2020 Season Recap Program Profile: Mart

Mart has been one of the most elite football programs in Texas 2A Division II, having eight state championships overall, and three as a 2A school. Mart would have captured its fourth straight state title but fell to Windthorst 22-21 on Dec. 16 at Cowboys Stadium. Before last Wednesday, Mart had won a state title in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a 2A school. As a 1A school, the Panthers won state titles in 1957, 1969, 1999, 2006 and 2010. The move up to 2A has not stopped Mart in dominating most of Texas in both of these classes and continues to have a lot of history. A win over Windthorst would have also set a record with nine state titles. Mart would have also finished the season undefeated but closed it off at 14-1. Still, Mart had a successful season despite the loss, as making it to the state championship four times in a row is a tough thing to do, so it is worth looking back on Mart’s season and the Panthers’ top athletes in a year that was different thanks to COVID-19. Firstly, it is important to look at the team’s offensive leader in senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60238" first="Roddrell" last="Freeman"]. A mobile quarterback, Freeman had an electric year, throwing for 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions and rushing for 1,853 yards and 31 touchdowns. When throwing the ball, Freeman’s best game was against Chilton on Oct. 2, when he threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. In rushing, it was on Dec.4 against Tenaha, during the playoffs, when he rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns, including a 70-yard dash. Freeman has had an excellent career with Mart. In his junior year, he rushed for 2,138 yards and 39 touchdowns, and in his sophomore year, he rushed for 823 yards and 21 touchdowns. Freeman has shown Texas that he is a versatile mobile quarterback with a lot of talent and potential, and one of the many reasons of Mart’s success this year. The other leading rushers include junior running back <strong>Kei’Shawn Clater</strong> and junior running back <strong>Klyderion Campbell</strong>. Clater rushed for 971 yards and 15 touchdowns this season while Campbell rushed for 912 yards and 19 touchdowns. This duo of running backs caused mayhem for opposing defensives, and adding Freeman to that mix, makes for one of the deadliest offenses in Texas. Clater’s best game was against McGregor on Sept. 4, when he rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns. For Campbell, it was against Tenaha on Dec. 4, when he rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yard stride. Considering Mart likes to run the ball often, the receiving corps lacks in stats but makes up for it in talent. The leader is sophomore <strong>De’Traevion Medlock</strong>, who had 497 yards and six touchdowns this season with his best game coming against Falls City during the playoffs on Dec. 10. In that game, he had five receptions for 157 yards and three touchdowns, with his longest reception being for 79 yards. Clater is also a receiving leader on the team and his best game was against Whitney on Sept. 18, when he had four receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Last but not least on the leading receivers is junior <strong>Da’Marion Medlock</strong>, who had 244 receiving yards and two touchdowns with his best performance coming against Hubbard on Oct. 16, when he had two receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Da’Marion Medlock was also the leading tackler, recording 101 total tackles this season with 41 being solo tackles and 60 being assisted. He averaged 9.2 tackles per game and also recorded 14 tackles for a loss. On top of that, he also recorded a sack this season, but the leader in sacks was actually Freeman, who recorded six sacks this year with seven quarterback hurries. Freeman also had two fumble recoveries on the year and totaled 74 tackles. In the secondary, it was De’Traevion Medlock who led the team with four interceptions. He also had one forced fumble and four pass deflections. Not far behind him was Clater, who had three interceptions for 123 yards. He also had five pass deflections, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Mart is always a team to watch in 2A and considering that the Panthers will have most of their players from this year returning, the team will look to get back to the state championship and take home a ninth title overall next year.