BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Class 2A District 8 championship Friday night between Martin County and Prestonsburg delivered a full dose of football drama. A night full of big plays, a controversial incident, and a crowd on edge from start to finish as the Blackcats escaped Inez with a 36–30 win.
Prestonsburg wasted no time taking advantage of early mistakes. Just two minutes into the game, the Blackcats intercepted a Maynard pass and returned it for a touchdown.
Martin County responded by controlling possession for most of the first half. The Cardinals reached the 6-yard line but failed to convert on fourth down.
Prestonsburg struck again before halftime, this time on a pick-6 that stretched the lead to 14–0 after a successful 2-point conversion.
Refusing to fold, Maynard went back to work. Starting at his own 42-yard line, he found Jerrod Haney across the middle to move deep into Blackcat territory at the 32. A quick screen to Rex Ward pushed the Cards into the red zone. A connection with Liam Fields advanced the ball to the 13-yard line.
Maynard then used his legs to carve through defenders, first down to the 5, then down inside the 1. He stretched across the goal line for Martin County’s first touchdown of the night and trimmed the deficit to 14–6 before halftime.
That same drive was clouded by controversy. During a near interception before halftime, Haney’s wristband containing Martin County’s offensive play calls fell off. The wristband came into possession of an assistant coach for Prestonsburg.
According to school officials, a Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy retrieved the wristband from Prestonsburg’s locker room at halftime.
The Cardinals came out firing after the break. Maynard connected with Brayden Fannin on a 16-yard touchdown pass. A 2-point conversion to Haney tied the game at 14–14 midway through the third quarter.
Prestonsburg answered quickly with a scoring drive to regain the lead, but Martin County retaliated within a minute. Maynard burst through the middle from 16 yards out for another touchdown. His line powered him across for the 2-point conversion to even things again at 22–22.
The Blackcats added another touchdown late in the third to make it 30–22 heading into the final quarter.
Pinned deep at their own 4-yard line early in the fourth, the Cardinals mounted one of their best drives of the season.
Maynard fired a long completion to Fields to move the chains to the 37. A mix of runs and short passes advanced the ball 96 yards downfield before Maynard finished it himself to tie it 30–30.
Prestonsburg struck back one final time, scoring with just over two minutes left to take a 36–30 advantage. Martin County’s last drive ended with a turnover on downs.
Maynard completed 21 of 36 passes for 270 yards, one touchdown in the air and two interceptions. He rushed 23 times for 113 yards and three scores.
Haney led all receivers with nine catches for 138 yards, Fields added 84 yards on four receptions and Fannin hauled in two catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Crayson Lafferty ran for 30 yards and caught a pass for 16 yards. Ward picked up 9 yards and Gavin Stepp collected a pass for 3 yards.
The Cardinals totaled 413 yards of offense: 143 rushing and 270 passing.
Emotions ran high as the final horn sounded. After the teams met at midfield for the postgame handshake, coaches and fans from both sides exchanged words before being separated.
Despite the emotional loss, Martin County remains optimistic as the postseason begins.
Head coach Josh Muncy said his team is eager to move forward.
“Our guys aren’t really down on themselves,” Muncy said. “They’re ready to pick up a win. Paintsville is a rival in every sport we participate in. These kids have a lot of football left to play.”
Senior night will be the first week of playoffs.
“I know our guys will be amped up,” said Muncy. “We know our road leads to Belfry if we win the first round. If we’re going to win a state title, we have to beat a Belfry or Beechwood type of team.”
Martin County (7–2) has secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Class 2A state tournament. Teams in the sister district (Betsy Layne, East Ridge and Shelby Valley) remain tied for third place with Friday’s games set to decide playoff pairings.
Final RPI rankings will determine the official matchups after the regular-season finale against Paintsville (5-4).
The Cards travel to Johnson County on Halloween night for their final regular-season game. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
