Martin gets its first victory at Globe Life Park with homecoming win over Arlington

Arlington Martin’s first trip to Globe Life Park didn’t start well.

It seemed like a homecoming victory for Martin might not be in the cards for the Warriors Friday night when they found themselves down, 21-7, to Arlington in the first quarter.

But looks can be deceiving.

The Warriors dug into their bag of tricks and scored twice after lining up for field goals to take the lead at halftime and go on to a 52-21 District 8-6A opening night win over the Colts.

Martin (3-1, 1-0) scored the final 45 points of the game to bulldoze Arlington (2-2, 0-1).

Trailing 21-10 in the second quarter, the Warriors’ special teams scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 24-21 lead into halftime.

Martin, No. 25 in the Class 6A state rankings, sliced the lead to 21-17 when holder Javien Toviano found DK Smittick open over the middle for a 9-yard score. The Warriors had lined up for a 26-yard field goal, but broke the formation and rolled the dice.

The Warriors gambled later in the second quarter and regained the lead with 2:38 to play before halftime on a sweep by 4-star University of Texas commit Morice Blackwell Jr. from 15 yards out.

Blackwell put Martin up 30-21 late in the third quarter when he grabbed a kick off the punter’s foot and raced 11 yards to the end zone.

In the fourth quarter, Martin quarterback and Army commit Zach Mundell found the end zone on his second 4-yard scoring run of the night. Mundell followed that up with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Nick Panella with 1:34 to play.

Mundell carried 12 times for 53 yards while Zaire Barrow paced the Warriors with 74 yards rushing on 11 carries. Martin’s Cal Robinson caught six passes for 55 yards.

The Warriors’ capped their homecoming victory with a defensive score when Josiah Charles returned an interception 60 yards down the far sideline with 40 seconds remaining.

After gaining 93 yards in the first quarter, the Colts, No. 24 in 6A, were limited to 139 yards in the last three quarters. Martin finished with 300 yards of offense including 208 yards rushing on 40 attempts.

Arlington quarterback Kris Sims threw for 140 yards and rushed for a team-high 34 yards.

The first quarter was a wild one as the teams combined for 31 points thanks in part to a pair of lost fumbles and an onside kick recovery.

After a fumble recovered by Ernest Cooper IV, the Warriors took a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Mundell.

Arlington’s first score came when Louis Alexander fell on a muffed punt. The Colts scored four plays later on an 11-yard run by Sims.

BJ Rogers gave the Colts their first lead at 14-7 following a 3-yard scoring run. Arlington recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the drive stalled at the Martin 24. The Colts lined up for a 41-yard field goal, but scored a touchdown when kicker Cooper Hicks took a pitch 24 yards to the end zone.

Martin closed out the first-quarter scoring with a 24-yard field goal by Calum Davidson.

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 11:30 PM.