Martin a good fit for Newport Harbor

Chris Yemma

After Trevor Theriot went out in the third quarter of last week’s

Newport Harbor High football victory over Corona del Mar with what

was thought to be a broken elbow, the Sailors did not expect to

cruise to victory Thursday against Dana Hills.

In a nice surprise, Newport Harbor quickly found out Theriot’s

elbow was only dislocated, which meant he’d miss one game, two max.

But an even nicer surprise came Thursday in the Sailors’ 35-20

victory over visiting Dana Hills -- senior running back, slash,

linebacker Thomas Martin filled the shoes of Theriot, and they were a

perfect fit.

Making his first varsity start on offense, the 6-foot, 222-pound

Martin barreled his way for 119 yards on 23 carries and one

touchdown. He was the go-to man for the Sailors and proved his

readiness to make more of an impact on this team.

“He stepped up, played big and ran well hard,” Theriot said after

watching Martin’s performance from the sideline. “He ran north and

south for us, but he also got our passing game going.”

Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said he decided to start Martin

after Theriot went out, creating a shake up at running back.

Adjusting to injuries has been a constant this season for the

Sailors. Before the season opener against Fountain Valley, senior

tailback Ryan Rippon suffered a severe knee injury that figures to

sideline him for most of the season.

Martin missed the first two games with an ulcer and fellow

linebackers Taylor Young (broken ankle in summer basketball) and

Theriot have created defensive openings that have needed to be

filled.

“We’re kind of going through the tailback rotation right now,

rotating the injuries,” Brinkley said. “We knew (Martin) could run

the ball. He ran on the JV level before and so we started giving him

some carries during the week.”

If, after Martin’s performance, one were to wonder who might start

when Theriot comes back?

Brinkley, however was quick to halt any controversy, stating

Theriot will return as the starter.

“Hopefully [Theriot] will be back next week, but it might be a

couple of weeks,” Brinkley said. “And we’ll put him in when he comes

back.”

Theriot is a huge part of this Sailor football team, and Brinkley

made that statement by sending him out for the coin toss as a team

captain, just like it was any other game where the senior two-way

starter was playing.

In his 2 1/2 games this season, Theriot became the team’s leading

rusher with 322 yards on 46 carries.

And despite being sidelined and incapable of physically

contributing positive yardage, he still contributed his support in

Newport Harbor’s victory.

“I always want to come in, but I’m glad the team stepped it up for

me tonight,” Theriot said. “And I almost lost my voice on the

sidelines from yelling so much.”

Theriot added that he definitely hopes to be back for league play

in two weeks.