Cardinals drop 35-15 decision
BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Cards honored their seniors Friday at The Rock during the last regular season game. The team dropped a 35-15 decision against a tough East Carter team (6-4).
Martin County fell to 6-4 on the season, 5-1 in Class 2A, and 4-1 in the district. The team will host a home playoff game Oct. 4 in Inez.
Brock Messer found an opening at the end of the first quarter and sprinted for a 24-yard carry.
East Carter put two touchdowns on the board and the Cards entered the locker room down 14-0 with a slow offensive start.
Late in the third quarter, Messer hit the ground on second-and-7 with a 10-yard first down.
Miller pushed past the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown to bring the score to 6-21 in the fourth quarter.
On the point-after, Maddox “Max” Johnson lined up for the kick. The Cards gathered it up and went for the pass. Damian Cheek faded to the corner and two Raiders went for the swat. Cheek soared above and reeled in the catch for the 2-point conversion.
The Raiders went on a run to extend their lead to 35-8 in the fourth quarter.
With over a minute left, Miller was determined to put another on the board for Martin County. From the 40-yard line, he pounded up the middle for 17 yards.
On the next play, Miller broke away after the O-line opened a hole. He zoomed downfield for a 48-yard touchdown.
The Cardinals had 261 total yards compared to East Carter’s 252, but it wasn’t enough to get past the Raiders.
Messer rushed for 116 yards, received a pass for 5 yards and had five total tackles on defense. Miller had 14 total tackles, a fumble recovery and two touchdowns on 98 yards rushing.
Chris Phillips rushed for 55 yards on the evening and had three total tackles. Quarterback Weston Jude was 2-4 and had 14 yards on the ground.
Cheek scored a 2-point conversion. He and Julian Stafford had nine total tackles, with two solo tackles each.
Hard-hitter Bryston Wells had three solo and seven total tackles for the game. Jackson Miller assisted on four tackles and brought down a runner himself.
Senior Dawson Mills started out the season on a rushing rampage. An injury has sidelined him for a few games, but he is expected to play Oct. 4.
“It’s disappointing and heartbreaking not to be out there,” Mills said. “I love my team. I can’t wait to get back on the field with them.”
Martin County head coach Josh Muncy expected East Carter to be a test for the Cardinal squad heading into the playoffs.
“Maybe the preparation wasn’t where it needed to be. It’s a tough situation to play this game knowing we didn’t need a win to make the bracket. The fire wasn’t there like last week,” said Muncy.
“I’m trying to get them to realize that every game matters.”
Muncy is glad to see his seniors guaranteed to play at least one more home game.
“It’s a great group of players. We’re going to hate to lose them. They’ve poured blood, sweat and tears onto this field. They deserve a big playoff run, so I don’t plan to send them off just yet,” said Muncy.
“Leslie County is a different team now. They went on a terror run after we played them. We may have woken up a beast. They’re a better team, but we are, too,” he added.
The Cards will host the first round of the 2A state finals versus Leslie County (5-5) Oct. 4. Martin County won the first match-up 41-19 at the beginning of the season. The Eagles have won their last 5 of 7 games. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.