Andrews – Jose Martinez almost did not play football this year, but once he went all in, he made a major difference for the Andrews Wildcats.
Martinez is a two-way starter for Andrews (1-1) at strong safety and wide receiver as the Wildcats get set to return to action Friday night out of an early bye week this season.
At spring football signups, Martinez did not even plan to play again this year at first.
“One of the coaches stopped him in the hall and said ‘Man, we need you,’ ” Andrews head coach James Phillips said. “He comes out and I don’t know that he missed one summer workout. He looked great in 7-on-7s with us, and he’s worked hard in the weight room to get in better shape, working on his routes, everything.”
Martinez has made the most of the chance, starting on offense and defense after only kicking extra points last year.
“I had more motivation to get a lot more playing time this year with it being my senior year,” Martinez said. “I’ve been trying to get better at everything, watching film, working hard in practice and doing it in the weight room, too.”
Phillips said Martinez has made a lot of plays in the first two games.
“He is a testament to good old-fashioned hard work, to what we are building here,” Phillips said. “He’s a three-sport athlete, and he’s a hard-working kid. It took me a while to figure his personality out, whether he was committed, and this year, he has taken it to another level. I think he saw that if he committed himself harder to the program, he would get to play more.
“When he got a chance, he took advantage of it.”
Phillips said Martinez’s name has been in discussion as a captain each week, as the Wildcats select a group of four before each game based on practice performance and attitude.
“I feel like we have a better mindset this season, and I think we will accomplish a lot,” Martinez said.
“We’re trying to learn how to win right now.”
Another road trip
The Wildcats (1-1) travel to Canton, Ga., to take on the North Georgia Falcons for the second straight year.
North Georgia returns slippery quarterback Chris Shirley, who is a concern for Phillips’ defense.
“He’s a little bigger, little stronger and he runs all over the field,” Phillips said. “It won’t be hard to sell the kids after the Trinity quarterback ran all over the place in week 1. He’s a great athlete, and he can take it 90 yards.”
Phillips said the Trinity road trip will be good experience for the players to draw on for the trip to Canton.