Craig County Rockets past Roanoke Catholic 34-18
Vinyard Park, Vinton, VA – The Craig County Rockets added another win to their record after out-pacing Roanoke Catholic in an exciting second half of football. Despite the distance, the Rockets bleachers were as packed as Catholic’s side. Every Craig County touchdown was greeted with hearty applause. And there were plenty of TD’s to go around. Going into the second half the two teams were locked 6-6. That changed when Craig County RB/QB/LB 13 Zachary Peters barreled into the end zone, 
dragging multiple Catholic defenders with him. The Rockets offense was on point against Catholic. Whether it was Peters and RB 22 Dylan Crawford, or QB 7 Brayden Frango and RB 11 Cameron Shell, the Rockets hit the right hole or carried tacklers with them. Catholic didn’t quit and put together perhaps the most impressive play of the game in the third with a 67-yard touchdown bomb from QB 13 Sam Sweeney to WR 2 Marquis Adams. However, Craig County answered, putting 28 second half points on the board to seal the deal. Rockets head coach Jimmy Fisher liked what he saw from his team, “We came out of the break focused, and the potential is there, we scored 30 points in the second half and I think we could’ve scored like that in the first half too. We just need to keep our composure and not let the little things shoot ourselves in the foot.” The Rockets will play Eastern Montgomery next week and Roanoke Catholic will look for redemption against Smith Mountain Lake Academy.
Craig County grinds it out on the ground against Roanoke Catholic
First Quarter – The first quarter was all Craig County, well, at least two/thirds of it. 
The Rockets controlled the ball most of the time with a fifteen-play touchdown drive leaving Roanoke Catholic only four minutes to work with. Shell got the Rockets going with a twenty-two-yard run into RC territory and Peters capped the drive off with a tough one-yard punch through Catholic’s line. Craig County went for the two-point conversion, but Crawford was stopped short by Roanoke Catholic’s LB 53 Mikey Pyle, keeping the score at 6-0. A two-point conversion followed all eight touchdowns of the night. Just like the two-point conversions, every kick-off was a short hopping ball or a squib attempt. After the quick Craig County kickoff, Catholic advanced inside the Rocket twenty-five to end the quarter.
Celtric WR/DB 2 Marquis Adams picks up yardage
Second Quarter – Catholic went one for three in the second quarter, turning the football over twice and scoring once. The drive from the first quarter ended in one play after Rocket’s DL 74 Logan Reynolds sacked Sweeney, forcing a turnover on downs. The Rockets put together a solid drive, but they couldn’t get inside the Catholic twenty and ended the run with a fumble recovered by Catholic. After moving the ball sixty yards downfield, largely in part to an explosive twenty-six-yard Sweeney sprint inside the Rockets five, Catholic scored. The TD came by way of Catholic WR 4 Randall Hustead hauling in a somewhat high Sweeney pass. The RC two-point conversion failed, keeping the game tied at six apiece. The next drive, Craig County quickly turned the ball over via interception by Catholic’s DB 2 Adams. Roanoke couldn’t capitalize on the turnover. Forced backwards by four penalties in five plays, Catholic missed out on a potential scoring opportunity as the clock ran out.
Roanoke Catholic gang tackles a Rocket ball carrier
Third Quarter – The scoring ramped up in the second half. The Rockets scored on two of their 3rd quarter possessions with the last one stopped short by the clock. The first Rockets TD came from another Peters run, this time breaking multiple Catholic tackles over his thirteen-yard touchdown rush. Peters, and the Rocket backfield barreled through the RC line to complete the two-point conversion. Catholic’s offense unfortunately misfired at the worst possible time. On fourth down a missed shove pass resulted in a ten-yard loss and turnover on downs for the Celtics, giving the Rockets the ball inside Catholic’s thirty-yard line. In five plays, RB/LB 22 Dylan Crawford burst into the end zone after a sixteen-yard haul. Peters completed the conversion again to put the Rockets up 22-6. Catholic finally caught a break and Adams caught a stunning sixty-seven-yard touchdown reception. The Sweeney toss was placed perfectly, and Adams was long gone before the Craig County defense could catch up. The two-point conversion didn’t go quite so well, leaving Catholic down by ten. Craig County had plenty more gas in the tank and moved the ball inside RC’s thirty to end the quarter.
WR/DB 13 Aries Oliver gets loose for Catholic
Rocket QB 7 Brayden Frango scrambles for yardage
Fourth Quarter – The Rockets scored in a hurry with a nice five-yard Frango sprint to the house. The TD was overshadowed by the two-point conversion attempt that resulted in the loss of one of Craig County’s best offensive and defensive weapons. RB/LB 22 Dylan Crawford was ejected for an unsportsmanlike penalty when the conversion attempt failed as he got tangled up with a Catholic player.
Craig Co RB/DB 11 Cameron Shell looks for daylight
It’s hard to say exactly what prompted the activity, but the official made the right the call. Catholic took full advantage of the Rockets new standing, and quickly moved the ball downfield by way of a tough thirty-one-yard Adams dash along with Craig County penalties. RC capitalized on the drive with a hard-fought one-yard TD push from 28 Ryley Stransky. The Rockets defense put a stop to the conversion with a sack from a host of Craig County defensemen. The last two Catholic possessions ended with a turnover on downs and the end of the game itself. The Rockets however, still weren’t done. Roanoke Catholic didn’t just turn the ball over, they turned it over inside their fifteen-yard line. Craig County stuck to their guns and scored with another Peters rush right up the middle. Peters had three scores on the night and at times, seemed unstoppable. Coach Fisher appreciated the grit of his high scorer, along with his other contributions to the game, “He’s a good football player. He’s tough as nails, throws a beautiful football, and he’s been solid for us on both sides of the ball. Even on special teams.” The last two-point-conversion of the game failed, making the final score 34-18 in Craig County’s favor, ending another exciting night of high school football. – Graham Whitaker
QB/RB/LB 13 Zach ‘Pudge’ Peters scores
Offense: Rushing: Craig County – Dylan Crawford 13-84 1TD, Cameron Shell 14-79, Zachary Peters 11-75 3 TD, Brayden Frango 9-23, Lucas Taylor 1-12 Roanoke Catholic – Marquis Adams 10-87, Aries Oliver 7-37, Sam Sweeney 9-27, Ryley Stransky 5-1 1TD, Michael Goad 1-2, Preston Clark 1- -10 Passing: Craig County – Brayden Frango 2/3-12 1INT, Zachary Peters 1/1-10 Roanoke Catholic – Sam Sweeney 4/5-85 2TD, Marquis Adams 0/1 Receiving: Craig County – Zachary Peters 2-12, Brayden Frango 1-10 Punting – n/a
Scoring
First Quarter –
• Craig County: Peters 1-yd run: conversion failed
Second Quarter –
• Roanoke Catholic: #4 4-yd pass from Sweeney: conversion failed
Third Quarter –
• Craig County: Peters 13-yd run: Peters conversion
• Craig County: Crawford 16-yd run: Peters conversion
• Roanoke Catholic: Adams 67-yd pass from Sweeney: conversion failed
Fourth Quarter –
• Craig County: Frango 5-yd run: conversion failed
• Roanoke Catholic: Stransky 1-yd run: conversion failed