Arlington Martin holds off Austin Lake Travis in battle of state-ranked teams in opener

It was billed as a showcase for Arlington Martin cornerback/running back/return man Javien Toviano and Austin Lake Travis quarterback Bo Edmundson before a live, streaming audience on ESPNU.

It turned out to be the Zaire Barrow and Kadyn Leon show.

Barrow scored four times for the Warriors as Martin, No. 15 in the Class 6A state rankings, held on for a 39-31 win over No. 7 Lake Travis in the season opener for both schools on Thursday night at Choctaw Stadium.

“That’s how we wanted to start the year and I’m grateful for my teammates and how we worked during the summer to get here,” said Barrow. “I think this team is a true family. I can go to any one of these guys houses and they love me just like a brother.”

Barrow scored on two 5-yard runs, a 64-yard fake punt and a 34-yard pass. The senior finished with 134 rushing yards on 13 carries and had two receptions for 51 yards for Martin (1-0).

Edmundson, a Michigan State commit, has had back issues since last winter and wasn’t able to go.

Leon filled in nicely rushing for 169 yards on 17 carries, including a 55-yard TD on a perfect zone read, but struggled through the air completing 4 of 12 passes for 44 yards. The junior tossed a 3-yard TD pass and would have had a second, but a fumble at the 3-yard line on a long pass play was scooped up by a teammate for a score.

“Bo is an excellent quarterback, but Leon was very athletic and a shifty runner,” said Toviano, the top-ranked player in the Star-Telegram Top 100. “Bo is just a straight pocket passer and in those terms it was a little bit different, but we just came out and played a great game.”

Toviano did contribute in many ways on offense and defense, but only carried twice for 10 yards. The 5-star corner ranks as the fourth best senior corner in the country and seventh best player in Texas, according to the 247Sports composite. He holds 28 offers from Power Five schools and is down to Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and Texas A&M.

Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said that Edmundson had his back looked at after he couldn’t participate in the Elite 11 during spring break.

A bulging disc and herniated disc were found as they talked about doing a procedure, but he decided to rehab it. The back flared up off and on during spring ball and at the end of 7-on-7, but after ramping it up in fall camp and following the Cavalier’s scrimmage against Cedar Ridge, Edmundson was in pain.

“I want him to play,” said Carter. “This is a big stage, obviously, and he wants to play, but he’s banged up and it’s just not worth it.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that,” said Martin coach Bob Wager. “Hopefully he’ll be ok and maybe we can face them again in the playoffs.”

Barrow, No. 99 in the S-T 100, was joined by Sergio Snider, Jr. (No. 45 S-T 100) as 100-yard rushers. Snider had 102 yards on 10 carries and his 49-yard scoring run with 5:24 left in the half gave Martin a 25-17 lead heading to the break.

Snider, a 3-star back, holds 22 offers which include Nebraska, Auburn, Oregon and Baylor. Snider is also ranked as a Top 100 running back in the country by 247Sports.

“When your captains and your best players are your hardest workers then you have a chance,” said Wager. “It’s a blast to have the depth we have in the backfield on offense. They’re not just talented players, but the block for each other, carry out fakes for each other and that’s special and unselfish.”

Nico Hamilton was the work horse for Lake Travis with 201 yards on 29 carries.

Lake Travis (0-1) was the first high school in Texas to win five consecutive state championships (2007-11), claiming six titles in the past 15 seasons. The Cavaliers lost to eventual state champion Houston North Shore in the 6A Division 1 semifinals last season.

“Lake Travis does a great job,” said Wager, whose team is a regular playoff participant . “We’ve played them four times and it’s split right down the middle, two and two. There’s a tremendous amount of respect that we have for them and certainly I think that the feeling is mutual and that’s what you would expect when you get two good football teams together.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 11:13 PM.