Tyler "TD" Guess gets ready to celebrate

ROCKETS BEAT CALDWELL 8-7
Guess boys pull off the big plays

PRINCETON, Ky. -- Two is always better than one.

At least that's the way Crittenden County feels about its Tyler Guesses.

The Rockets beat arch-rival Caldwell County 8-7 Friday night thanks to some big plays from two guys who carry the same name - Tyler Guess.

For the first time in series history, Crittenden beat Caldwell for the second straight season and made it three out of the last four years against Pat Gates' team. But it took some last-minute heroics from the Guess tandem.

Their teammates differentiate them by initials TD and TK. That's short for Tyler D. Guess and Tyler K. Guess. TD is a junior and TK a freshman transfer student from Missouri. Tyler D. Guess was the key figure in Crittenden's win because it was he who scored the two-point conversion on the Rockets' second possession of the game, then intercepted a game-clinching pass in the waning seconds.

Tyler K. Guess was also instrumental in the outcome. He knocked down a pivotal fourth-down pass with 2:35 to play, stopping Caldwell's last real threat at the Crittenden 32.

As Crittenden tried to run out the clock in the final minute, the Rockets fumbled and Caldwell had new life. However, TD Guess picked off a Brett Hawkins pass at midfield to finish off the hosts, giving Crittenden its first win at Princeton since 1988. The Tigers lead the series 22-7, but Crittenden has won three since 1999.

The game started with a starkly different flavor than it finished with. The Rockets, despite fumbling on its first play from scrimmage, led 8-7 after the first period. Caldwell took advantage of the turnover to score first, but Crittenden answered on its next possession with a powerful run by Demetric Moss, shedding would-be tacklers en route to a 26-yard touchdown run.

On the conversion, it was "TD" Guess, the holder for extra-point kicks, who made the decision to keep the ball and run it in for two - which proved to be the winning margin.

"It was an audible," Guess said about his call for the snap and decision to run the ball instead of let his teammate kick the one-point conversion. "It's my call to make if the other team doesn't have enough players on the right side."

The first-period scoring was all it took as Crittenden beat coach Gates in his last time to play the team he once coached to a state championship. Gates, who won a Class A title at Crittenden in 1985, moved to Caldwell the following season and won a Class 2A state championship with the Tigers in 1998. This is Gates' final year, he has announced, after 20 seasons as a head coach. Gates will be inducted into the Marion-Crittenden County Football Hall of Fame later this year.


Demetric Moss breaks a tackle around the end en route to a team-high 75 yards rushing.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Crittenden 8...0...0...0
Caldwell 7...0...0...0

SCORING PLAYS
Cald-Kent Wells 2 run (Darren Ramey kick), 6:20, 1st
Critt-Moss 26 run (Tyler D. Guess run) 4:05, 1st

Records
Crittenden 1-0, Caldwell 0-1

QB Sean Thompson tries to escape a heavy rush.

NEXT WEEK: Rockets travel to Fulton County