BVA has weapons to compete for a title
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
If things go the way Belle Vernon Area head coach Matt Humbert is hoping, this season could be a very special one on “The Beach” at James Weir Stadium.
This year’s squad is a little different than past Leopards teams. Usually a line- and strength-heavy team, that’s not the case this year and Belle Vernon’s opponents know it.
Yes, the Leopards return senior quarterback Devin Whitlock, who electrified football fans around the Valley with his shake-and-bake ability. Then there’s sophomore running back Quinton Martin, a 6-3 stud who’s ranked among the top players in his class in the entire nation and has a handful of Division I scholarship offers already.
Whitlock will guide the BVA offense after completing 35 of 75 passes for 528 yards and rushing for 1,082 yards with an average of over 10 yards per carry. He threw for five touchdowns and ran for 15.
Martin rushed for 428 yards last season after the Leopards lost starter Dane Anden to an injury. He also caught six passes for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The scariest thing for opposing defenses is the improvement both have made heading into this season.
“We wanted Devin to work on his ability to make the throws we want him to make in the passing game,” Humbert said. “That was the goal in the offseason and I think he’s done that. He needs to stretch teams vertically more. Teams know he’s at his best when he’s on the perimeter, but he needs to be a threat to throw the ball when those teams are looking for him to run.
“He’s throwing the intermediate routes and he can always be better at the RPO reads, but we’ve really been focused on him developing his arm more.”
Undoubtedly, moving to running back will put the ball in Martin’s hands more.
“Progression-wise, he does all the right things. He’s going to be better. With a player so young, it’s always the mental side of things,” Humbert said. “He’s living up to the hype he gets. He does everything we as coaches ask him to do, and he does the extra things when he’s not in drills. He’s working with the line coaches and working on his blocking. The kid is literally good at everything on the football field.”
Teams will have to be careful, though, when it comes to game planning for the Leps.
“Teams want to focus on taking Devin and Q out of a game, we know that,” Humbert said. “Our plan all along was to make the entire team better. Building our depth and our other guys. We’re really confident that if teams scheme too much on taking those other guys out of the game, we have a lot of other talented guys that we can rely on.”
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s special football edition in the Mon Valley Independent. Call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
