Cherokee's Andy Martin didn't exactly burst onto the football scene. His career started as a backup quarterback - on the freshman team.
Then his sophomore season was cut short after he suffered a torn knee ligament during a JV game against Washington Township in late October.
Finally, as a junior, he not only rehabilitated his knee well enough to get back on the field, but he also earned the starting varsity quarterback job.
As each week progressed, so did Martin. By the end of the year, he had completed 116 of 175 passes for 1,417 yards and 13 touchdowns. Cherokee went 11-1, won the South Jersey Group 4 title, and finished as The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey team.
In the 14-0 win over Egg Harbor Township in the Group 4 championship game, Martin scored one touchdown and passed for another on a bone-chilling day.
"He got more and more confident in the offense and what opposing defenses were doing as the season went on," Cherokee coach P.J. Mehigan said. "By the end of the year, he continued to develop, and we were able to open up the offense."
While Martin did see substantial action on the freshman team as a cornerback, his goal was to play behind center.
He improved enough to earn the starting JV job as a sophomore, and even after his injury, Martin kept working toward being a varsity starter.
"After freshman year, I was tired of being the backup quarterback," Martin said. "I got some great instruction and kept working toward improving."
One of the people he credits is Bill Hunt, the Williamstown boys' basketball coach and a former standout quarterback at Collingswood. Hunt tutors quarterbacks, and Martin turned into a willing pupil.
"What impressed me most is that he really improved on his accuracy," Hunt said. "He worked so hard on his release point, and I was really proud of him and the great season that he had."
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Martin proved especially effective throwing while rolling out. He credits that to his time as a lacrosse player.
In lacrosse, Martin was an all-conference choice as a freshman and, after missing his sophomore season because of the knee injury, earned all-conference honors as a junior.
"Lacrosse gives me a little heads-up on that because I am usually throwing on the run with a lacrosse stick," Martin said. "It's sort of the same type of motion with a football and it's not easy, but I am kind of used to it."
Martin says that his college plans are wide open, but that he is concentrating now on his senior football season for Cherokee, which is No. 1 in The Inquirer's preseason South Jersey rankings.
It's realistic to expect even more improvement from Martin, especially since he got to work on football-related training this off-season instead of having to worry about rehabilitating his knee.
And Martin isn't interested in statistics. All he cares about is helping Cherokee prepare to defend its sectional title.
The Chiefs have several questions, especially with just one starter returning on the offense line. Unlike the beginning of last year, those questions don't extend to the quarterback position.
That's because the former freshman backup is firmly entrenched as one of the leaders of a team that doesn't figure to relinquish its No. 1 ranking very easily.
Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225
