09/26/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
BRIDGEPORT - Christopher/Zeigler-Royalton/Elverado is a “mouthful” to say for any fan or sports journalist.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bearcats had a running back that was a “handful” for Red Hill.

Senior Tripp Fletcher played a huge role in his team's 29-16 victory in Bridgeport in a 1 pm contest.

The 5-7, 150 workhorse for head coach Mike Rude put together a "three yards and a cloud of dust" type effort in and important Black Diamond Conference road win.

Fletcher carried the ball 37-times for 219-yards and three touchdowns as CZRE improved to 2-4 on the season.

Running the single-wing offense with no actual quarterback in place, Fletcher touches the ball on almost every offensive play and has a say in what happens.

Fletcher scored on runs of 23, five and seven-yards and helped move the chains for 16 Bearcats' first downs on the day.

“He (Fletcher) is a kid that started playing varsity as a freshman when they went 0-9 and 0-9 (his first two years) and last year I came (as coach) and he had a great junior year for us,” said Coach Rude, who is a Christopher native. “He was instrumental in us making the playoffs last year. Boy, he carried the load today. The other kids that blocked for him did a heck of a job.”

However the defensive effort on the afternoon by Coach Rude's club was even more monumental.

CZRE held Red Hill to just seven first downs total and the Salukis didn't score on an offensive play from scrimmage until the first minute of the fourth quarter.

If not for a kickoff return touchdown in the first half, Red Hill wouldn't have scored a point in the first 37 minutes.

The Bearcats held the hosts to a mere 145 total yards and picked up three crucial stops to keep Red Hill from scoring.

The Salukis only had five possessions and only one of their drives produced points.

CZRE defender Spencer Pettit also came up big on defense.

The junior defensive back recovered a fumble in the second quarter that led to the Bearcats' third touchdown.

His interception on a Red Hill pass in the fourth quarter helped put the game in the win column.

The Bearcats were the first ones on the scoreboard.

With Red Hill driving on its opening possession and facing a fourth-and-six from the Salukis' 49, quarterback Easton Dowty was sacked by Bearcats' linemen junior Quentyn Obrecht and senior Memphis Pontious back at the 45.

The first time Coach Rude's club got the ball, they took it right down the field.

Six of the first seven plays were carries by Fletcher.

A fourth-and-three play from the Red Hill 21 showed that the Bearcats have some tricks in the offensive bag.

Getting the direct snap, Fletcher went to his left and handed the ball off to junior speedster Landon Farmer.

The reverse fooled the Salukis as Farmer out sprinted Red Hill defender Jude Shick to the endzone for the first points of the game with 4:35 left in the opening quarter.

The PAT kick by junior Logan Jackson made it 7-0.

The only really good play in the first three quarters for the Salukis came on the ensuing kickoff.

Red Hill kick returner, junior Colby Crutchfield, took the kickoff at his own 20 and found a seam down the right sideline.

Crutchfield sprinted all the way to the endzone for an 80-yard touchdown.

A two-point conversion run by Brayden Carie gave the hosts an 8-7 advantage.

This didn't phase the visiting team as the Bearcats quickly regrouped and went about putting together another scoring march down the field.

CZRE made it to the Red Hill 33 and faced another fourth down.

Fletcher needed four yards and he got eight on a run up the middle.

His next run got the ball to the 23 when the first quarter ended.

Changing ends of the field, the Bearcats scored on the first snap of the second period.

Fletcher scored his first touchdown as he blasted through the line and romped into the endzone.

A two-point conversion run by Fletcher finished the drive at 15-8 with 11:55 left in the half.

Red Hill finally crossed midfield on its next possession.

A third down pass from Dowty to junior Brayden Carrie got the ball CZRE 41 for a first down.

But the first turnover of the game came on the next play as a bad snap put the ball on the turf and Pettit recovered the ball for the 'Cats at their own 40.

Coach Rude's offense burned just over six minutes off of the second quarter clock on an 11-play drive.

Fletcher represented 51 of the 60 yards it took to get to paydirt.

A third-and-one from the Salukis' five turned into another blast up the middle by Fletcher for a score.

Jackson tacked on the PAT kick for a 22-8 lead at the half.

The Bearcats could have put the game on ice with a second half beginning drive.

They moved the ball into Red Hill territory before facing a fourth and two from the 36.

CZRE tried the same reverse that produced the first touchdown of the game.

This time the Salukis weren't fooled.

Sanders was tackled for a six-yard loss to turn the ball over on downs.

The hosts got all the way down the field to get a first-and-goal from the CZRE seven.

A third-and-goal pass from Dowty to Crutchfield in the right side of the endzone was just out of reach.

The fourth down play, a run by Crutchfield, netted just three yards as the Bearcats kept them out of the endzone.

Taking over on the one-yard line, the Bearcats were forced to punt after three plays netted zero yards.

Jackson booted the ball out to the Bearcats' 31.

This time, with a short field, Red Hill finally scored.

After a five-yard penalty pushed the ball back to the 36, junior running back Brayden Carie broke loose on a 33-yard run.

On the next play Dowty hit senior wide receiver Layton Moore for a touchdown.

It was the first points for Red Hill since the first quarter and a two-point conversion run by Carie cut the margin to 22-16 Bearcats with 11:57 left in the contest.

When you have a touchdown lead with nearly all of the fourth quarter left, you want to burn the clock.

CZRE cooked nearly six-minutes off of the scoreboard on an 11-play drive.

Ten of the plays were runs by Fletcher as they covered 67-yards.

The Bearcats converted a pair of third downs, and a face mask penalty on a Fletcher run pushed the ball to the seven-yard line.

Fletcher drove up the middle to cover the final yards for a touchdown.

Jackson collected his third made PAT of the game for a 29-16 lead with 5:05 remaining.

Red Hill turned the ball over on its first play after the kickoff.

Dowty threw a pass down the sideline and Pettit picked off the throw and brought the ball back to the original line of scrimmage at the Red Hill 39.

CZRE killed another four minutes of game clock before turning the ball back over to Red Hill with 1:12 left.

A Saluki drive, benefited by a roughing the passer call, reached the CZRE 38 when time expired.

CZRE senior Hunter Hammonds carried the ball 10 times for 22-yards and Farmer ended up with five attempts for 18-yards.

Carie led Red Hill with 52-yards on five attempt with Crutchfield adding 23 yards and senior Levi McCullough finishing with 21.

Next Friday CZRE will play at Carmi-White County before hosting Fairfield the following week.

They will close out the regular season with a home game against Edwards County.

Red Hill will face Eldorado and Johnston City on the road before hosting Flora on the final weekend of the season on Saturday, October 17th.