BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County Cardinals kicked off their season Friday with a convincing 20-7 victory over Hazard at Cardinal Stadium.
Martin County capitalized on an onside kick that Chase Stacy recovered in the early moments of the match. Not long after, senior running back Brock Messer took it to the house on a 14-yard run to the outside to give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead with 8:25 left on the clock in the first quarter.
“Our guys came out with intensity,” Martin County head coach Josh Muncy said. “Once we recovered the opening onside kick the momentum was in our favor and stayed in our favor throughout most of the game.”
With the quarter coming to a close, quarterback Jackson Miller threw a 32-yard pass to Dray Duff, leading to another touchdown by Aiden Horn from the 2-yard line. Maddox Johnson’s successful extra point stretched the lead to 13-0.
With over three minutes left in the second quarter Jackson Miller scored on a quarterback keeper to the outside from the 20-yard line, giving Martin County a dominant 20-0 lead.
Hazard managed to score in the last moments of the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.
On the offensive side, Jackson Miller connected on 4 of 10 passes for 67 yards and scored a touchdown.
The ground game proved essential with senior Brock Messer rushing for 111 yards on 16 carries and scoring one touchdown. Aiden Horn rushed for 41 yards on 10 carries and scored one touchdown while Madden Miller went 34 yards on nine carries.
The receivers were equally effective, with Brayden Estepp making a standout 42-yard reception. Dray Duff and Devan Maynard also had notable catches, contributing 22 and 5 yards, respectively.
Defensively, the Cardinals were formidable. Standouts included Madden Miller with an interception and 11 total tackles. Damien Cheek and Messer also had notable games, racking up eight total tackles each. Brayden Estepp made a crucial interception while Julian Stafford contributed two solo tackles, three assists and an interception of his own. Brian Gantt, Bryston Wells, Joey Robinson, Jack Cline and Noah Mollett had multiple tackles.
Other key players like Zach Hamilton, Corey Parsley, Timmy Horn, Devan Maynard, Rafe Price, Chase Stacy and Caleb Robinson bolstered the Cardinals’ defense throughout the game.
The team’s kicker, Maddox Johnson, successfully landed two of three extra-point attempts.
Coach Josh Muncy praised the team’s effort.
“Our defense had a ‘bend but don’t break’ mentality and had a couple of nice goal line stops,” said Muncy. “Also we had three interceptions which shows the growth in our defensive secondary who had trouble last year. We aren’t where we want to be yet, but we are trending in that direction.”
Following this opening victory, the Cardinals (1-0) will be on the move this Friday to face Pike County Central in the Pike County Bowl at 6 p.m.
