BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIKEVILLE — Martin County Cardinals went down to a good Shelby Valley team 16-7 Friday night in a game played at Hobart Clay Johnson Field.
The last meeting between Martin County coach Josh Muncy’s squad and Shelby Valley coach Anthony Hampton’s crew in 2022 saw Shelby Valley emerge victorious 47-34.
Shelby Valley entered the field Friday fresh off a 14-0 victory over Lawrence County, while Martin County came off a narrow 9-6 loss to Hazard.
The Cardinals won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
The Cardinals made a strong opening defensive statement by forcing Valley to punt on their initial drive, giving Martin County possession on their own 31-yard line. However, Martin County’s first offensive series fell short, leading to a punt.
Valley took over at their own 23-yard line. With 7:08 remaining in the first quarter, Shelby Valley quarterback Russ Osborne dropped back for a pass and found Cardinals receiver Devan Maynard on the other end for an interception. The Cardinals gained control on their 48-yard line and drove the ball down the field to Valley’s 2-yard line. Quarterback Jackson Miller crossed the goal line on a quarterback keeper, putting the Cardinals ahead 6-0. Caleb Horn connected on the extra point to put the Cardinals up 7-0.
Shelby Valley received the kickoff at the 28-yard line and, with 4:18 left in the first quarter, drove the ball to the Cardinals’ 4-yard line. Madden Miller made a crucial defensive play, pushing the Wildcats back to the 8-yard line.
Valley’s quarterback then dropped back and found teammate Brady Bentley in the end zone on an 8-yard pass play for a touchdown to close the scoring gap to 7-6. Osborne found teammate Jonah Bartley on the 2-point conversion to put Shelby Valley in front 8-7 with 11:27 remaining in the second quarter.
The teams exchanged fumbles on the next two possessions. The Cardinals were forced to punt, and Valley took over at their 33-yard line with 2:23 left in the second quarter.
With no time to waste and running a no-huddle offense, Valley QB Osborne launched a pass from the 50-yard line, connecting with Fields at the Martin County 2-yard line with 1:25 remaining on the clock. Osborne scored on a quarterback keeper to put the Wildcats ahead 16-7 at halftime.
The second half saw both teams struggle offensively. The Cardinals started the third quarter with back-to-back turnovers. Despite these challenges, the Martin County defense held strong, forcing Valley to punt on three separate occasions.
With 5:33 left in the fourth quarter, Brayden Estep intercepted a pass, giving the Cardinals life on their 17-yard line. With 4:15 showing on the clock, J. Miller found Maynard for a 39-yard pass, but Maynard was hit with a personal foul for a 15-yard penalty.
The Cardinals had one last opportunity, but with 1:22 left, J. Miller was intercepted and the clock ran out.
The Cardinals ran the ball 40 times for 132 rushing yards. Brock Messer led with 93 rushing yards on 21 carries, while Brayden Estepp followed with 26 yards on seven. J. Miller carried seven times for 7 yards and a touchdown, and M. Miller ran 6 yards on five carries.
Through the air, Martin County had 105 receiving yards on six receptions. Maynard had 75 receiving yards on three receptions, while Estep gained 30 yards on three.
J. Miller completed 9 of 12 passes for 105 passing yards.
The Cardinals recorded 38 solo tackles, 41 assisted tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. M. Miller had eight solo tackles and eight assisted tackles, Damian Cheek had six solo tackles and nine assisted tackles, Messer contributed seven solo tackles and six assisted tackles, Bryston Wells had five solo tackles and five assisted tackles, with two tackles for loss, and two defensive sacks, Rafe Price had five solo tackles and two assisted tackles, with two for loss, and one sack. Estepp added three solo tackles and one assisted tackle, Joey Robinson added a solo tackle and three assisted tackles, Jerrod Haney, Julian Stafford and Brian Gantt had one solo tackle and one assisted tackle each, and Maynard had two assisted tackles. Peyton Hamilton and Corey Parsley had one assisted tackle each.
Estep and Maynard had an interception each.
Horn made one extra point on one attempt.
Messer returned three kicks for a total of 32 kick return yards.
Coach Muncy reflected on the Cardinals’ performance in the first three games of the season.
“We are getting better even though it doesn’t show in the win-loss column,” Muncy said. “We put a better product on the field this week against a much better opponent. We are still going through some growing pains trying to be a more dynamic offense and throw the ball more. These types of games will have us ready for our district games and playoffs.”
Martin County will return to action Friday as they visit the Paintsville Tigers. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30.
