Prep football: State championship previews
Division I-AA: Martig leads historic season for Bellarmine
The son of a former Bellarmine College Prep quarterback, Troy Martig has followed the tradition-rich program as far back as he can remember. He watched the Bells’ run to a state championship game in 2009 and again in 2011, hoping one day that he would be behind center on the biggest of stages.
“I’ve been coming to the games really my whole life,” Martig said.
Friday night, the senior quarterback bound for Columbia to run track will cap a historic Bellarmine season against unbeaten Mission Viejo in the Division I-AA state championship bowl game at Sacramento State.
The game will be the final step for a Bellarmine team that has won league, section and regional championships while becoming the first in the school’s history to reach 13 wins.
Bellarmine has done it in dramatic fashion, with Martig orchestrating breathtaking comebacks against Del Oro-Loomis and Valley Christian in the regular season and at Folsom last week in the Northern California Division I-AA title game.
“He means everything to our team, as a leader, as a player, as a captain,” running back Antonio Garcia said.
Martig missed two games in October after injuring an ankle against Serra, and Bellarmine suffered its only loss in that stretch. But as he has shown before and since the injury, Martig finds a way to excel in the most pressurized situations.
Trailing and facing fourth-and10 in the closing moments at Del Oro, Martig completed a first-down pass to Vincent Fernandez and then threw for the winning TD. Trailing with 64 yards to go in the final minute against Valley Christian, Martig completed a 50-yard pass to Kyle Macauley and then threw for the winning score.
Trailing and facing fourth-and12 in the final three minutes against Folsom, Martig competed a 24-yard pass to Fernandez. Bellarmine went on to end Folsom’s 43-game home winning streak. “The players have a lot of trust in him,” coach Mike Janda said. “He is a guy who has a lot of confidence and makes plays when you need it. He’s been a real leader, both in his actions and in his words.”
Martig said last year he would get nervous in tense moments. Not so this year. “I definitely feel a lot more composed,” he said. “Knowing that we have done it before and we have the confidence, I am definitely not nervous at all.”
Friday, his Bellarmine career will end on the biggest of stages.