Crawley’s big night help Rockets to major win

Hurricane Ian moved Person’s (4-2, 2-0) Central Conference clash with the Chargers up a day.

The touchdown was Crawley’s fourth and Person’s (4-2, 2-0) final score of the night. Crawley had two interception returns for touchdowns, another one rushing and one more receiving.

“My coaches put me in the right position to make the plays that I did,” Crawley said. “I’ve got to work hard for my teammates because they work hard, just as much as I do. The win hasn’t hit me yet, but it probably will when I get home.”

“He played lights out – I have no words,” Smith said of Crawley. “He knows it because I don’t like to talk good to anybody. He earned everything. He made a stamp on the conference. He’s got the speed and quickness of anybody in the conference, but he’s built like a running back. He’s a big, strong kid who can squat like 400 pounds. He high points the ball well due to baseball, plus he can out-jump anybody due to basketball. He’s just one of those kids who, if you get him the ball, he’ll do the rest.”

The win moves Person (4-2 overall, 2-0 Central) into a first-place tie with reigning conference champion Eastern Alamance in the league standings, plus one step closer to Smith’s ultimate goal – leading the Rockets to their first playoff appearance since 2016. The teams will meet Oct. 14 in Mebane.

Person is currently 29th in the NCHSAA’s 3A East RPI rankings. With four games remaining this season, the Rockets are projected to make the playoffs.

“This win is ginormous,” Smith said. “It keeps us on track. We’re not shying away from the state playoffs – everybody knows that’s the goal and standard. Tonight is a great win for us, but, in just my second year here, this is the type of win we’ve been looking for to get us over the hump. This was a quality opponent we just beat. We faced adversity, which has been our downfall. Tonight, we reacted like a championship ball club. Tonight was huge for this program and what we’re building going forward.”

Person appeared well on the way to a blowout win midway through the second quarter, when it built a 16-point lead by scoring on its first four possessions of the half.

One fourth-down stop quickly shifted the momentum in Northwood’s (3-4, 1-2) favor.

The Chargers picked up 33 yards and consecutive first downs, after key receptions by Isaiah Blair and Gus Ritchey with 30 seconds left in the opening half, then cut the margin to 30-20 on the second of three touchdown runs by starting quarterback Will Smith. The Rockets kept it a two-score game as they stopped a key two-point conversion attempt.

Northwood forced a Rocket punt just 3:30 into the second half, then scored nine plays later on Smith’s three-yard scamper.

The Charger defense forced a fumble on Person’s succeeding drive, with 1:27 left in the third quarter, then marched all the way down to Person’s 7-yard line. Crawley picked off Smith’s fourth-and-goal pass attempt, racing the entire field and pushing the Rockets’ lead to nine points with seven minutes remaining.

Northwood immediately responded on the ensuing drive, taking advantage of three penalties and Smith using his legs again, on a 16-yard run, to close his team’s deficit to 36-34 with 5:37 to go.

The Charger defense, once again, put itself in a golden position to re-take the lead by forcing a fumble two plays later.

Yet it was Easton McLain and the Person defense, hindered in the fourth quarter by pass interference penalties, that made one final stop and forced a Smith incompletion.

The Rockets picked up two more first downs to run out the clock, cementing the key victory.

“Easton created endless pressure on that final drive,” Smith said. “When Will Smith escaped the pocket, Easton chased him down. Easton played outstanding football for that stretch of three of four plays. He was the spearhead of that defense. Everybody just locked in. They knew the moment was here. They stepped up and did what they were supposed to do.”

This game was all Person in the first half, in large part due to three Crawley touchdowns.

Northwood, set up by a huge return from kickoff specialist Jackson Shaner, built a 7-0 lead on the second play from scrimmage, when utility man Ashton Elliot ran around the right side of the offensive line for a 20-yard touchdown.

The Rockets quickly responded, scoring on their first four drives of the half.

Fullback Victor Rodriguez gave Person its first six points on a two-yard run, punching the ball in just over five minutes into the game. Kiryce McCain’s 7-yard burst through the Charger defensive line brought the Rockets their first lead, 12-7, with four minutes left in the opening quarter.

Crawley extended Person’s advantage to 18-7 on the first play of the second quarter, taking a jet sweep 18 yards around the left side and beating a host of Northwood defenders, for his first of four scores. Five minutes later after Northwood closed its deficit, Crawley bodied up his defender and pulled down a beautiful strike from Palmer, outrunning the Northwood defensive back 47 yards for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead. On the very next play, Crawley stepped in front of a Will Smith pass and took it 20 yards to the end zone.