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Show MARTIN TELAROLI Is Just Happy To Be Playing By DAVE WIGHAM BOUNTIFUL Just as the offense has statistics, so does the defense. Points are given for unassisted tackles, assisted tackles, quarterback sacks, intercepted in-tercepted passes, fumble recoveries re-coveries and just about everything every-thing and anything else you could think of. AT THE end of each high school game the coaches add up these points and they get a general idea of which players are performing well. At View-mont View-mont the name of Martin Telaroli keeps coming up as the number one point getter in their games. In three of their first four outings it was the middle linebackers name that was at the head of the list. Being a middle linebacker does have it's advantages in that you're usually in the thick of the action, but Martin still believes it's not just playing that spot that has him at the top. "Sure the position gets me there but the tackle still has to be made. The first game I was out of position a lot of times and got into trouble for it but when I play it honestly I'm usually right in the thick of things. JUST BEING able to play football is a blessing to Martin. As a youngster the doctors wouldn't let him participate. "I would bruise real easy, If I got a mosquito bite it would bruise. They have a technical term for it but all I know is they wouldn't let me play football." Martin would still get involved in-volved in play ground stuff, even though it would scare his parents and doctors out of their wits. BEING OUT of football all those years may have helped Martin in the long run. "When I did get permission to play I was a lot more anxious to play than some of those who had been playing for several years. I wanted to get after it." It was at Centerville Jr. High that he began his official career. But it wasn't an instant success story. "The first week of practice I wasn't used at all, but about one week before our first game they stuck me at nose guard. I made a couple of good hits and the coaches decided de-cided to take a good look at this new kid. Soon they moved me to linebacker so I could get involved in-volved more." DURING HIS junior high playing days Martin gained a reputation and a nickname. "They called me "animal' because be-cause I was always getting after af-ter it hard and for some reason I started growling a lot." As a sophomore at View-mont View-mont he started to forget the offense and concentrated on being a linebacker. As a junior he tried out for a running back but by his own admission he didn't have the speed to get the job done, so he returned to the line and played offensive guard. MARTIN HAS seen the good times and the bad times with his senior team mates. "Right now we're in a slump, none of us want to lose and we'll do anything to win. We would love to beat Woods Cross this week. Last year when we beat both Bountiful and Woods Cross we were the best team in this area. It would be nice to do that again." he said. Basically, though, Martin is excited about getting the chance to play high school football. A chance he never got as a youngster growing up. |
