BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Cardinals fell to a tough Perry County Central team 42-21 Friday at the Rock, marking week 6 of the high school football season.
The Cardinals aimed to bounce back after a heart-wrenching 16-14 loss to Magoffin County a week earlier. Perry Central Commodores arrived fresh off a 58-42 victory over Shelby Valley.
The Cardinals won the toss and chose to defer to the second half.
Perry County wasted no time, with senior running back Seth Jackson punching in a 4-yard run. Beau Bakun’s extra point gave the Commodores an early 7-0 lead with 5:59 on the clock.
Perry County extended the lead in the first quarter when senior quarterback Kizer Slone executed a quarterback keeper, crossing the goal line with just four seconds left. The extra point by Beau Bakun was good, putting the Commodores ahead 14-0.
The Commodores continued their offensive dominance in the second quarter, with Seth Jackson scoring on a 1-yard run, pushing the lead to 21-0 after a successful extra point. As the clock ticked down Perry County again found the end zone. They headed into the halftime break with a commanding 28-0 lead.
Perry County added another touchdown and extra point in the third quarter to go up 36-0.
The Cardinals finally found their rhythm in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from Jackson Miller to Devan Maynard, narrowing the deficit to 35-6. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful.
The Cardinals struck again with an 81-yard pass from Miller to Maynard, making it 35-12. A successful extra point brought the score to 35-13 with 5:47 left in the game.
Perry County sealed the win with an interception returned for a touchdown, extending their lead to 42-13. The extra point was good, making it 42-13 with 3:26 remaining.
In the game’s closing moments, Brock Messer scored on a 12-yard run for the Cardinals.
On the offensive side, the Cardinals accumulated 151 rushing yards and 185 passing yards. Quarterback Jackson Miller completed 185 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception.
Brock Messer led the ground game with 59 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, while Madden Miller contributed 44 rushing yards and a two-point conversion. Brayden Estepp had 36 rushing yards, Aiden Horn gained 6, Devan Maynard had 5, and Jackson Miller added 3.
In the air, Devan Maynard led with 113 receiving yards to go with two touchdowns. Damien Cheek, Julian Stafford, and Madden Miller made significant contributions, resulting in six receptions for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Madden Miller recorded 15 total tackles, followed by Damien Cheek with 11 tackles and Devan Maynard with 10 tackles. Brayden Estepp, Rafe Price, Julian Stafford and Noah Mollette also contributed to the team’s 80 total tackles.
On special teams, Caleb Horn secured 1 of 2.
Perry County Central High School recorded 211 rushing yards and 221 passing yards in their offensive efforts.
Martin County coach Josh Muncy reflected on the game.
“We had opportunities for our defense to create turnovers in the first half that we didn’t capitalize on,” Muncy said. “I feel like our offense moved the ball well; however, we stalled out in the red zone a couple of times. The second half was very promising. Our offense started to click, and we had a good pass and run balance. Perry County is a tough team. We definitely got better from playing them. I’m confident that we will be geared up and ready to go for district play.”
