Anderson County's Stanton Martin shows off arm, legs in win over Carter

He can throw. He can run.

Now, Stanton Martin just needs to stay healthy.

The junior quarterback at Anderson County put his skills on display during Thursday night’s 55-27 win at Carter (0-1). 

The Mavericks (1-0) trailed 27-25 at the half.

“I think he’s the best (quarterback) in East Tennessee,” Anderson County coach Davey Gillum said. “He played awesome tonight, but he’s better than what everybody saw.

"First game, we didn’t play real clean. We missed some throws and things, but as the season goes and everybody calms down, and even in the second half we calmed down, I think we’ll see in time he’s as good as I’ve seen in 25 years around East Tennessee football.”

Martin, listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, finished with 193 rushing yards — averaging 17.5 yards on 11 carries — and two touchdowns. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

Injuries derailed Martin’s first two seasons.

As a freshman, Martin got his first start in the fourth game of the season against Oak Ridge and suffered a torn labrum. Last year, Martin sustained a broken jaw against Catholic in the seventh game.

“Last year I said we weren’t going to call designed runs (for Martin) because we didn’t want him to get hurt, and he got a late hit after a pass (and got hurt against Catholic),” Gillum said. “Stanton’s put on about 17 pounds of muscle from last year. He’s spent a lot of time in the weight room with our weight coach and been on a diet to try and get his body ready.

"But as great a passer as he is, and as creative as he is, he’s just as good a runner.”

Martin relies on his faith when it comes to injury worries.

“You can’t think about it,” he said. “You can’t play scared and worry that you’re going to get hurt. You’ve just got to rely on (God).”

Martin completed one of his first four passes against Carter, and it was a shovel pass for no gain.

His first big completion came when he rifled a 26-yard touchdown pass across the middle to Dalton Wilson.

“I couldn’t do what I do without (Martin),” Wilson said. “It’s nice, always knowing you’ve got a quarterback to rely on to get you the ball.”

In the first half, Martin completed 10 of 18 passes for 157 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He rushed for 32 net yards on 6 carries and scored on a 24-yard run before halftime.

“I was definitely anxious and nervous coming into it,” Martin said. “I had an interception, made some bad reads, but we buckled down in the second half. Being able to rely on my offensive line to run the ball and get those open gaps, it took some pressure off of me when I wasn’t making the throws.”

Dave Link is a freelance contributor.