Martin County stuns Greene Central with special teams
Martin County stuns Greene Central with special teams
SNOW HILL – The Martin County Gators shocked Greene Central on the road Friday night, using two blocked punts returned for touchdowns and a physical defensive effort to leave Snow Hill with a 38-14 upset victory.
The Gators (3-2) silenced the home crowd early by blocking Greene Central’s first two punts of the game, returning them 35 and 15 yards for touchdowns to jump out to a 13-0 lead. From there, the Martin sideline and traveling fans celebrated loudly, with players and coaches posing in front of the scoreboard after sealing the win.
Greene Central (4-1) trailed 21-6 at halftime but fought back to make it a one-score game in the third quarter. Quarterback Josh Cetnar found Sam Avent on a 30-yard touchdown pass for the Rams’ first score, then later added a 1-yard keeper and a two-point conversion to trim the deficit to 21-14. Martin County, however, answered with 17 unanswered points to put the game away.
The contest turned chippy in the second half. Avent, who had broken open deep downfield, was hit high on a targeting penalty that led to the Martin County defender’s ejection. Avent was carted off the field and taken to the hospital. In all, four to five players were ejected, with at least two from each team.
“Just a terrible start for us, got behind on some unfortunate plays,” Greene Central head coach Jay Wilson said. “It’s time for us to rest up our guys and get ready for Tarboro. We’ve got a bye week next week. Sam was taken out by a cheap shot, so the extra week will help his recovery.”
By the numbers
Cetnar finished 5-of-20 passing for 79 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while adding a rushing score and a two-point conversion.
Avent caught a 30-yard touchdown pass before leaving the game.
Senior running back Dejuan Cobb led the ground game with 84 yards on 20 carries.
Sophomore Donovan Ingram added 46 rushing yards on three carries.
Defensively, Nick Avent posted 11 tackles, Austin Hagan added nine, and the Rams recorded five sacks, with contributions from JoJo Sanders, Ben Ramsey, Hagan, and Jaden McNair.
Despite totaling 289 yards, Greene Central’s slow start and special-teams breakdowns proved too much to overcome.
The Rams enter their bye week at 4-1 before returning to host Tarboro. Martin County improved to 3-2.
