BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — When Martin County High School quarterback Devan Maynard steps onto the field at AT&T Stadium in Dallas this December for the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl, he will carry the pride of an entire community. On Thursday, supporters gathered at the Kiwanis Club luncheon to honor him and to support his dream.
Football head coach Josh Muncy, who recently recorded his 50th career win, along with defensive coach Cody Slone and assistant coach Josh Horn, accompanied Maynard.
“Josh Horn does a lot of P.R. work promoting these kids, which is why we asked Josh Muncy here — to bring along one of his star players, quarterback Devin Maynard,” Kiwanis president Melissa Phelps said, introducing the guests. “Devan is an awesome athlete just all around. I’ve seen him more in the basketball world, but he’s just a natural talent. He got an amazing opportunity, so I wanted them to come and speak about that, talk a little bit about the football program, and tell us about this opportunity and what a big deal it is.”
Muncy thanked the club for its support of the program and of Maynard’s upcoming opportunity to play in the All-American Bowl. He explained how Maynard earned the opportunity.
“The way it works is they host combines throughout the country,” Muncy said. “High school players go to those combines and try out for the All-American team. If they’re picked from that combine, they’re put on the team and they get the opportunity to go to Dallas and play.”
Maynard attended an invitation-only combine at Centre College in May, accompanied by Horn.
“Josh Horn spearheaded the whole thing,” Muncy said. “He put in a lot of miles this summer with Devan.”
Maynard was one of three Kentucky players who made the team. The other two athletes hail from George Rogers Clark and Lloyd Memorial.
“He was selected as a defensive back,” said Muncy. “He’ll get to play corner or safety on the defensive side of the ball in that game. It’s an awesome opportunity for a kid from Inez, Kentucky. Even though we’re a small town hidden in the mountains from the rest of the country, he gets to go and showcase his talent on the national level and show everybody that we have that kind of talent here in Martin County.”
Phelps asked Maynard how many players attended the combine.
“I would say 70 to 100,” he replied.
Maynard becomes the first student-athlete from Martin County to receive such an invitation.
Muncy said Maynard already has college interest.
“I think once he gets to showcase his talent at that level, there will be more opportunities pour in,” said the coach. “We still have a decision to make this spring. He’s told us he wants to play at the next level. As a staff we encourage our players to use football as a vehicle to places they haven’t been, to set goals and use football to achieve those goals. That’s what he is doing now. The vehicle is taking him to Dallas in December and we’re really excited for him.”
Maynard expressed gratitude to Kiwanis members for their support.
“It really is a dream come true,” he said. “Thank you all.”
Coach Horn told club members that Maynard needs about $3,000 to cover airfare, a hotel stay for the five-day trip, and equipment-related items. He will arrive Dec. 12 and depart Dec. 16. Practices will occur Dec. 13 and 14, then the game on Dec. 15.
“Late Monday night,” Horn said of the game’s scheduled time.
The game will air on ESPN. Coach Muncy encouraged Kiwanians to follow the football team’s Facebook page for updates.
Horn, along with Heather Maynard, Devan’s mother, will accompany him on the trip as Muncy’s wrestling season will be in full swing.
“When my football season ends, my wrestling season starts the next day,” said Muncy.
At the time of the meeting, Maynard and his supporters had raised about $900. The Kiwanis Club voted to contribute $300, bringing Maynard’s total to $1,100.
Building a program
Kiwanis members asked Muncy about the football season.
“We’ve had a good season,” Muncy replied. “We were really concerned coming into this season. Coach Slone and I were sitting last spring saying, ‘We’re losing a lot of players.’ We graduated 18 seniors last year and 16 the year before that. The average roster size of a 2A school in Kentucky is probably around 35 kids. So we graduated that many in two years.”
Muncy credited a challenging junior varsity schedule and his coaching staff for preparing younger players to step up. “Those guys that came in, those juniors, sophomores and freshmen who filled the spots of those seniors, they had experience at the JV level,” he said. “They stepped right into a role. And we brought in some good staff this year, hiring a couple of new assistant coaches who did really well with our program. I think we have the best coaching staff in eastern Kentucky.” He added with a laugh, “Aside from myself. They do a really good job.”
He also noted the team has an intentionally demanding preseason schedule.
“That way, when we get to our district games, we can say, ‘Guys, we’ve seen better this year,’ or ‘We’ve played teams just as good or better than these teams.’ In our preseason we played some really tough schools and opened the season with one of the top teams in 3A in Lawrence County.”
The Cardinals were 7–1 on Thursday with their only loss coming at the hands of Lawrence County.
“These guys have really come a long way,” Muncy said. “They’ve developed a lot this season.”
An athlete’s drive
Although Maynard is the Cardinals quarterback, Muncy said his player’s heart is in defense.
“And he’s very good at it,” he said. “He led the state last year in interceptions.”
Coach Slone added that Maynard should have had nine interceptions but lost one due to a penalty.
“He ended up being second-team all-state safety last year,” Slone said. “Outside of Joey Stepp, he’s our highest-ranked football player in the postseason. I think Joey Stepp and John Dials both were first-team all-state, and then Devan was a second-team all-stater. That was his accolades for last year.”
Muncy spoke up: “We had to put a leash on him this year on defense because he’s so important to our offense.”
Phelps remarked, “He’s doing very good as far as what I’ve seen stat-wise as quarterback … he’s really freakishly gifted athletically.”
Muncy nodded.
“It’s a lot of work, too,” he said. “I’ve lifted weights with this guy and he puts in the work. We spent all spring in the weight room, the team, and he’s got a work ethic that’s unmatched, too. A lot of it is genetics and a lot of it is just absolute hard work and he puts it in.”
Though football is his first love, Maynard also plays for the Cardinals basketball team. He ranked among the top 10 boys players in the 15th Region in a recent Coaches Association preseason poll.
“Devin is a role model now to younger kids, like my son,” Muncy said. “When they get up here, maybe they’ll go to one of the combines. They’ll see that a kid from Martin County can do something like that.”
Martin County High School’s athletic department is accepting donations on behalf of Maynard.