CLASS 4A: Bonanza’s Martin a double threat, earns state player of year honor
A thousand yards.
It’s a benchmark of success in high school football, though not an unusual number for a player to top, especially as a running back.
Unless you top it twice, like Bonanza’s Dasean Martin did this fall.
Martin rushed for 1,148 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 47 passes for 1,055 yards and 15 TDs.
“We tried to get him the ball as much as we could in open space and let him do his thing,” Bonanza coach Shawn Dupris said.
For his efforts, Martin was named the Class 4A State Player of the Year to highlight the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s All-State Team.
Martin rushed for 1,306 yards as a junior, but Dupris knew that rushing yards would be tougher to come by this season as teams keyed on his star senior.
So Martin spent nearly as much time lining up at receiver as he did at running back as the team looked for various ways to get the ball in his hands.
“This year we knew if we put him back there by himself, they’d stack the box,” Dupris said. “What we did is move him around. He had a great understanding of the offense and was able to play three or four positions out there.”
Dupris said his offensive linemen averaged about 190 pounds, about the size of his star running back. So that also prompted him to change the offensive strategy.
“We by no means had the size where we could line up and play smash-mouth,” Dupris said. “Our idea was to get (Martin) outside and let our guards get out and block and get him on the edge.”
Martin averaged 9.0 yards per carry and 22.4 yards per catch. He also had two return touchdowns and finished with 202 points. And he did more than catch swing passes and receiver screens.
“He’s a true route runner,” Dupris said. “Dasean understands the concepts, schemes and defenses he was seeing.”
Dupris said Martin’s ability to pick up the more advanced routes was impressive. The coach said that many times Martin would read the defense and then decide where to run his route.
“He surprised me as quickly as he understood the read routes,” Dupris said. “He understood what they’re giving him and to find those holes and sit down in them. That surprised me and impressed me.”
Martin quickly began to draw double coverage as a receiver, but Dupris said that just opened up something for another player.
Quarterback Sterling Sprau was often that guy. In addition to passing for 2,204 yards, Sprau rushed for 619 yards and nine TDs.
Dupris isn’t sure what position Martin will play in college. Dupris said some schools are also looking at Martin as a cornerback, a position he played as a freshman and sophomore.
His coach is confident that Martin will be successful at the next level no matter where he plays.
Among the many schools that have showed interest in Martin are Oregon State, Colorado State, Utah State and Arizona.
“Dasean’s a student of the game,” Dupris said. “He loves football. He watches a lot of football; he asks a lot of questions. He wants to get better, and that’s something you can’t teach.”
