Freshman J.D. Gray rushes for a first down in the second half.

CLASS A PLAYOFFS
Panthers stage comeback
Rockets lose 14-point lead
in fourth period to fall 34-28

MARION, Ky. Nov. 3 -- The Rockets were flying high with a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead over Russellville Friday night in the opening round of the Class A playoffs.

They appeared to have everything in order for a one-way trip to the semifinal round of the First Region pairings, but left the ball lying on the field and made some damaging penalties down the stretch. In the end, it was the Panthers that ended up getting their playoff ticket punched.

Russellville came from behind to steal the 34-28 victory thanks to a Rocket fumble, a 15-yard holding penalty, some big plays from the Panther quarterback and an interception to stop Crittenden with just over a minute to play. Russellville sealed the deal when senior safety Jerell Mayo picked off a pass from backup Crittenden quarterback Jacob Courtney at his own 29 yard line.

Courtney had entered the game with 2:35 to play after starting QB Taylon Polk reinjured a knee he'd hurt in the game a week earlier. Polk had orchestrated a big third-quarter surge by the Rockets. Crittenden trailed 14-7 at the half, but Polk threw a 61-yard touchdown strike to freshman J.D. Gray to get the Rockets in flight early in the third period.

Crittenden dominated the first 15 minutes of the last half, scoring three TDs and a safety while keeping Russellville's explosive offense off the field. The Rockets converted three big fourth-down plays to keep drives alive (two on fake punts) and covered a surprising onside kick to maintain control of the football. While Crittenden was scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the third and early in the fourth quarter, it held Russellville's offense to minus-6 yards during that same stretch.

However, Russellville came alive and started chipping away at its double-digit deficit with under eight minutes left in the game. The Panthers scored on a 50-yard drive capped by Dustin Sydnor's 12-yard run to pull within a touchdown. On the ensuing series, an illegal procedure penalty and sack put the Rockets in punting position deep in their own territory with five minutes to play. Sophomore punter Rodney Robertson got the kick off okay, but Russellville returned it to Crittenden's 35, setting up a Panther TD pass from Jordon Hinton to Mayo with 4:17 left. The conversion failed and Crittenden clung to a 28-26 lead.

Crittenden needed to get only a couple of first downs to seal the deal on the next offensive series, but a holding penalty five yards behind the line of scrimmage against its fullback and a fumble on the next play gave Russellville the ball back at the Rockets' 14. On first down, Polk tackled Panther Mikie Benton for a loss, but reinjured his ailing knee while pulling down the Russellville running back. Polk left the game and Sydnor broke open for a 24-yard touchdown run on the next play, giving his team a lead, 34-28, for the first time since the opening half.

The Rockets turned to Jacob Courtney in the final furious seconds of the game. The senior tight end converted to QB completed three passes and moved Crittenden to midfield before he was intercepted by Mayo to preserve the win for Russellville.

The Panthers, ranked as high as sixth in the Class A rankings during the season, had lost to Crittenden County a week earlier, in the final game of the regular season. In that matchup, in the pouring rain, Rocket running back Jeramie Sorina had rushed for 271 yards. In the rematch, Crittenden rushed for only 126 as a team and Sorina was held to 79 yards.

Hinton, the Russellville quarterback, made some clutch passes in the game. He completed just 3-of-6 attempts, but each reception went for a touchdown. Hinton will lead his Panthers into next week's semifinal round of the First Region playoffs at Metcalfe County, which knocked of McLean County 40-6 in the other opening round game.

SCORE BY QUARTER
Russellville....6...8....0...20
Crittenden......0...7...14...7

SCORING PLAYS
R-Jerell Mayo 25 pass from Jordon Hinton (kick failed) 9:45, 1st
CC-J.D. Gray 40 pass from Taylon Polk (Gray kick) 2:49, 2nd
R-Mayo 13 pass from Hinton (Dustin Sydnor run) :25, 2nd
CC-Gray 61 pass from Polk (kick failed) 6:58, 3rd
CC-Sorina 50 run (pass failed) 6:45, 3rd
CC-Safety, 4:26, 3rd
CC-Sorina 1 run (Gray kick) 9:00, 4th
R-Sydnor 12 run (pass failed) 7:53, 4th
R-Ryan Morgan 35 pass from Hinton (pass failed) 4:17, 4th
R-Sydnor 24 run (Sydnor pass from Hinton) 2:35, 4th



TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: Crittenden 13, Russellville 7
Penalties: Crittenden 10-101, Russellville 10-100
Rushing: Crittenden 41-126, Russellville 31-196
Passing: Crittenden 9-14-1, 162 yds., Russellville 3-6-0, 77 yds.
Total Yards: Crittenden 288, Russellville 196
Fumbles/Lost: Crittenden 6-3, Russellville 2-1

INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing
Crittenden-Sorina 25-79, Taylon Polk 6-15, Rodney Robertson 5-12, J.D. Gray 4-11, Gaige Courtney 2-7, Jacob Courtney 1-2. Russellville-Dustin Sydnor 12-152, Jordon Hinton 8-27, Mikie Benton 10-18, Craig Matthews 1-(-1).
Passing
Crittenden-Polk 6-9-0, 142 yds., J.Courtney 3-5-1, 20 yds. Russellville-Hinton 3-6-0, 77 yds.
Receiving
Crittenden-Gray 2-101, Robertson 2-32, G.Courtney 3-25, J.Courtney 1-4. Russellville-Jerell Mayo 2-42, Ryan Morgan 1-35.

Defense check back later J.Courtney 3 solos, TFL, sack; Wood 3 solos, TFL; E.Sorina 2 solos, 2 assists, TFL; Thompson solo; G.Courtney 3 solos, 2 assists; Berry 5 solos, 2 assists, caused fumble; Polk 2 solos, assist, TFL; Hardin 3 solos, assist; J.Sorina 4 solos, assist; Gray 3 solos, 2 assists; Ju.Asbridge 4 solos, assist.
Records: Crittenden 4-7, Russellville 8-3
Players of the Game (as selected by the coaching staff) check back later.



The student section was fired up as the Rockets turned on
in the third period before losing by six.