Record-setting night for Rockets in rout

The Rockets set four school records in the win, with the 76 points being the most in a single game as well as largest margin of victory (68). Both totals eclipsed records that have stood since the 1990s.

Smith was fighting back tears as he addressed his team following the win — especially when he saw a couple of seniors from last year’s 2-8 team, his first at Person, who came back from college to see the game.

“We had a struggle last year,” Smith said. “We had some guys come back (seniors from last year’s team) tonight and they didn’t have a great senior year. They remember the struggle. For us to go from that to this and holding the points record in school history, it’s amazing. I’m super proud of them. Allow me to be a little selfish, but I’m happy that I’ve made a lasting impression and I have a legacy here now, only in my second year. I couldn’t be prouder of what’s going on here. We’re giving it everything we’ve got and it’s showing in the kids.”

Smith learned early this week that his team’s defense toppled two more school records. The Rockets (3-2 overall, 1-0 Central)  smothered Cedar Ridge’s (1-3, 0-1) offense the entire night, holding it to minus-21 yards total offense and minus-56 yard rushing — both new school records. 

For the game, Person forced six turnovers in the Red Wolves’ 10 possessions and marked the third time this season the Rockets’ defense has held its opponents scoreless. Cedar Ridge’s lone points came on an interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

“I’m extremely proud of the guys,” Smith said. “We played pretty efficiently. We made a few mistakes, but that’s going to happen. The stuff we were able to do, the communication from the sidelines, the preparations, taking care of our responsibilities showed on the scoreboard and in our performance. To do something like what we just did, it’s not easy. I don’t care who the opponent is. We dominated the lines on both sides of the ball. We didn’t know about any records or were trying to go for any records. We were just going out and playing football.”

The Rockets’ offense had a huge game against a Cedar Ridge defense that had surrendered 50-plus points in two of its three contests before Friday night.

Person put up touchdowns in all but one drive and racked up 460 yards total offense, with 389 coming in the run game.

Five Rockets scored rushing touchdowns, with C.J. Hunt leading the way with 96 yards on just eight carries and two scores.

Quarterback Elijah Palmer had a big night, connecting on 5-of-11 attempts for a season-high 71 yards and three touchdowns — two going to Julian Crawley.

Crawley’s first score came when he took a short pass and broke through a host of Red Wolves defenders and raced for a 38-yard touchdown.

The Rockets’ offensive explosion came a week after managing just a shade under 90 yards total in a loss to former PAC-6 rival Riverside.

“The offensive line came out and had a bitter taste in their mouth from last week. We watched film and a couple of our kids were ashamed of their performance and angry and were chomping at the bit to get out here to another opponent,” Smith said. “It didn’t matter which back touched the ball, it didn’t matter if it was a JV back, those guys asserted themselves at the line.”

The Rockets are off this week and will finish the season with five consecutive conference games, starting next week at Northwood. For Smith, the goal is simple — find their way to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The NCHSAA put out its first RPI rankings of the season this week, with Person currently on the right side of the playoff bubble, sitting at 26th in the 3A East. Thirty-two teams in each half of the state will make the 3A playoffs.

“Five weeks is short, but it’s a long, drawn out time, not including playoffs,” Smith said. “We’re in this for the long haul. We just want to be ready to rock and roll. I put it on front street for everyone to know what our expectations are. That’s what we’re fighting for. That’s what we’re going to get to. That’s the gold standard and that’s what we’re fighting for. They know that’s our aiming point. We want to make the playoffs this year.”