Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Golden Eagles mourn Martin
varsity.roanoke.com
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When Staunton River qualified for the VHSL football playoffs last weekend for the second time in school history, it provided cause to celebrate the Golden Eagles' first postseason trip in 1996.
The celebration has been muted.
The mood was somber Tuesday in the Staunton River offices after it was learned that Kevin Martin -- one of the stars of the '96 team -- was killed Monday when he was thrown from the truck he was driving after it went over an embankment on Virginia 24.
Martin, 30, was a first-team All-Timesland running back as a senior in 1996, rushing for 1,764 yards for a 10-2 Staunton River team that defeated Lord Botetourt in the Region III Division 4 semifinals before losing to Salem in championship game.
Former Staunton River coach Bob Gray -- named The Associated Press Group AA coach of the year in '96 -- watched Martin team with Jarrett Ferguson to rush for more than 3,000 yards and lead the Golden Eagles to the Seminole District title.
While Ferguson went on to become a starting fullback at Virginia Tech, Martin did not have the grades to play college football.
"Kevin was a typical example of why you have high school athletics," Gray said Tuesday. "It was something important to him, and it made him important in the school and the community. He probably wouldn't have gotten through high school if it wasn't for athletics. It helped him grow.
"I chewed his butt more than anybody, but I'd give him the shirt off my back if I could today."
Gray, who was the head coach at Patrick Henry from 2005-08, said he last saw Martin a year ago when his former player dropped by the PH campus to talk about some lessons he had learned since high school.
"He said, 'I might not have believed you at the time, but I see what you were talking about now, Coach,' Gray said. "That meant a lot to me."
Martin also teamed with Ferguson on Staunton River's track and field team that won the Group AA championship in 1996 under head coach Joe Curcio.
Ferguson said Martin could have excelled as a college football player.
"No doubt in my mind," Ferguson said. "He was always the fastest guy, the fastest back."
Ferguson said he had not spoken with Martin since the summer. He said Martin was coaching youth league football in Roanoke and thought his former teammate was employed as a delivery driver.
"This past summer, he was doing a two-week football camp," Ferguson said. "I don't even think they were charging the kids, just giving them something to do to get them off the streets."
Current Staunton River coach Rick Witt said Martin also had begun to get closer to the Golden Eagles' program this fall. Martin's cousin, Desha Martin, is on the varsity roster.
"He came by and lifted with us once," Witt said. "Many mornings, I'd have coffee with him at the Apple Market and we'd sit and talk.
"I don't think 'ironic' is the right word, but we've been trying to draw parallels between this team and the '96 team, but this is not the parallel you want."
Funeral services for Martin will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Promise Land Baptist Church in Moneta. A wake will be held at the church from 7-8 p.m. Thursday. A viewing will be held from noon-4 p.m. Thursday at Bedford Funeral Home.
Northwest Region to re-seed playoffs
The Northwest Region will wait until this week's football playoff games are completed to draw the brackets for next week's semifinals, VHSL spokesman Mike McCall said.
The No. 1 seed in Division 6 and Division 5 will play the lowest remaining seed from the winners of the first-round games. Under this format, it would be possible for the No. 1 seed to play a No. 6 seed, while the No. 2 seed could play a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
Region III, Region IV and Region C will automatically pair the No. 1 seed against the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game in each division.
The Northwest Region format will put more coaches on the road. The staffs from the teams that have byes this week will have to scout both first-round games.
Around Timesland
Hidden Valley shortstop Camden Hodge will sign a baseball scholarship with Radford University today. Hodge recovered from a broken arm as a freshman and started every game last year for the Titans.
- Salem's Emily Richardson will sign a volleyball scholarship with Catawba. Richardson played on the Spartans' 2008 Group AA semifinalist and was a first-team All-River Ridge District selection this fall.
- Hidden Valley's Region IV Division 4 football semifinal against either Christiansburg or Bassett will be played Saturday, Nov. 21, with a tentative kickoff time of 1 p.m.
