BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — The Martin County Cardinals, eager for the coming football season, showcased their skills during 7-on-7 passing games Thursday against the Paintsville Tigers and the Floyd County Central Jaguars. These preseason skirmishes took place on Paintsville soil and served as a tool to sharpen the Cardinals’ passing abilities and defensive strategies.
As is customary in the 7-on-7 format, scores were not kept, allowing teams to focus on their passing. Coach Josh Muncy believes these preseason games are instrumental in perfecting timing between quarterbacks and receivers, giving players a lot of reps throwing the football n short periods of time and allowing them to make mistakes.
“The games help build team chemistry and allow the players to bond with teammates,” said Muncy.
The coach expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in a short period of time, and we have a long way to go,” said Muncy. “But it feels good to see our kids compete with confidence and passion.”
Despite the noncompetitive format, teams tracked stats.
Cardinal sophomore quarterback Jackson Miller had an impressive night, completing 27 of his 50 attempts and throwing 10 touchdowns. Sophomore Devan Maynard shone with four touchdown receptions. Junior Julian Stafford and senior Brock Messer each snagged two, while senior Madden Miller and junior Damien Cheek contributed one each.
On the defensive front, the Cardinals had an exceptional outing with seven interceptions.
The Cardinals are looking forward to their season-opening match against Hazard at home Aug. 18. The Bulldogs, having ended last season with an 8-5 record and lost 17-14 to Raceland in the KHSAA Class 1A State championship game.
