Warren

Oh brother

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

Martinez brothers make twice the impact for Warren De La Salle football

WARREN — Warren De La Salle senior receivers/cornerbacks Jim and John Martinez are mirror images on and off the field.

Jim had four receiving touchdowns after four weeks, and his twin brother, John, had three. Jim had also intercepted three passes, while John had recovered two fumbles.

All those similarities make it nearly impossible to decipher which brother is which.

“I’ve given up on calling them Jimmy or John,” coach Paul Verska said of the brothers, who live in Auburn Hills. “I just yell, ‘Martinez.’ When they ask which one, I say, ‘You.’”

While Verska may not always be able to tell his stars apart, what is clear is what sets them apart.

“A lot of kids have ability, but they have a hate-to-lose attitude,” Verska said. “When they were sophomores, we saw they were tremendous athletes and they were very competitive.”

While they may be next to impossible to tell apart at times, one person who can is De La Salle senior quarterback Josh Sinagoga, a Madison Heights resident.

“We’ve got really good chemistry,” Sinagoga said. “We’re good friends, too. I’ve been playing with them since eighth-grade basketball, so I know them pretty well.”

Along with knowing them, Sinagoga has grown to appreciate how much easier they make his job at quarterback.

“They run great routes and make amazing cuts,” Sinagoga said. “As a defensive back, I wouldn’t want to try and cover them. I’m glad they’re on our side.”

The reason for the Martinez brothers’ competitive drive and ability can be traced to a lifetime of working together and pushing one another.

“When we were younger, my dad used to be quarterback, and one of us would be receiver and the other would be defensive back,” John said.

We’d play a lot of man-to-man. We’d always have someone to go against and work with.”

Once they arrived on the De La Salle varsity football team as sophomore cornerbacks in 2006, they didn’t have to look far for people who shared that work ethic and competitive drive.

The duo shared the defensive backfield with senior safeties Don Fowler and Shane Torzy and formed a unit that played a pivotal role in the Pilots’ drive to the program’s first state championship game.

“Shane Torzy and Don Fowler were two of the hardest working guys you’d ever see,” said John.

“They really set us up by showing us what we needed to do and how hard we needed to work.”

That combination of commitment and an endless drive to compete is why Verska is happy there are two of them — even if he can’t always tell which one he’s talking to.

“Whether it’s ping-pong, Madden or whatever they’re doing, they want to win,” Verska said. “They’re overachievers when it comes to the emotional part of the game; they’re not going to cheat you on effort.”

At press time, DLS was 5-0 overall, 2-0 in the Catholic League Central Division.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.