Moss signs with Brescia University Bearcats

Joining the two-sport scholarship signing last week were (front from left) CCHS basketball coach Shannon Hodge, mother Christy Moss, signee Cassidy Moss, father Ronnie Moss, (back) CCHS Principal Curtis Brown, Kentucky Rage travel softball team coach Ed Ward, Brescia basketball coach Michael Gray, Brescia softball coach Traci Smith, sister Khyla Moss and sister Chandler Moss.

FOR CASSIDY MOSS, THE CAREER HIGHLIGHT REEL is fairly lengthy, but the Crittenden County High School senior says signing with Brescia University in Owensboro is a top-shelf milestone.

Moss, 17, was surrounded by family, friends and coaches in mid December 2016 when she agreed to play basketball and softball at Brescia in return for a college education. She wants to become a dentist and says sports will help her achieve that career goal.

Brescia is a Catholic, liberal arts four-year university and the softball and basketball teams compete in the NAIA River States Conference.

Eleven-year Lady Bearcats softball coach Traci Smith says Moss will immediately be an impact player. She projects Moss as a pitcher and infielder.

As a junior at Crittenden County, Moss led the team in batting last spring with a .494 average in 83 plate appearances over 22 games. She also led the high school team with 27 RBI, six home runs and six triples. She also had eight doubles and a .987 slugging percentage.

Moss started 16 games, pitched in 18 and had a 1.47 ERA in 109.1 innings. She struck out 135 and walked just 19. She can field her position, too, posting a .957 fielding percentage on 70 chances last year, mostly at the mound.

One of the reasons Moss chose to take her talents to Brescia is because it offered her a chance to avoid what otherwise would have been a major decision – choosing between collegiate basketball or softball.
“It really would have been hard for me to pick,” she said. “I am blessed to have the opportunity to play both.”

Moss has been a stalwart on the basketball court at CCHS where she’s started every year since eighth grade. She has scored more than 1,400 points in her career and is on track to become the Lady Rockets’ all-time career scoring leader at some point this season.

Michael Gray is a first-year head women’s basketball coach at Brescia. He is very familiar with Moss and her legacy as an athlete.

“I grew up in Caldwell County and played against the Moss family,” the Brescia skipper said refering to Cassidy’s father, Ronnie, and her uncles. “I know what kind of competitor she is. I have been watching her for the last two or three years.”

Cassidy said her father has been the driving force behind her career, keeping her focused and tempering her resolve and hard work.

“He has always pushed me to want to be better,” she said.

Moss is averaging about 20 points for the high school team this season, but Gray thinks her defense doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

“I’m building a team around defense and she is a great defender,” he said.

Because of her versatility, Gray said Moss could very likely be a starter in her freshman season.

Rocket boys and girls fall in holiday action Friday

In an ironic twist, Crittenden County's boys and girls ended up playing almost an identical holiday schedule despite being at different venues.

The boys lost its second game in their own Crittenden Holiday Classic Friday afternoon, falling by one point to Carlisle County. The Rockets missed seven foul shots in the crucial fourth period.

In somewhat of a surprise, Crittenden's girls lost by 20 to Carlisle County at the Allen County Holiday Tournament.

BOYS GAMES
Carlisle 57, Crittenden 56
Crittenden County 6 20 40 56
Carlisle County 16 26 40 57
CRITTENDEN - Stephens 18, Tolley 8, Dickerson 14, Belt 4, H.Boone 2, Turley 10. FG 20. 3-pointers 2 (Stephens). FT 14-29. Fouls 9.
CARLISLE - Wilson 22, Elder 4, Thomason 7, McGee 3, Anderson 29, Dewese 2. FG 22. 3-pointers 8 (Wilson, Thomason, McGee, Anderson 5). FT 5-8. Fouls 23.

GIRLS GAME
Carlisle 60, Crittenden 40
Carlisle County 14 28 39 60
Crittenden County 11 23 34 40
CARLISLE - Crider 4, Coffey 7, Carrico 21, Henderson 6, Smith 2, Edging 10, Stephens 8, Garrett 2. FG 24. 3-pointers 3 (Carrico). FT 9-14. Fouls 15.
CRITTENDEN - Moss 21, Lynch 7, Champion 8, Nesbitt 2, Evans 2, Collins, Woodward, Summers, Ch.Moss, Long. FG 14. 3-pointers 3 (Moss). FT 9-11. Fouls 16.

Girls win, boys lose in holiday events

Crittenden County's girls beat Ballard Memorial Thursday in the Allen County Holiday Classic while the Crittenden boys played Ballard Memorial in its own tournament at Rocket Arena and lost.

Carlisle County beat Lyon County 58-53 in the other boys' tournament game at Marion.

The Lady Rockets are now 1-1 at the holiday event in Allen County after losing to a very good Casey County team in Wednesday's opener.

BOYS GAME
Ballard 75, Crittenden 49
Ballard Memorial 25 45 63 75
Crittenden County 6 18 33 49
BALLARD - Marinelli 16, Williams 18, Grogan 5, Jones 3, Bledsoe 6, Chandler 10, Heard 10, Yates 2, Collier 2, Suiter 3. FG 34. 3-pointers 1 (Suiter). FT 6-15. Fouls 15.
CRITTENDEN - Stephens 11, Tolley 9, Dickerson 9, Belt 6, Nesbitt 1, H.Boone 5, Turley 4, Mott 2, Winders, E.O’Leary, Steele, Towery, S.O’Leary, T.Boone 2. FG 17. 3-pointers 2 (Stephens, H.Boone). FT 13-19. Fouls 14.

GIRLS GAMES
Crittenden 64, Ballard 38
Crittenden County 11 20 45 64
Ballard Memorial 10 18 26 38
CRITTENDEN - Moss 18, Lynch 17, Collins 4, Champion 13, Evans, Nesbitt 8, Woodward 4. FG 27. 3-pointers 3 (Lynch 2, Champion). FT 7-13. Fouls 21.
BALLAD - Walker 9, Calvin 8, Tyson 3, Dowdy 2, Robinson 5, Newton 7, Buchanan 4. FG 13. 3-pointers 2 (Walker, Newton). FT 10-21. Fouls 13.

Casey County 71, Crittenden 61
Casey County 12 35 48 71
Crittenden County 11 21 37 61
CASEY - Cravens 27, Lee 23, Duggins 9, Horne 6, McGowan 3, Wilkes 1, Ratliff 2. FG 22. 3-Pointers 6 (Cravens 3, Lee, Horne, McGowan). FT 25-30. Fouls 14.
CRITTENDEN- Moss 23, Collins 12, Nesbitt 12, Lynch 8, Evans 2, Champion 4, Woodward, Summers, Ch.Moss. FG 25. 3-Pointers 2 (Moss). FT 9-19. Fouls 22.

Holiday Tournament Hoops Action

Click Image to Enlarge Pairings

Crittenden County's boys will host their own tournament starting Thursday night at Rocket Arena.

CORRECTION ON BOYS GAME
ROCKETS PLAY AT 7:30PM ON THURSDAY

Meanwhile, the Lady Rockets are at Allen County for three days f basketball.

Rockets post back-to-back wins

Crittenden County opened the holidays with two wins at the Fulton Holiday Classic Tuesday and Wednesday.

Logan Belt had a breakout game in an overtime 65-58 victory over the host Bulldogs Wednesday. Gavin Dickerson, Bobby Stephens and Will Tolley all scored in double figures.

Boys, girls open holiday season with road wins

Crittenden County snapped a six-game losing streak in high fashion Tuesday at the Fulton Christmas Tournament, beating Tennessee's Gleason High School by 50 points while the Lady Rockets went to Mayfield and won a close one.

The Rockets plays Fulton City Wednesday and the girls are off until next week's holiday tournament at Allen County-Scottsville.

5th District Basketball Action Photos

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Crittenden splits varsity DH at Livingston

Crittenden County’s basketball teams split at Livingston Central Friday night.

The Lady Rockets improved to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in the district with a 50-45 victory over the Cardinal girls. Madison Champion led CCHS with 14 points and Tabby Padon led Livingston with 18.

Post-Game CommentsCoach Shannon Hodge

Crittenden’s boys (2-5) missed some key shots down the stretch and Livingston survived a home-court scare as the Cardinals won 67-58. Bobby Stephens had 18 at the half and finished with 22 for the Rockets. Dylan Sherer paced a balanced Livingston offense with 14 points.

The Rockets have now lost 5 straight.

Boys
Livingston 67, Crittenden 58
Crittenden County 11 35 46 58
Livingston Central 18 31 49 67
CRITTENDEN - Stephens 22, Tolley 6, Dickerson 8, Belt 11, Towery 7, Steele 2, Nesbitt 2. FG 18. 3-pointers 4 (Stephens, Belt, Towery, Dickerson). FT 18-26. Fouls 18.
LIVINGSTON - Dean 12, Sherer 14, Hosick 11, Ringstaff 9, Bebout 5, Head 11, Mayhugh 2, Stein 3, Vaughn, Kitchens. FG 23. 3-pointers 1 (Sherer). FT 20-26. Fouls 21.

Cardinal guard Cameron Head looks for help against the
defense of Rocket Gavin Dickerson.

Girls
Crittenden 50, Livingston 45
Crittenden County 12 25 40 50
Livingston Central 11 18 33 45
CRITTENDEN - Moss 12, Collins, Lynch 12, Champion 14, Nesbitt 8, Pierce 4, Evans. FG 19. 3-pointers none. FT 12-16. Fouls 13.
LIVINGSTON - Campbell 4, Padon 18, Adams 5, Stafford 4, Williams 8, Wring 6, Wright, Dudley, A.Campbell. FG 17. 3-pointers 1 (Adams). FT 10-16. Fouls 12.

Lady Rocket Amanda Lynch tries to stop
Livingston's Tabby Padon in the post.

Tough week for CCHS basketball

It has been a tough week for Rocket basketball fans who have watched the boys lose four straight and the girls were upset by Lyon County in a key district matchup Friday.

On a couple of bright notes, junior Logan Belt has returned to the boys' lineup after suffering a pre-season hand injury. In his first three games back, Belt has netted 41 points.

For the girls' senior Cassidy Moss continues her assault on the all-time record. She is averaging right at 20 points a game and is 244 from becoming the all-time scorer in Lady Rocket history.

Crittenden County will play a key district doubleheader Friday at Livingston Central. It is a must-win for the girls if they hope to challenge for the regular-season championship and the boys' need a victory after a tough few days. Tipoff is at 6pm at Smithland.

See scores and summaries under the pulldown tabs above.

Near sweep slips away at Caldwell County

Crittenden County's girls came back from a 10-point deficit in the final period to beat Caldwell County 50-49. Cassidy Moss scored the winning basket after Madison Champion knocked down two to close the gap in the final minutes. Moss finished with 26 and the Lady Rockets remain undefeated after four games.

The Rockets nearly pulled off a similar miracle after trailing by 22 at halftime. Behind the stellar play of point guard Bobby Stephens, Crittenden sawed its way back into contention and had three chances for a game-tying shot in the final seconds, but none would fall. Crittenden lost for the first time this season at Caldwell County. The final was 63-60 and Stephens scored a career-high 21.

Rockets open 5th District with sweep

Crittenden County made it a clean sweep in the Fifth District opener at Trigg County.

Cassidy Moss scored 23 to lead the Lady Rockets in an easy 53-22 win and middle-schooler Preston Turley was among the stars who guided the Rockets 57-47 over the three-time defending district champion Wildcats, coached by CCHS graduate Petyon Croft.

Turley, a 6-3 eighth-grader, played less than a half, but scored a team-high 15 points during crucial periods in the second and fourth periods as Crittenden rallied and took command of the game. Sophomore center Gavin Dickerson scored 13 and seniors Bobby Stephens and Will Tolley added 11 apiece.

Want more details? See the December 8 issue of The Crittenden Press printed edition.

Listen to Coach Hodge's Post-Game Comments

Rockets team photo

Crittenden County Rocket basketball players are (seated from left) Hunter Boone, Sean O’Leary, Sawyer Towery, Gabe Mott, Braxton Winders, Tyler Boone, Erik O’Leary, (back) head coach Denis Hodge, Devon Nesbitt, Jayden Carlson, Tyson Steele, Preston Turley, Logan Belt, Gavin Dickerson, assistant coach Ken Geary and assistant coach Gaige Courtney.

Lady Rockets team photo

The 2017-18 Lady Rockets are pictured (front from left) Matthia Long, Chandler Moss, Mauri Collins, Madison Champion, Shelby Summers, Ashton Binkley, Kacie Easley, (back) manager Hailey Mathieu, coach Shannon Hodge, Lilly Perryman, Lilli Hayes, Nahla Woodward, Jaelyn Duncan, Kate Keller, assistant coach Bristyn Prowell and manager Emily West.