ARLINGTON 
The Arlington Martin offense rushed for more than 300 yards, but it was 99 yards by the Warriors defense that propelled them to a 41-10 victory against Odessa Permian in a Class 6A Division I area round game Friday at Maverick Stadium.

Seeking to reduce a 14-3 deficit in the second quarter, the Panthers had marched to the Martin 5-yard line. A fumble on the ensuing running play was scooped up by junior safety Jayce Godley and he raced 99 yards to increase the Martin lead to 21-3 just under five minutes before halftime.

“I loved the convoy of black jerseys he had with him as he ran down the field,” said Martin head coach Bob Wager, whose team improved to 11-1.

Godley said the Warrior escort was typical of his teammates’ reliability.

“It’s a great feeling, knowing I had those teammates around me to help me make it to the end zone,” Godley said. “We have built a brotherhood around each other.”

The game-changing play came after the Panthers (9-2) had intercepted a pass to start a drive at the Martin 25.

Martin will meet Allen (12-0) in the next round, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Southlake Carroll’s Dragon Stadium.

“We’re very excited to be playing them. They’re the standard,” Wager said of Allen, which is 87-3 with three state championships (2012-14) since 2012.

The Eagles ended the Warriors’ season in the third round in 2013 (69-54) and 2014 (36-11).

In Friday’s victory, Martin’s Montrell Smith rushed for 112 yards on 11 carries. Two touchdowns each were scored by quarterbacks Juma Otoviano (6 and 7 yards) and Brayden Willis (two 1-yarders), and Otoviano threw for an 8-yard score to Sorrell Brown.


