Musketeers seal win with Sammons: Junior tallies 415 total yards against Raiders

Sep. 9—LLOYD — Tyson Sammons did not feel well this week but visiting East Carter got a healthy dose of the Greenup County quarterback on Friday night.

The junior's impact could be felt for 48 minutes through the air and on the ground. Even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, the defense's eyes have the tendency to stay locked on the signal caller, and it could result in scoring lanes for his teammates.

Sammons accounted for seven touchdowns against the Raiders. He passed for four scores in the first half and collected three TD trips on the ground over the final two quarters to lift Greenup County to a 46-36 win on its home field.

"He's an incredible player and the leader of our team," Greenup County coach Travis Jones said. "If we need a play, guys are looking at him. He always delivers. He was a little sick tonight. We were worried but with his stat line, he might need to get a little sick more often."

Sammons had 415 yards of total offense. He completed 12 of 15 passes in the opening 24 minutes for 255 yards. The Musketeers didn't attempt a pass in the second half. They didn't need to due to their transition to the running game. The junior amassed 160 rushing yards and added scoring runs of 32, 71 and 4 yards after halftime.

"(East Carter) came out and played a 4-4 defense," Jones said. "They were putting eight guys in the box. We work on the passing game a lot in practice for a reason. If teams are going to load the box on us, we have to be good at throwing the ball. Four touchdowns in the first half speaks for itself."

East Carter had to play uphill from the opening minutes of the game. Greenup County had two touchdowns on the scoreboard before the Raiders had their first offensive snap.

Gabe Roberts kept the score close after the East Carter senior returned a kickoff 67 yards for six points after the Musketeers' first TD.

The Raiders had their difficulties slowing their opponent's offensive surge. Still, they brought the margin to within a touchdown on two separate occasions in the second half only to be countered by Sammons' crushing runs.

"I thought our kids responded really well," East Carter coach Tim Champlin said, "especially in the second half. We made some really good adjustments at halftime. We came out and got a turnover. It's something that we talked about this week. We scored off it and turned the game around. Those are things that we have to do to win ball games."

"At the end of the day, we weren't able to come up with enough stops," he added. "We shot ourselves in the foot too much on offense in the first half. We have to clean those things up. Coaches and players. That's my fault. I didn't have us geared up and ready to go."

East Carter (2-2) quickly answered Sammons's 71-yard TD sprint down the sideline in the fourth quarter. Landon Yoak brought another kickoff to the Musketeers' 5-yard line and Ryland Pfau punched it over the goal line one play later to pull his team to within three points.

"It was just what they were doing to us defensively," Champlin said of the halftime adjustments. "We felt like we could get in some offensive sets and change our front in our favor. Offensively, we were able to do that. We put ourselves in a position to make some plays defensively. We gave ourselves a chance but we got so far behind in the first half."

Sammons proved too pivotal down the stretch. He completed another drive with a scoring run and the defense intercepted a Raiders' pass near the end zone to close out the victory.

"We are familiar with their defense," Jones said. "It's the same one we played since (former) coach (Zack) Moore has been here. We know what has really hurt us in that defense and we know how to take advantage of it. Our guys did a great job making plays."

Senior receiver Aiden Gue sparked the offense for the Musketeers. He had three TD grabs in the first half.

Greenup County found success early stretching the field with the passing game. The Musketeers moved the ball with the short pass and it eventually opened up the long ball.

Gue found a seam across the middle of the field and Sammons put the ball between his numbers for a 58-yard touchdown strike on their first possession to open the scoring.

Drew Boggs made his mark on the stat sheet when he roamed under a high-arching toss from his quarterback on the next drive to secure the long TD reception.

Greenup County (3-1) held on fourth down inside the East Carter red zone and didn't waste any time finding the end zone again. Gue ran into an open gap on a slant pattern and outraced the defense to a second TD with a 49-yard catch to begin the second quarter.

"He has the best hands on our team," Jones said. "He did a great job during the offseason. He got a lot faster. He came out and made some big-time catches tonight. He played a heck of a game. I am proud of him."

Gue tallied more one time before halftime. The senior found separation in the end zone and Sammons hit him in stride to grab a 27-12 lead at the break. The Musketeers had four possessions in the opening two quarters and scored touchdowns on each of them. Gue caught five balls for 127 yards.

The Raiders stayed within shouting distance after an 11-play drive ended with a Bryer Holbrook 6-yard run in the second stanza. Yoak had a TD and Pfau supplied two more for East Carter (2-2).

Quentin Johnson passed for 125 yards and ran for another 54.

E. CARTER 6 6 8 16 — 36

GREENUP CO. 14 13 6 13 — 46

FIRST QUARTER

GC—Aiden Gue 58 pass from Tyson Sammons (kick failed), 9:06

EC—Gabe Roberts 67 kickoff return (run failed), 8:55

GC—Drew Boggs 30 pass from Sammons (Sammons run), 6:20

SECOND QUARTER

GC—Gue 49 pass from Sammons (Karter Gilliam kick), 10:21

EC—Bryer Holbrook 6 run (kick failed), 5:26

GC—Gue 15 pass from Sammons (kick failed), :22

THIRD QUARTER

EC—Landon Yoak 2 run (Gabe Roberts pass from Quentin Johnson), 4:11

GC—Sammons 38 run (run failed), :32

FOURTH QUARTER

EC—Ryland Pfau 3 run (Pfau run), 8:25

GC—Sammons 71 run (pass failed), 6:58

EC—Pfau 5 run (Holbrook run), 6:37

GC—Sammons 4 run (Gilliam kick), 3:09

EC GC

First Downs 15 19

Rushes-Yards..................35-171 29-249

Comp-Att-Int ....................9-17-1 12-15-0

Passing Yards ......................125 255

Fumbles-Lost........................0-0 1-1

Punts-Avg..........................1-31.0 0-0

Return Yards.............................0 53

Penalities-Yards..................6-50 4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

East Carter rushing: Johnson 7-54, Yoak 11-33, Holbrook 10-45, Pfau 7-39.

Greenup County rushing: Sammons 12-160, Henderson 7-31, Perkins 10-58.

East Carter passing: Johnson 9 of 17 for 125 yards and 1 interception.

Greenup County passing: Sammons 12 of 15 for 255 yards

East Carter receiving: Roberts 4-52, Hall 3-60, Yoak 1-9, Pfau 1-4.

Greenup County receiving: Stevens 4-41, Henderson 1-50, Boggs 2-37, Gue 5-127