Vikings' Tanner Watson (2) battles in game's opening
faceoff against visiting Del Norte. (Photo by Ed Piper)
Reid Martin missed half his senior football season, sidelined by an injury. It took him a few games to get up to full speed when he returned in game number 7 of the Vikings' 2014 fall schedule. "I'm thinking about the foot when I cut, thinking how I could do it another way," or words similar, the auburn-haired young man said at one early point in his return.
But nearly five months later, Martin is moving with freedom and seems intent on making up for lost time in his second sport, lacrosse.
In La Jolla's evening match against Del Norte Mon., March 9, Reid scored four goals in the first period as the Vikings built a 6-0 lead over the Nighthawks.
LJHS (2-1) sailed to an 11-4 victory. Martin scored a total of six goals in the early-season contest. It was Del Norte's season opener. It showed. The Nighthawks didn't look ready before the Vikings' offensive onslaught.
After Connor Usselman opened up scoring with 8:06 left in the quarter, and Mike Elliott followed a scant eight seconds later with another goal, Martin pocketed back-to-back goals for a quick 4-0 lead.
Middie Reid Martin scores his fourth goal
with 3.9 seconds left in the first quarter.
Coach Tom Duerr had a visible smile on his face with the lead, which only grew bigger in the closing minute of the opening stanza as Martin duplicated his earlier pair with another deuce.
Viking goalie Max Scott, now a veteran with his junior year under his belt, made some nice saves late in the quarter that teammates vocally congratulated him on.
Martin's first two goals came at 7:49 and 6:54, forcing Del Norte to call a timeout to try to regroup. His last-minute goals were registered with 56 seconds and 3.9 seconds left.
Martin wears familiar number 21, his jersey number in football. What made it hard to sit out the first part of the Vikings' football season last fall also was the fact Reid had been named Second Team All-Western League. This, his senior season, was the year everything would come together and he would shine.
But elements of his lacrosse game seem to be working in harmony, with the big scoring burst against Del Norte.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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