Indians succumb to storm

Published 2:01 am Saturday, October 16, 2010

It was homecoming for Murray County on Friday night, but Cartersville stole its thunder with a 44-9 thrashing at Murray Field.

The Indians (2-5 overall, 1-1 Sub-region 7B-3A) started off the first quarter by forcing the visitors to a three-and-out. However, on Murray County’s second possession, the offense stalled and then fumbled at its own 35 yard line. A bad snap on second down by the Purple Hurricanes (6-1, 3-1) for a loss of 12 also put a halt to their drive, ending with a punt and another change in possession.  

Both offenses stayed dry until midway through the second quarter, when the Indians put together an 11-play, three minute and 30-second drive, culminating with a field goal by Miguel Barajas to make it 3-0.

Enter Cartersville’s Kendall Martinez.

The back-up running back, replacing an injured Jamie Jackson, made the most of his opportunity. Martinez ripped off a 30-yard run to sustain the Canes drive with almost four minutes remaining in the half.

Twelve seconds later, he scampered through the middle of the line for eight yards into the end zone, making it 7-3.

“He’s a special player and he certainly took advantage of his opportunities tonight,” Cartersville coach Frank Barden said. “He hadn’t really played running back all year.”

The momentum continued to shift, and the Canes forced a punt with 32 seconds left in the half that put the visitors at their own 10-yard line. Martinez then took a handoff from quarterback Tyler Will and danced 36 yards down the sideline to the Cartersville 46. Two plays later, the running back took another run 17 yards to the Murray 37. Colin Barber booted an improbable 47-yard field goal as the buzzer sounded, to the delight of the Hurricane fans and coaches.

“He’s a great kicker,” Barden said. “He’s our long-distance kicker. It was kind of into the wind, so I didn’t know if he could make it right there. He stuck it and it was a big boost for us right before the end of the half.”

“I remember Justin Floyd looking back, saying to me, ‘You got this.’ It was the longest I’ve ever had,” Barber said. “My mind just went blank, then I remember coach Tucker came over jumping up and down and giving me high fives.”

Despite having just a slim 10-3 lead at the half, like a bad storm headed to the coast, the Hurricanes then took charge after the break. Cartersville outscored Murray 34-6 after halftime.

Martinez finished with 20 carries for 239 yards, blowing through the defense for three more touchdowns in the second half — scoring short 1 and 5-yard touchdowns before busting through on a beautiful defense-breaking 73-yard run with 11:05 left in the fourth.

The Indians’ other score came midway through the fourth on a 13-yard keeper from quarterback Taylor Patterson. Patterson finished with 73 yards rushing to lead Murray County.

Barden had high praise for Murray County and its coaching staff.

“I admire coach Zeigler and what he’s doing right now with his program,” Barden said. “His defense played outstanding against a good Allatoona team last week and also played very well tonight. I’m very proud of the way they played with character on the field.”