Martin “does everything” to push Bonanza past Clark

Bonanza football coach Shawn Dupris calls senior running back Dasean Martin his “do-everything” man.

Martin lived up to his coach’s billing Friday night, moving the Bengals a step closer to nabbing a playoff berth.

On fourth-and-5 from Bonanza’s 25-yard line and trailing by six points, Martin took a swing pass from Sterling Sprau, broke three tackles and tight-roped the sideline en route to a 75-yard score with 1:12 remaining to lead the Bengals to a thrilling 62-54 road win at Clark.

The go-ahead score capped a do-it-all night for Martin, who ran the ball 17 times for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns of 2 and 67 yards, grabbed five catches for 118 yards and the winning touchdown after Bonanza (4-4, 3-3 Southwest) bounced back from a 48-35 deficit after three periods, and added an 81-yard kickoff return touchdown — just for good measure.

“He does it all,” Dupris said of Martin. “Dasean has a great attitude and that will not to lose. We started slow, as we have done all season long but it was the plays that we made in the last five minutes that matter.”

Even with Martin’s effort, Clark (3-5, 3-3 Southwest) had a final chance to win when quarterback Greg McKinney helped march the Chargers to the Bonanza five. McKinney then found Kyle Yoder for what appeared to be the winning score, but the Chargers were flagged for illegal motion, moving the ball back to the 10.

On the next play, McKinney was intercepted by Loren Studer, who went 95 yards to clinch the win for Bonanza.

“We finally got enough pressure on the last play,” Dupris said. “Their quarterback had to rush a throw, and we made the night’s biggest play. This is a huge win for us.”

Chris Jackson was the workhorse for Clark, gaining 310 yards on 22 carries, including five touchdown runs of 35, 52, 50,11 and 29 yards, to go along with an 86-yard kickoff return for another score. Marquise McKinney rushed for 225 yards on 11 carries for Clark, which gained 657 yards.

Sprau completed 16-of-28 passes for 287 yards for Bonanza, which finished with 629 yards.