The South Pike Eagles veer offense finally broke upfield for a big gain last week.
The Eagles defeated Wilkinson County 46-12 in their first District 7-3A game of the season. The win was their second of the season, but the 46 points more than tripled their total from their first three games.
Leading the South Pike offense was freshman quarterback and Enterprise-Journal Player of the Week Tevin Martin, whose 117 yards rushing and 120 yards passing and two touchdowns helped the Eagles offense break out.
“That’s the best high school game I’ve ever played,” Martin said. “To this point.”
Friday’s game didn’t have too much competition from that standpoint. South Pike was shut out in its first two games against 4A Brookhaven and McComb before squeaking out a 14-12 win over Warren Central.
After Friday’s blowout, Martin finally might be calm, cool and confident in what the Eagles can do over the rest of the season.
Despite learning the offense over the summer and having his teammates behind him, Martin wasn’t hitting on all cylinders to start the year.
He did break his first play of the season for 32 yards against McComb, but even then his teammates had to make sure he calmed down.
“That was the most exciting game I’ve ever played,” Martin said. “The offense and coaches told me to calm down and I finally got settled.”
The input from his teammates has helped to get the Eagles on track pretty quick since Martin knows he hasn’t been the only one learning the veer.
“We’re all on the same road,” Martin said. “We put a lot of new stuff in with the veer and it’s all coming together, but we still have to work hard.”
Friday’s taste of a good offense and the defense’s “heck of a job” let the Eagles put the early season behind them.
“It was a way better game offensively and defensively,” he said. “Now we know what it feels like to put points on the board.”
Martin estimated that South Pike was at 90 percent offensive efficiency against Wilkinson County. Then he shoehorned a lot into the final 10 percent the Eagles need to work on.
“I have to get under control,” Martin said. “We have to work hard all the time, we all have to work together.
“We just have to get everything working.”
Martin has had a lot of help in the backfield. John Taylor, Owen Royal Jr. and Jasper Martin along with the offensive line have all brought the Eagles along.
With Tevin Martin being a freshman, leading the offense was a little tough at first, but he’s figured out how to handle being one of the younger players in the huddle and being in charge.
“I watched most of these guys when I was younger,” Martin said. “Like I looked up to them, they look to me to do my part.”
They’re certainly willing to help. Taylor ran for 110 yards and a touchdown against Wilkinson County. Jasper Martin and Royal also scored touchdowns.
A balanced attack with the veer can be tough to contain and the Eagles are on their way to having one, which bodes well for their goals on the season.
“We want to win district,” Martin said. “Go into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, but we have a lot of hard games left.”
