BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
BELFRY — Martin County turned in the best record of the Coach Josh Muncy football era this fall. The Cardinals rode a high-octane offense, a suffocating defense and a dynamic senior quarterback to a 9-3 finish and a spot in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs.
Martin County closed the season Nov. 14 with a 63-7 loss at Belfry in the Class 2A state brackets. The Cards finished 7-2 against Class 2A competition and 3-1 in the district.
In the season finale at Belfry, senior quarterback Devan Maynard led the Cardinals with 104 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries. He went 7-of-17 passing for 80 yards.
Jerrod Haney caught three passes for 52 yards, Brayden Fannin added two receptions for 21 yards, and Liam Fields had two catches for 7 yards. Jeremy Begley chipped in a 21-yard run, while Sebastian Genovese converted the extra point.
Maynard headlined the year behind center. The multi-talented stud was voted Class 2A District 7 Player of the Year and surpassed 5,000 career yards this season.
For his senior campaign, he ranked ninth in Class 2A in yards rushing per game, piling up 1,332 yards and 23 TDs rushing on 135 carries, an average of 111 yards per contest and 9.9 yards per carry.
Maynard was just as dangerous through the air. He finished 13th in Class 2A in passing, completing 115 of 213 attempts (54%) for 1,692 yards and 14 TDs against nine interceptions over 12 games.
Maynard was one of the state’s top scorers as well, ranking seventh in Class 2A at 13.7 points per game. Maynard totaled 164 points on 23 TDs rushing, two interception returns for scores, a kickoff return TD and four extra-point kicks.
Defensively, Maynard finished third in Class 2A in interceptions with five, first in return yards with 189 and first in return TDs with two pick-sixes. He recorded 48 tackles, four for loss.
The All-American will travel to Dallas in December to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium. He is one of three players from Kentucky to make the team.
Career-wise, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound standout racked up 2,546 yards passing, 26 TDs passing, 2,792 yards rushing, 49 TDs rushing, 318 yards receiving, five TDs receiving, 10 2-point conversions, three kickoff return TDs, 184 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 17 interceptions, 568 interception return yards, five interception returns for TD, 100 yards interception return for TD (tied first KHSAA record), 392 total points, 88 total TDs. He was second-team all-state defense in 2024, Blue-Grey All-American in 2025, and 2A District 7 Player of the Year in 2025.
Junior running back/linebacker Crayson Lafferty emerged as a two-way force. Offensively, he finished 20th in Class 2A in rushing, carrying 146 times for 935 yards and 18 TDs. He had an average of 78 yards rushing per game. Lafferty also ranked 20th in scoring at 9.2 points per game with 110 total points.
On defense, Lafferty was among the most productive tacklers in the class. He finished 13th in Class 2A in tackles per game, recording 67 solo stops and 56 assists for 123 total tackles with 10 tackles for loss, an average of 10.2 tackles per outing.
Haney gave the Cardinals a big-play threat on both sides of the ball. Haney ranked 36th in Class 2A in receiving, hauling in 28 passes for 484 yards and four TDs. He averaged 40 yards receiving per game at 17.3 yards per catch. In the secondary, he tied for 38th in interceptions with two picks for 66 return yards and a TD. Haney also appeared on the defensive fumbles list with one forced fumble and one recovery.
Sophomore Brayden Fannin emerged as a force this year. He finished tied for 44th in Class 2A in defensive sacks with three. He also forced two fumbles, earning a spot on the statewide defensive fumbles list.
Freshman Easton Slone joined the Cards on that chart with one forced fumble and one recovery.
Special teams were another strength. Junior kicker Sebastian Genovese ranked 13th in Class 2A in PATs. He went 31-of-38 (81.6%) and averaged 2.6 extra points per game. Genovese also appeared on the field-goal leaderboard, tying for 12th after converting his lone attempt to finish a perfect 1-for-1 on the year.
As a team, Martin County stood among the most explosive offenses in Class 2A. The Cardinals ranked ninth in scoring at 36.3 points per game, totaling 436 points in 12 contests. They finished 12th in scoring margin at plus-9.2 points per game, outscoring opponents 436-325.
The Cardinals ground-and-air balance showed up in the statewide charts. Martin County ranked 13th in Class 2A in rushing offense with 2,631 yards (219 per game). The Cards finished 12th in passing offense with 1,718 yards (143 per game).
Defensively, they were 20th in points allowed per game (27.1). Likewise, they were 20th in rushing defense (144 yards rushing allowed per game). The Cards ranked 21st in passing defense (100 yards passing allowed per game).
Martin County also finished eighth in Class 2A in team interceptions with 11 picks. The Cardinals were among the top teams in fumbles forced and recovered. The team logged eight forced fumbles and 12 recoveries over 12 games.
