Rockets strike

Whitley County head football coach Mike Campbell wishes he could take back the first three minutes of his team’s 30-21 loss to Shelby County Friday.
Lightning-fast, the Rockets jumped on top of the Colonels 14-0 by running back the opening kickoff of the game 75-yards for a score, then using only two plays to strike again … a five-yard touchdown dive set up by a 39-yard pass from senior quarterback Alex Matthews to Jay Cresap.
“We killed ourselves at the beginning of the game,” said Whitley County senior halfback Ladale Rider who started his first game this season after serving a one-game suspension. “The whole night, we were just battling back it seemed. You can’t give a decent team a head start like that.”
Rider was one of the state’s top rushers last years, but was held to just 68 yards on 24 carries by the Rocket defense.
Whitley found other weapons in the first half to counter with, though. The Colonels narrowed the lead to just seven when junior fullback Cody Jefferies broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run with 7:08 to go in the first half.
After forcing Shelby County to kick a 42-yard field goal late in the second quarter, senior fullback Eli Rhodes raced 71 yards with 2:40 to go in the half to make it a three point affair, 17-14.
Brandon Pratt recovered an onside kick for the Colonels and they made good. Jefferies got in again, this time from 16 yards out, to cap a five-play 34-yard drive that gave Whitley an unlikely 21-17 lead.
It was a another in a long list of defensive breakdowns that cost the Colonels late in the half. With just 34 second to go, Matthews connected with Cresap on a 47-yard flea-flicker pass, then floated another pass 13-yards to him in the endzone that made it 23-21.
Campbell said the series of plays at the end of the half halted Whitley’s momentum.
“If we could have just kept the lead in the first half, it may have been a different football game,” he said. “A couple of times, in the defensive backfield, we just didn’t compete for the football.”
Campbell said his team had to routinely blitz with all its linebackers to pressure Matthews, often still with little effect.
“Anytime the quarterback can sit back there six or seven seconds and throw it, he’s going to find an open receiver.”
Though able to sustain longer drives in the second half, the Colonels never scored again.
Shelby County put its offensive game on the shoulders of 6-3, 215 lbs. senior fullback Emmanuael Patterson and he delivered. He broke a 43-yard run that set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Rockets some breathing room against the Colonels.
Patterson picked up two crucial first downs to run out the clock and seal the victory. He finished with a game-high 113 yards rushing on 18 carries.
“He’s a real player,” Campbell said. “That was a big plus for them. That was their go-to guy. When times got a little tough, they handed it to him and he got yards just about every time.”
Patterson wreaked havoc in the Colonel backfield as well from his defensive end position.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan McCumbers was a mere 6 of 18 on pass attempts with one interception, but Campbell said many catchable throws were dropped by receivers.
“Everybody just got a little out of focus,” he said. “You can’t do those things in big ballgames. The little mistakes cost you in the end.”
The win improved Shelby County’s record to 2-0 and dropped Whitley County to 1-1 on the season.
The Colonels will play at Lynn Camp Friday. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m.

Shelby County 30, Whitley County 21
Shelby Co. – 14 9 0 7
Whitley Co, – 7 14 0 0
First quarter
SC – Avery Murphy 75 kick return (Dustin Switzer kick) 11:47
SC – Avery Murphy 20 run (Dustin Switzer kick) 9:01
WC – Cody Jefferies 34 run (Mark Teague kick) 7:08
Second quarter
SC – Dustin Switzer 45 field goal 2:58
WC – Eli Rhodes 71 run (Mark Teague kick) 2:40
WC – Cody Jefferies 16 run (Mark Teague kick) 1:22
SC – Jay Cresap 13 pass from Alex Matthews (kick failed) :34
Fourth quarter
SC – Avery Murphy 3 run (Dustin Switzer kick) 5:05