BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
ROBINSON CREEK — Martin County used an explosive scoring attack and relentless Cardinals defense to defeat Shelby Valley 40-20 Friday on the Wildcats’ home field.
Coach Josh Muncy’s Cardinals improved to 4-1 while Coach Tyler Johnson’s Wildcats dropped to 1-4.
Senior quarterback Devan Maynard got Martin County on the board first with a 3-yard run in the first quarter.
Shelby Valley answered with a touchdown and a point-after to go in front, but the Cards began to turn up the heat in the second quarter.
Trailing 7-6, Martin County faced a fourth-and-6 situation. Maynard delivered under pressure, firing a 29-yard touchdown pass to senior Gavin Stepp to put the Cardinals ahead 12-7.
Martin County looked to the skies again on a second-and-10. Maynard connected with junior Jerrod Haney on a 31-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead.
The Cards kept their foot on the pedal coming out of the break. Maynard quickly picked up 11 yards on second-and-9 to move the chains.
Facing a third-and-11, Maynard broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run that electrified the Cardinal sideline.
On the next series, Maynard tossed a 25-yard completion on third-and-4 to Liam Fields, keeping another drive alive.
Third-down conversions were no match for the red and white. Maynard capped the quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run on third-and-10 to put the game out of reach.
The Cardinals converted 9 of 12 third downs while the Wildcats managed only 2 of 10.
Maynard finished with 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 12 carries, along with 126 yards passing and two touchdown throws on 8 of 18 attempts.
Junior Crayson Lafferty paced the ground attack with 176 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries. He ran for his touchdown in the fourth quarter on a first-and-3 to set the final score.
Sophomore Jeremy Begley chipped in three carries for 4 yards and freshman Easton Slone added two carries for 2 yards. In total, Martin County rushed for 306 yards on 30 attempts.
The passing game spread the ball among three reliable targets. Stepp caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Haney added two receptions for 37 yards and a score, while Fields pulled in two passes for 31 yards.
On special teams, junior Sebastian Genovese was perfect on two extra-point kicks. Sophomore Brayden Fannin converted a 2-point try.
Defensively, Martin County limited Shelby Valley to just 45 yards passing while giving up 169 on the ground.
The Cardinals delivered a statement performance racking up 68 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks to keep the Wildcats in check.
Fannin led the charge with 10 tackles. He registered six solo stops, four assisted, four tackles for loss and a sack. Lafferty added five solo tackles, three assisted and one stop behind the line.
Seniors Jonathon Cline and Jason Newsome each finished with six tackles. Newsome brought down a Wildcat for a loss.
Cardinal Rex Ward rounded out the top five with five total tackles, four of them solo and one for a loss.
Slone, James Begley, and Braxton Carter made five stops.
Haney, Braxton Maynard and Jeremy Begley contributed defensively with three total tackles, with B. Maynard bringing down a Cat by himself.
Kendal Mullins, Samuel Moore, Stepp and D. Maynard each had two total tackles. Noah Bowen came in for a solo tackle.
Martin County hopes to keep its winning streak alive this Friday in a road trip to Knott County Central (5-0). Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
The Cardinals return to The Rock on Oct. 3 to host Leslie County (1-4).
