Redemption quest: Arlington Martin football’s fight to reclaim winning legacy
For nearly two decades, Arlington Martin football was the gold standard in Arlington ISD.
Eighteen straight UIL playoff appearances. Five consecutive district titles. A 36-game district win streak. The District 8-6A crown belonged to Martin, one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s most consistent programs.
But in the 2024 season, the dynasty crumbled.
After a rocky non-district start, Martin righted the ship with wins over Lamar and Grand Prairie. All signs pointed to another deep run until Bowie brought it all crashing down. With a stunning upset, Bowie snapped the Warriors’ long-held district win streak.
Martin had an uphill battle to catch undefeated Bowie in the district title race.
That’s when the team started to unravel. That loss did more than dent the record. It hit the soul of the program, and players felt sorry for themselves for letting the legacy slide.
Martin head coach Chad Reeves said they couldn’t get over being “the team that blew it.”
“And I think it just snowballed after that,” Reeves said. “Because there is pressure to uphold what those Martin Warrior teams have done in the past.”
The Warriors fell to Haltom, South Grand Prairie and Arlington. Just like that, the perennial powerhouse missed the playoffs entirely with a 3-7 record.
Enduring a rough season
TCU commit Jesse Ford, a four-star class of 2026 defensive end, said it felt like the life had been drained from the team.
“The talent we had last year, we could have gone very far,” Ford said. “We just didn’t know how to stick together... no one really cared enough. It’s a pretty rare thing for a team to do that. And it did happen last year, unfortunately.”
The locker room turned tense. Players stopped trusting one another, and the unity that defined Martin’s identity disappeared. According to Ford, the season “felt like a drag.”
“We tried to keep the morale up, but we really couldn’t,” Ford said. “Everyone was down in their feelings — talking back to each other and talking back to the coaches.”
Finger-pointing became a coping mechanism for both the offense and the defense.
“At times last year, we were divided,” Reeves said. “... At the end of the day, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that we have to stay a family — to continue to fight for one another and love one another, even when times get tough.”
The unraveling wasn’t solely a character issue, according to Reeves, but a lack of discipline and leadership.
“I’m not trying to knock anybody who was in the program,” Reeves said. “It falls back on me for not helping develop leaders. This season, we have invested a ton more time developing leaders who aren’t afraid to hold their teammates accountable, who are not afraid to act like they care.”
Martin’s quest for redemption
The wounds from 2024 still sting, but for Martin, it’s a crucial learning opportunity — one that could help the program bounce back with a vengeance on their quest for redemption.
“Obviously, (losing) sucks, and you feel bad for yourself for a while, and then you take a step back and you realize all the good that can come from it, right?” Reeves said. “The only way that last year has any effect on us is if we let it affect us, and we don’t learn from it.”
Reeves wants his team to value tradition, but at the same time, he preaches that success comes from focusing on the present moment.
“Are we proud of those teams and how they helped build this program?,” Reeves said. “Of course. But the only thing I care about right now is this team right now in 2025.”
Martin’s leadership council has taken charge with leaders including Brandon Heath, Drelynd Riggle, Ahira Okoroafor, Eli Johnson and Jordan Talley. The team also read a leadership book, “The Twin Thieves,” which teaches the value of rising above fear and judgment.
Reeves asked each player to share their feelings, take a look in the mirror, and reflect.
“For them to be vulnerable and understand what we need to do — that was really neat to see,” Reeves said. “Because you don’t see that a lot with 15, 16 and 17 year olds.”
The need for leadership
Martin needs players to take a stand and communicate. One of those players is the uber-talented Ford, who isn’t very outspoken. He said he wanted to step out of his comfort zone, lead by example, and be more vocal.
“I just want to show everybody how you’re supposed to do things,” Ford said. “How you’re supposed to work, train and be a Martin Warrior. You’ve gotta get up no matter what. And play until the last game.”
One of the team’s vocal and well-respected leaders is Heath, a senior offensive lineman and Holy Cross commit. Heath is taking a very mature approach and said he needs to first hold himself accountable — to strive to be a caring, respectful, supportive and hard-working teammate.
Heath’s approach creates the difference between finger-pointing and constructive, necessary criticism. In the end, it’s all about respect.
Battling adversity: Martin’s plan
According to Reeves, Martin has had an incredibly strong summer and spring. Attendance and commitment levels have been high. In addition, many players from a 9-1 junior varsity squad that went undefeated in district are rising to the spotlight.
Like many Martin Warrior teams before them, the program has talent. That includes strong, well-rounded team speed and two quarterbacks who are set to compete for a starting spot: Junior Hunter Squires and sophomore Chase Devoll.
Martin has the talent to bounce back and compete for a district title. Talent and skill, however, can only take them so far.
Wide receiver Chance Tealer knows that adversity is inevitable. When it happens, he said he wants to focus on lifting each other up. He emphasized that respect starts with camaraderie.
“It’s about building bonds with our teammates, even the people that might not play that much, just getting to know them and spending time with each other off the field,” Tealer said. “Being great teammates in the locker room. Because last year, we had off-the-field problems and locker room problems that led onto the field that messed us up during games and kept us in bad places.”
Ford didn’t mince words when talking about the 2024 season, calling it a tragedy. He said it serves as motivation, and he emphasized that he can’t wait to have an opportunity at redemption.
“I’m going to fight for my team,” Ford said. “They’re going to fight for me, and we’ve definitely already built a brotherhood, and in the summertime, already, I can tell it’s going to be a great year for us.”
At some point, whether early in district play or in a playoff battle, adversity will strike. When it does, the Warriors will have two options: rise or crumble.
And if they stay true to the rebuilt culture, they’ll fight not just to win football games but to stay united as Martin Warriors.
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