Paul Martin mentioned Friday night in a 32-27 victory over Lehighton that he didn't realize he carried the ball 30 times for 245 yards. Martin might not have noticed the chunks of yardage he was gaining, but the Indians sure did and so did most around him as Martin's week 1 performance earned him TIMES NEWS Player of the Week honors.

It was no secret going into Marian's week one match-up with Lehighton that Martin was going to be the focal point of Marian's offense."Paul is an experienced back who worked really hard this off-season", said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "We wanted to give him a lot of touches against Lehighton, because he is no doubt our main force running the football."Martin seems to have the same force as a bowling ball when hitting the pins, but instead of hitting pins Martin focuses on running over linebackers and defensive backs. The Colts running back constantly broke through the Lehighton defense serving as the main option on long scoring drives of 70 and 73 yards both capped off by Martin touchdowns."Paul really looks primed to have a great year for us", added Dakosty. "He came into the season looking impressive in both our scrimmages and he really looks ready to go."Martin believes the keys to his elevated play is due to a more intense off-season workout plan and his teammates becoming closer over the Summer."I did a lot more weight training this season than I ever did", stated Martin. "I also am better because everybody improved over the off-season and I believe that's because we all became a lot closer as a team."Martin is also the first to admit that he wouldn't have been able to run so effectively without the great blocking he recieved against the Indians."The line was great against Lehighton", added Martin. "They were firing off the ball great and pushing their guys all over the place."The Marian offensive line lived up to the pre-season hype against Lehighton and as the season goes on Coach Dakosty believes his line and running back are vital to their success."We have three experienced guys who have been three year starters for us on the line with Anthony Pilla (C, 5-11, 230), Michael Skotek (T, 6-0, 240), and Brendan McGowan (T, 6-5, 285)", said Dakosty. "The line is where it starts for us offensively and if we want to be successful they have to continue to play well."In order for the Colts to keep winning it's evident that Martin will need to continue his rushing dominance but the Colt's running back believes they need to take one game at a time."We have to keep playing hard and keep ourselves honest", said Martin. "I think we have a good team but we can't waste time thinking about expectations. We just need to take it one game at at time right now."Next up for the Colts is their Anthracite Football League opener at Schuylkill Haven.