High school football: Athletic QBs TJ Kramarz and Damon Martin helping their teams in multiple ways

Edward Little quarterback TJ Kramarz avoids Windham tacklers as he looks for daylight during the first half of last weeks game in Auburn.

Kramarz has run for 397 yards and six touchdowns this season.

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Elite athleticism makes Polands Damon Martin and Edward Littles TJ Kramarz perfect fits to be under center.

These two arent just quarterbacks who can throw the ball and make plays with their legs, both Martin and Kramarz are QBs whose running might their teams most dangerous offensive option.

I feel like our offense is definitely based off the run, Kramarz, a senior, said.

Like, we run a lot of plays where I could either hand the ball off or keep it myself.

And then theres a lot of, like, passing plays.

Like, all of our passing plays are me on the run.

So, like, I can either scramble it or just dump it off, which is perfect.

Head coach Rick Kramer said the Red Eddies view the the QB as another running back.

If you have skills, well put you in the position, because our quarterback is actually a fullback and a quarterback at the same time, so thats just how we run it, Edward Little coach Rick Kramer said.

We really dont have a kid that just plays quarterback.

Its like we have a mantra: no block, no rock.

So, in order to be whatever it is, you have to be able to block and run the rock.

The Knights, meanwhile, run the triple option.

Martin took over at quarterback last season when was a sophomore.

He said hes able to use more of his tools this year in the offense of first-year coach Seth Johnson.

I would say I fit more in this offense than I did in last years, because last years was more, it was tight, Martin said.

So I couldnt run the ball as much, I couldnt get outside.

This year, we kind of spread everybody out so we can use our athleticism and the players that we have to our advantage.

Johnson said Martin is more than just an athlete hes a smart football player who processes the game quickly.

He sees the field in a different way, Johnson said of Martin.

...

He fits in with the coaching staff more than he does the other players because he sees the field the same way we do.

So having a guy like that (who) can run your offense, he can just see what should be happening on the play before anybodys ever moved.

So he can see whats open.

He can make changes to the plays.

Poland quarterback Damon Martin throws while being pressured by Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale/Kents Hills Jacob Feith during an Oct.

5 game in Poland.

Martin has thrown for 641 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Daryn Slover/Sun Journal Kramarz and Martin are both three-sport athletes.

Kramarz is a starter on the Edward Little basketball team and plays shortstop for the baseball team.

Martin also plays basketball and in the spring he runs track.

Martin said both of his other sports help him on the gridiron.

He plays point guard for the Knights, so hes used to looking for holes and weaknesses in opposing defenses.

And track make him faster and tougher to catch when hes in the open field.

So far this season, Martin has 592 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 70 carries.

He also has completed 46 of 95 passing attempts for 641 yards and five passing touchdowns.

When Martin decides to run, hes looking for weak spots in the defense.

Honestly, when Im running, he said, because most of the time, youre not just going to see open grass, so I look for spots where theres one player, and if I can beat that guy, then I just know Im off to the races.

Poland quarterback Damon Martin finds room to run on his way to an 80-yard touchdown against Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale/Kents Hill earlier this month.

Martin, a junior, has 592 yards rushing and 641 yards passing, and has run for fives scores and thrown for five this season.

Daryn Slover/Sun Journal Even strong defenses have struggled to contain Martin.

Against unbeaten Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale/Kents Hill earlier this month, he had runs of 80 and 77 yards and finished with 160 yards rushing on 14 carries.

He also for 93 yards and two TDs.

His speed and football IQ also help him as a safety on the defensive side of the ball.

In last weeks win over Madison , Martin returned fumbles both of which he forced 107 and 41 yards for touchdowns, and he returned an interception 54 yards for touchdowns The 107-yard interception was picked by MaxPreps as the nations top play of the week .

He also played a role in three offensive scores: He ran for two TDs and racked up 111 yards rushing and threw a touchdown pass.

FIRST-TIMER This is season is the first time Kramarz has ever played football.

One of the reasons he decided to switch from golf to football was he knew the Red Eddies didnt have a starting QB, and he figured his athletic ability would translate to the gridiron.

So going into it, I kind of knew, I had somewhat of an idea, that I was going to be a QB, Kramarz said.

And me being able to move, be mobile, which has helped me a lot through this.

I havent really passed the ball much this year, its been mostly designed runs and stuff, which has been good.

Kramarz has rushed for 397 yards on 77 carries and six touchdowns and completed 32 of 76 passes for 419 yards and one touchdown.

Edward Little quarterback TJ Kramarz launches a long pass on a flea-flicker that resulted in the first touchdown of last weeks game against Windham in Auburn.

Kramarz has thrown for 419 yards and run for 397 this season, his first playing football.

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal While throwing a baseball isnt the same throwing a football, the former has helped Kramarz with the latter.

The arm angles are different and Kramarz even said that throwing footballs causes less discomfort in his arm.

Obviously, the throwing motion is a little different, so it kind of took a little bit to get used to, Kramarz said.

I havent thrown a baseball in a while, which is probably a good thing, but, yeah, it just took a little while to get used to, but once I got the hang of it, kind of, I got the arm strength to throw the rock.

Kramer said its not coincidence when athletic players are under center.

Well, I mean, high school quarterbacks probably are your most athletic kids, Kramer said.

But theyre probably the highest number of recruited kids in the country that play quarterback, because theyll take them to college, but TJ is just a competitor.

Hes learned a lot over the summer, took part in camps, and grown a great deal.

The problem is ...

one year is all we have him for.

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