BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Betsy Layne landed the first punch Friday night. Martin County answered with 27 points and a defense that slammed the door when it mattered most. The Cardinals overcame an early pick-six and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 27-12 win over the Bobcats in their home opener at The Rock.
The victory moved Coach Josh Muncy’s squad to 2-1 and gave the Cards their second straight win.
Betsy Layne struck first with 3:22 left in the opening quarter. The Bobcats picked off a Martin County pass and took it back for six. The point-after attempt missed to leave Betsy Layne in front 6-0.
Martin County did not stay down long.
The Cards were dropped for a loss on second-and-goal before Jerrod Haney broke to his right on the next snap. Haney let it fly toward the back of the end zone. The ball sailed just over Rex Ward’s hands and into the hands of Liam Fields, who was coming in behind him.
The score stood 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Martin County found paydirt again late in the second.
Haney kept the rock for seven yards to move the Cards from the Betsy Layne 20 to the 13. Dillon Daniel took the handoff on the next play and found daylight up the middle. Daniel hit the hole and went untouched for a 13-yard touchdown.
The Cards nearly recovered an onside kick after the score but Betsy Layne came away with it at its own 36 with 1:38 left in the half.
Martin County’s defense went to work.
Brayden Fannin broke through and chased down the Bobcat quarterback from behind for a 5-yard sack. A penalty pushed Betsy Layne farther back before the Cardinal defense forced a punt with 21 seconds remaining.
Parker Maynard ripped off a big return but Martin County could not cash in before the halftime horn.
Betsy Layne tried another onside kick to start the third quarter. Colton Mullins was ready and jumped on the football near midfield.
Haney found Noah Bowens for a first down on the opening snap of the half. He followed with a 5-yard keeper before hitting Maynard on a screen to move the chains again.
Daniel barreled through the middle for another first down. He picked up four yards on the next play before going down and having to leave the game.
Haney had taken a hit earlier in the night and freshman Braxten Pack stepped in behind center.
The young quarterback was thrown straight into the fire.
Pack handed the rock to Maynard from the 13. Maynard juked a defender and worked his way to the 8 for first-and-goal.
The Cards did not reach the end zone but Bowens made sure the drive ended with points. He drilled a 31-yard field goal straight down the middle with plenty to give.
Martin County led 15-6 with seven minutes left in the third.
Betsy Layne answered with a touchdown at the 1:43 mark. The 2-point attempt failed and Martin County held a 15-12 advantage.
The Bobcats got another opportunity when the Cards fumbled at the end of the third quarter.
Martin County’s defense came up with one of its biggest stops of the night.
Betsy Layne faced fourth-and-3 and went to the air. Fields slipped a hand in front of the receiver and knocked the pass away to force a turnover on downs.
Pack and the offense went back to work.
The freshman connected with Maynard for a first down. Fannin then lowered his shoulder and barreled through Bobcat defenders for a 12-yard pickup.
Pack tossed a lateral to Fields for a big gain to the Betsy Layne 26. Bowens danced his way through for seven yards before Pack kept it and moved the chains again.
Martin County was eating clock and moving the rock.
Pack found Maynard to set up first-and-goal at the 3-yard line. After a Cardinal timeout, the freshman fought through the defense and crossed the goal line.
Martin County stretched the lead to 21-12. Maynard appeared to convert the 2-point try but a holding penalty wiped it away.
The Cardinal defense was not finished.
With just over five minutes remaining Ward fought his way through and sacked the Betsy Layne quarterback for a 5-yard loss.
Junior Braxton Carter followed with another huge play. Carter tracked down the scrambling quarterback and dropped him for a big loss on fourth down.
Martin County took over at the Bobcat 37 with 4:31 left.
The Cards put the game on ice less than a minute later.
Pack tossed the ball back to Jeremy Begley from the 35. A defender nearly got Begley to the turf but he caught his balance and broke free.
Begley’s 35-yard touchdown with 3:34 remaining pushed the lead to 27-12.
The defense handled the rest and Martin County celebrated its first home victory of the season.
For center Brandon Wells the win showed what the Cards could do when they communicated and corrected mistakes.
“We talk. We made some mistakes tonight but we correct them,” Wells said. “We’ve got to communicate. That’s a big part of it.”
Wells also liked the way Martin County responded after halftime.
“I thought we ran the ball pretty well,” Wells said. “Obviously we made a few mistakes and we’re going to keep getting better at those things. But seeing us come out in the second half fired up and put more points on the board was big.”
That leadership has carried over to a Martin County team with several young players seeing time.
“It feels good,” Wells said. “It makes me feel like they can trust me and I trust them. We’ve got a lot of young guys on the field. Being someone they can rely on means a lot.”
Kendal Mullins knows exactly what those younger Cardinals are feeling. He remembers being the freshman looking up to the older players.
“That’s probably one of the best feelings in life really,” Mullins said. “To have someone look up to you and rely on you really touches my heart. I had a bunch of seniors and juniors to look up to when I was a freshman and sophomore.”
Now the roles have flipped.
“I know what they feel,” Mullins said. “Especially when you’ve got these little kids running around. We look like giants to them and they definitely rely on us.”
Mullins echoed Wells when talking about what makes the Cardinals go.
“Communication is the best thing you can do in football,” Mullins said. “Everywhere you need communication to be able to win games. That’s how we win games. It’s communication.”
Carter spoke about the same bond after coming up with a big fourth-quarter stop.
“I come out here to win the game for my brothers and everybody on this football team,” Carter said. “I love them all because every one of them treats me like family.”
Carter pointed to Wells as one of the players who has helped him grow.
“Brandon Wells is like a brother to me,” Carter said. “He helps me with everything. If I’m doing something wrong he’ll tell me. He’s one of the reasons I’m doing so well in practice.”
Easton Slone was happy simply to be back on familiar turf after Martin County opened the season away from home.
“It feels good to get our first home win at The Rock,” Slone said. “It’s nice to be home because we’ve been playing away these last few weeks. It just feels good to be back at our home stadium.”
Slone said his pregame routine starts with faith and thinking about the guys beside him.
“I always think about the good Lord,” Slone said. “I pray before my games and it helps me get in a good mindset to go out there and play football. I also think about my team and that my team needs me.”
Martin County finished with 305 yards of offense with 187 on the ground and 118 through the air. Haney completed 7 of 14 passes for 61 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Pack completed 4 of 7 for 57 yards.
Haney led the ground game with 60 yards on seven carries. Daniel rushed seven times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Begley had 34 yards and a touchdown on two carries. Bowens finished with 25 yards on six attempts. Fannin carried once for 12 yards. Pack rushed seven times for 9 yards and a touchdown. Slone had 4 yards on one carry and Maynard had 1 yard on two attempts.
Maynard led the receivers with four catches for 41 yards. Fields hauled in three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Fannin caught two passes for 17 yards. Slone had one catch for 19 yards and Bowens added one reception for 10 yards. Bowens went 1-for-1 on field goals with his 31-yarder.
Martin County will take the field again Friday night. Slone said the Cards cannot let off the gas.
“I think our defense needs to keep its nose in the game and we need to work hard in practice,” Slone said. “If we keep our foot on the pedal, I think we can go into Knox Central and put together a good game.”
The home opener also featured a pair of special moments at halftime. The Martin County High School dance team performed for the crowd and wrestler Kenleigh Estep was presented with her championship ring.
The Cards are back on the road at Knox Central this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
