Pike Central edges Martin County 9-6

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News

David Burnworth | August 27, 2023

The first game in the 2023 Pike County Bowl was played in a steady rain with cooling temperatures at Belfry High School. The rain and some untimely issues by each team kept this not only a low-scoring game but a very competitive one. Freshman Pike Central quarterback, Jamere Knuckles would scamper for a nice 12-yard gain. One thing that was very noticeable with the Freshman was if his first option was not open he would take off running. He was able to use this method of operation to pick up yards all game long. Cameron Flannery one of the Central running backs was crushed by  Tyler Gantt for a loss of three, then the Martin County defense got a nice play from Peyton Hamilton, who slung Mason Hess for a 1-yard loss after a catch. Pike Central had to settle for a school-record 42-yard field goal from Steven Gonzalez-Santes to make this a 3-0 game, with 4:52 left in the opening quarter. Gonzalez-Santes badly missed a second 42-yard field goal later in the game, on a kick that he seemed to rush. Aiden Horn would have a nice 17-yard run for Martin County but the Pike County defense countered with Jayson Champman and Tyler Thompson getting Brock Messer for a big 6-yard loss. Messer would end the quarter with a 12-yard catch to give the Cardinals some momentum heading into quarter number two.

Messer once again was thrown for a loss seconds into the second quarter by Ethan Adkins. Messer would shake off the loss by running for an 11-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 6-3 after the point-after kick by Maddox Johnson just missed.  Later in the quarter, Madden Miller ran for a gain of 46 yards on third and five for the Cardinals. The Hawks made the last big play of the half with Thompson throwing Messer down for a loss of 12 yards.

The second half would see Hess recovering a Cardinals fumble as the rain again played a part in the ball being hard to handle. Knuckles was sacked by Joey Robinson for a 6-yard loss with 9:57 left in the game. Malachi Anderson fell on the ball after it was put on the ground by a Cardinals ball carrier. With 5:02 the final and game-winning score came on a 28-yard run by Knuckles.

My stats

Martin County

49 plays

190 yards

Passing, 2-7

Pike Central

52 plays

217 yards

Passing, 3-7

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