoping for a similar result, but taking nothing for granted.
“Bland is much improved from last season and they have gotten a lot of kids out,” said Fisher. “We expect a dogfight on Friday. It’s a big night, opening night and a big tailgate party before the game.”
Friday will also be “Darling Reunion Night.” Charlie Darling coached the 1983 and 1984 teams to 5-5 and 8-2 records. The players from both those teams will be at the game Friday. And Bland and Craig have agreed to continue their rivalry going on the first week of every season.
“We are naming the game the ‘Backwoods Brawl’,” said Fisher. “The prize will be a wrestling style championship belt that stays at the victorious school. We hope to keep it here on Friday.”
Craig scrimmaged Richwood High of West Virginia at Mitchell Field last Friday and Fisher was encouraged by the result. He was especially encouraged by the effort on defense as the Rockets held Richwood to minus 14 yards for the night.
“The defense played lights out,” he said. “Defense has been rock solid in both scrimmages, lots of tackles for loss and big hits.
“Offensively we gained a lot of yards but had some penalty issues that called back a bunch of big plays and we missed some blocking assignments. We need to clean those things up before Friday.”
Craig is running what Fisher calls the “Gun T” this season, a combination of the Shotgun and Wing-T formations. Senior Jaycob Wolfe will run the show at quarterback. He threw for 95 yards and a touchdown in the scrimmage with Rockwood.
“He’s smart, fast and been throwing well,” said Fisher. “He’s just an all-around good player.”
Freshman Bradyn Dunbar is the backup quarterback, but if Wolfe can’t go junior Carter Calfee would likely shift to quarterback for the varsity. A junior, Carter can play several positions and he does a good job anywhere you put him. He was first team All-Pioneer District on both sides of the ball last year.
“Carter’s our Swiss Army Knife,” said Fisher. “And he has that ‘dawg’ in him that you want all the kids to have but they all don’t.”
Josh Craft is the running back. At 5’6”, 180 pounds he runs harder than his frame suggests. He had 16 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown in last Friday’s scrimmage.
“He’s a dynamic player,” said Fisher. “He’s like that rolling ball of butcher knives they talk about on TV.”
Carter also ran for over 100 yards and scored in the scrimmage. Sophomore Noah Paxton and junior Isaiah Nichols are backups looking to see some time carrying the ball.
Receivers include freshman Bentley Smith at the wide out “X” position and Tristan Dooley, a junior, in the slot. Senior Isaac Lucas is a good sized tight end at 6’2” and 245 pounds.
“Bentley has great hands, he’s going to be a good one,” said Fisher. “They all catch the ball well.”
Kent McCord will anchor the line at center. He’s a 240 pound sophomore.
Fisher is looking for a big year from sophomore strong guard Carter Price. He was second team all-district as a freshman and he’s put on muscle with hard work in the weight room. He gained close to 40 pounds and he’s now listed at 6’0”, 240.
Junior Caleb Fields can play tackle or guard and he’s one of the strongest players on the team. Jeremiah Fowler is a freshman guard.
At tackle senior Joseph Lee will be a force. “Big Jesus” is 6’2” and 320 pounds. Other tackles are 250 pound junior Ethan Sink and sophomore Marcus Donithan.
“We have some big kids, and we have some big kids walking the halls who aren’t playing,” said Fisher. “At Craig County you have to be a football player or a red neck.”
On defense the Rockets will play a 4-4 that will shift into a 4-3 against teams that like to pass. It will be a lot of the same kids with Price at strong end, Lee at tackle, sophomore Peyton Fields at weak end and Caleb Fields backing up both ends. Junior Doug Hutchison is the nose.
Craft and Paxton are solid inside linebackers along with Donithan. Also, Blake Kendall is a freshman to watch. Dooley is an outside linebacker and Calfee will play the “Hybrid” position, playing up against the run and dropping back in coverage when necessary.
In the secondary senior Blake Wright is a third year starter and two freshmen, Bentley Smith and Dreydin Smith, are fighting for time on the other side. Wolfe is the safety.
Jayke Dowdy returns as co-head coach and he coaches quarterbacks and middle linebackers. Corey Smith does both lines, Roland Donithan coaches receives and defensive backs and is also the team trainer. Jeremy Howell returns to help when needed and Aaron Jones is new to the staff, coaching outside linebackers and runningbacks.
“I like our team,” said Fisher. “If we can stay healthy we can be above .500 and a playoff team. We have a good foundation and our goal is to make the playoffs.”
