BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County High School football (6-1) tacked on another win Friday to make it six in a row. The Redbirds rolled past Leslie County (2-5) by a score of 48-18 behind three interceptions from the Cardinals defense.
Martin County rushed for 234 yards and five touchdowns while allowing only 56 yards on the ground before the home crowd at The Rock. In the air, they added 204 passing yards with one touchdown.
Crayson “Bones” Lafferty continues his strong presence on both sides of the ball. He led the ground game with 102 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. On the defensive end, he brought down 12 Eagles, four solo and eight assisted.
Quarterback Devan Maynard is racking up the air miles. He completed 11 of 22 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he ran for 29 yards and two touchdowns.
Jerrod Haney had himself a night as he led the receivers with four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. He collected five total tackles on defense.
Sophomore Brayden Fannin had three catches for 59 yards and scored a 2-point conversion. On defense, he tackles four Eagles.
Jeremy Begley reeled in a pass for 13 yards and Easton Slone caught a pass for 10 yards. Gavin Stepp and senior Braxton Maynard each made a catch for 5 and 4 yards, respectively.
Freshman Noah Bowens completed a pass for 4 yards.
Jono Cline had a big run for 29 yards and Begley picked up 28 yards on two carries. Dalton Vinson gained 13 yards on a carry.
Sebastian Genovese converted four of five extra-point attempts.
Martin County recorded 62 total tackles, including 34 solo stops, and added two sacks.
Slone had eight tackles, while James Begley and Jason Newsome added seven tackles, with each pulling down a runner for a loss. Newsome also recorded a sack.
Braxton Carter had six tackles and a sack. Jeremy Begley tackled six Eagles. Braxton Maynard had five tackles, with four of those by himself. Maynard and Bowens each pulled down a Leslie County runner.
The Cardinals forced three interceptions, with Haney returning one for 33 yards and Bowens and Maynard each adding one.
Martin County’s defense wreaked havoc with three interceptions. Haney picked up 33 yards on a return, Bowens racked up 8 yards and Maynard brought down a Leslie County pass.
Individually, the Cardinals are making waves in Class 2A.
Maynard ranks seventh in rushing (125 yards per game), 15th in passing (123 yards), seventh in scoring (14.9 points), and 14th in interceptions.
Lafferty ranks fourth in tackles (13.4 per game) with 54 solo stops, 13th in rushing (97 yards), and 14th in scoring (11.4 points per game).
Fields and Haney rank 31st and 41st in receiving, respectively.
Genovese ranks ninth in PATs at 3.4 per game with an 85.7% conversion rate.
Slone is 23rd in tackles, Fannin is 25th in defensive sacks, James Begley is 48th. Stepp, Bowens and Haney rank in the top 50 in interceptions.
Lafferty, Slone, James Begley and Mullins are all ranked in the top 25 in defensive fumbles forced.
As a team, Martin County ranks sixth in Class 2A in scoring (38.6 points per game), fourth in rushing (254 yards per contest), eighth in scoring margin (winning by 16 points per game), and 18th in defense (allowing 22.6 points per game).
Martin County has a well-deserved bye week this Friday The Cards return to action Oct. 17 at Floyd Central (1-5). Kickoff is set for 7:30.
