Crittenden County was riding high with three straight wins to start the season while averaging 47 points a game.
But it was Caldwell County that blasted off in the first quarter of Friday night’s football game in Marion.
The Tigers (3-1) scored the first three times they had the football, building a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
Caldwell went on to take a 36-0 lead in the first half before coasting to a 36-14 victory in what was Crittenden’s 2019 home opener.
Crittenden honored late Caldwell head coach David Barnes with a pregame video presentation.
The Tigers then hit the ground running, taking the opening drive 63 yards in 10 plays. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Russ Beshear to DeEric Hollowell got the ball in the end zone, with Hollowell making a nifty catch on a deflected ball then turning upfield and diving inside the pylon to get the scoring started.
Blake Vivrette kicked the extra point to put the Tigers up 7-0 at the 8:51 mark of the first period.
On the next series, Caldwell’s Max Kramer grabbed a short Crittenden punt and returned it to the Rocket 36-yard line. Six plays later, Hollowell scored on a 2-yard run to make it 14-0 with 4:02 left in the opening stanza.
A Crittenden fake punt attempt went awry on its next series, giving Caldwell great field position again at the Rocket 14-yard line.
A 10-yard scoring pass from Beshear to Tripp Branch extended Caldwell’s lead to 21-0 with still 1:46 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers added to their margin early in the second quarter on a 7-yard TD run by Hollowell. That made it 28-0 with 11:23 left in the half.
Tate VanHooser caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Beshear at the 6:01 mark. Hollowell ran for the two-point conversion to make it a 36-point difference, kicking in the “mercy rule” continuously-running clock for the rest of the evening.
Crittenden tried to mount some momentum late in the second quarter. An interception by Xander Tabor set up a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Jones to Preston Turley. That came with 48 seconds left in the first half and made it 36-7 at halftime.
Neither side could get much going in the second half. Tyler Boone caught a 4-yard touchdown pass for Crittenden with 1:57 left in the game to trim the final margin to 36-14.
Caldwell finished with 199 total yards.
Beshear was 14 of 18 passing for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
Hollowell ran for 67 yards and had three touchdowns.
Branch caught five passes for 49 yards and a score.
Crittenden had 171 total yards.
Jones was 11 of 23 for 117 yards and two TDs.
Tabor ran for 33 yards on the ground.
Boone caught seven passes for 34 yards while Turley had three grabs for 85 yards.
Tate VanHooser was the leading tackler for Caldwell with 10 stops. He also forced a fumble and recorded a pass deflection.
Caldwell has taken the last 10 meetings with its border rival to the north. The Tigers now lead the all-time series 42-10.
In a bit of a quirk, both teams have Union County up next on the schedule.
Caldwell will host the Braves next week in Princeton for homecoming.
Crittenden visits Union in two weeks.
