BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

BELFRY — The temperatures were hot and so were the Cards. Martin County High School football brought the fire to the Pike County Bowl and humbled Pike Central 40-18 Friday at Belfry after a heat delay.

Facing second-and-15, Devan Maynard found Julian Stafford from the 48-yard line at center field. Stafford went into high gear and hit paydirt to strike first blood for the Cardinals in the first quarter.

Stafford caught a kickoff at his own 24-yard line. With a flock of Hawks heading his way, he turned on the jets and put a Hawk in a blender at midfield. He capped off his run in the end zone for an 18-6 lead in the third quarter.

Stafford wanted Pike Central to remember his name on this evening at Pond Creek.

Maynard lined up behind the shotgun formation. He rolled out and found Stafford sprinting down the right sideline. The field general placed a remarkable pass just outside of a Hawk’s reach for a 43-yard touchdown.

With a 26-12 lead, the Cardinals stuck with the Maynard/Stafford duo. Martin County took the snap from their own 39-yard line.

Maynard faked the handoff before finding Stafford on the short corner. He looked downfield and saw nothing but grass on his way to a 61-yard touchdown.

With Martin County ahead 34-12, Maynard decided to keep one for himself. Immediately after the snap, he found a hole and showed off his acceleration en route for an 80-yard touchdown run.

Maynard was 10-22 on passing with 259 yards and four touchdown passes. He hit the dirt for 80 yards for his touchdown run.

Stafford received four passes on the evening for 194 yards. Three of those were touchdowns. He also had a kickoff and ran that into the end zone for 76 yards.

Jerrod Haney had 26 yards receiving on the night, including a touchdown reception.

Damian Cheek and Aiden Horn caught a pass for 18 and 14 yards, respectively.

Weston Jude scored a two-point conversion for the Cards.

Martin County will host Shelby Valley for their home opener Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.