BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — Martin County’s third-quarter hex provided a treat Halloween night for Cardinals fans. The Redbirds downed the Paintsville Tigers (5-5) 41–28 to close the regular season at 8–2, the best mark of head coach Josh Muncy’s career.
The Cardinals led 7–0 after one, stretched it to 14–6 in the second, and went to halftime tied 14–14. They seized control with a 21–0 third quarter to build a 35–14 cushion and held off a late Tigers push.
Offensively, the Cards posted 314 yards, with 141 rushing on 32 attempts and 173 passing. The squad committed no turnovers.
Senior quarterback Devan Maynard ran the show. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 173 yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions. The All-American added 58 yards rushing and another score on the ground.
Junior running back Crayson “Bones” Lafferty handled heavy lifting with 19 carries for 55 yards and two touchdowns. The brute anchored the defense with 15 tackles, including one for a loss.
Maynard spread the ball to seven targets. Brayden Fannin caught five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, and Rex Ward added three grabs for 61 yards and a score. Lafferty had two receptions for 18 yards, Liam Fields three for 11, Jeremy Begley one for 8, Jerrod Haney one for 5, and Gavin Stepp one for 3.
The turning point came when Haney jumped a route for a 33-yard pick-six.
James Begley logged 10 tackles with one for loss. Fannin made nine with one for loss and a forced fumble. Easton Slone brought down eight Tigers. Jason Newsome and Braxton Carter recorded five tackles apiece while Carter added a tackle for loss. Braxton Maynard had four tackles and recovered a fumble. Je. Begley had four tackles and Haney brought down three runners. Ward, D. Maynard, Stepp, Blake Stacy and Kendal Mullins each tackled two Tigers while Noah Bowens recorded a tackle.
Sebastian Genovese went 5-for-5 on PATs.
By the numbers in Class 2A, Martin County closed the regular season eighth in scoring offense at 38.7 points per game and 19th in scoring defense at 23.6 allowed for the 10th-best scoring margin at plus-15.1.
The Cards finished 10th in rushing offense at 222 yards per game and 14th in rushing defense at 129 allowed. They ranked 11th in passing offense at 158 yards per game and 16th in passing defense at 91 allowed.
Martin County ranked 21st in sacks at 0.9 per game, eighth in fumble recoveries at 1.2, and 14th in interceptions at 0.8.
Individually, Devan Maynard ranked ninth in Class 2A rushing at 110 yards per game and 46th statewide. He finished the regular season 11th in passing at 156 yards per game. Maynard ranked sixth in Class 2A and 14th statewide in scoring at 10.4 points per game.
Lafferty finished the season at 20th in Class 2A rushing at 78 yards per game and 18th in scoring at 9.2.
In receiving, Haney ranked 33rd at 43 yards per game and Fields 40th at 38.
Genovese ranked 13th in PATs at three per game with an 83.3% rate. He finished the regular season 11th in field goals.
On defense, Lafferty ranked fourth in Class 2A tackles at 12.3 per game and 20th statewide. Slone finished the regular season at 35th at 7.9. Fannin ranked 36th in sacks with three and 14th in forced fumbles.
Lafferty came in 39th in forced fumbles, James Begley 45th and Slone 48th.
In the secondary, Maynard ranked 17th in interceptions and Haney 40th.
The Cardinals begin postseason play Nov. 7 against the Betsy Layne Bobcats (4–6) in the Class 2A state finals at The Rock. Earlier in the season, Coach Josh Muncy’s team defeated the Bobcats 48–18 on the road.
Martin County will honor its seniors before kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of the Nov. 7 contest will play Nov. 14 against the winner of the Belfry-Leslie County game.
