BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Cardinals are wasting no time preparing for the upcoming football season. The Cards hosted Paintsville and Prestonsburg for a passing game Thursday evening at The Rock in Inez.
Both sides of the field were used simultaneously. Teams rotated on and off the field for passing iterations. Each team played 7 vs. 7 to improve their passing and pass coverage.
The Cards showcased their talent. They have receivers to make the tough catches and sophomore quarterback Weston Jude has the athleticism to move around in the pocket.
“Obviously, you know we’re young,” Jude said. “We got two seniors starting on offense. For us to be known as a running team, it’s good to get out here and do these passing games. It really prepares us for when we got to get the ball down the field.”
With a team of fewer than 10 seniors, the Cards are using their veterans to build on their young guns.
“Our receivers played really well,” continued Jude. “We’re not where we need to be yet, but I think we did good for us to have only a week of official practice under our belts.”
Martin County Coach Josh Muncy huddled his team up after the game.
“I like the fire,” Muncy said. “We do have a lot of young guys, but that’s not really an excuse. We’re going to have to win with them. I’m not disappointed at all with today. There are guys on Paintsville’s team that are two years off a state title, and we hung with them.”
Muncy was impressed with both sides of the ball.
“Our defense looked good today,” said the coach. “We’re replacing a lot of players on offense, have a brand-new quarterback, a couple of half-backs. We shut Prestonsburg out. On offense, we need to work on our timing. We’re not a pass-heavy team. These 7-on-7 games help our defense work on defending teams that like to pass on us. We’re a powerhouse running team.”
A few players stood out to Muncy.
“Dawson Mills is really athletic,” he said. “He has the speed to run the ball and make catches when we need him to. Phillips caught a few good passes. We got some good running backs. Weston is good at coordinating the run offense. The last time Weston was a quarterback was in middle school, which is a smaller pace and a different speed. After we get him to adapt, look out for him.”
The Cards took the weekend off and returned to practice Monday.
Martin County’s first game is one month away as they will take on Leslie County in Inez.