Martinez returns, as Panthers claw Wizards, 35-0

By Mike Zummo
Posted 10/12/22

Richie Martinez was forced to watch the Wallkill football team’s Battle of the Valley victory over the Valley Central Vikings after receiving a concussion in the previous game, a feeling he …

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Martinez returns, as Panthers claw Wizards, 35-0

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Richie Martinez was forced to watch the Wallkill football team’s Battle of the Valley victory over the Valley Central Vikings after receiving a concussion in the previous game, a feeling he called “horrendous.”

He returned to the lineup on Saturday, and his return paid immediate dividends, as he caught four touchdown passes and made three interceptions in the Panthers’ 35-0 win over the Washingtonville Wizards on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s amazing,” Martinez said. “Words can’t even describe it to be honest. It’s surreal.”

He wasn’t the only person to have a big day. Quarterback Chris Bartolone is believed to have set a team record with five touchdown passes. Mason Ondreyko caught the other touchdown pass.

Bartolone has never thrown five touchdown passes in a game at any level.

“(The receivers) are everything,” Bartolone said. “The O-line, Sean (Perrin) at running back. Without them up front, I can’t get the ball off, and without them catching the ball, I’m nothing.”

They were all something on Saturday and the Panthers have made a mess of Section 9 Class A Division 1. The win pulled them into a first-place tie with the Wizards for the division lead with one league game remaining, against the Minisink Valley Warriors, who are tied with the Wildcats, the only division team the Panthers have lost to.

“This was a big statement,” Martinez said. “Just because (Washingtonville) beat Minisink and Minisink beat Warwick. It shows that we’re better than we really are.”

The Panthers got off the ball quickly on Saturday, and Martinez needed no time to adjust after missing a game. On the offense’s fourth play, Bartolone found him deep along the right numbers for a 50-yard touchdown pass.

On the next drive, his 47-yard catch-and-run gave the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

“He’s one of the better athletes we’ve had here in a long time,” Wallkill coach Joe Pillitteri said. “Just the combination of size and physicality. I think what’s most important about him is he knows it’s a team effort. He rallies his guys. He leads by example, and he buys into the team atmosphere.”

He also stopped the Wizards’ first opportunity to score late in the second quarter. With the Wizards marching, Martinez intercepted Washingtonville quarterback Kai Bohunicky and ran the ball back to the Panthers’ 33-yard line.

“He’s so versatile,” Pilliterri said. “We played him at safety, corner and linebacker. He can really do it all. The guys around him really complement him. And when we get our product on the field, when we get our best 11 guys on both sides of the ball, we can really do some things.”

The Panthers delivered the knockout blow with two quick third-quarter touchdowns.

After a big fourth-down stop, the Panthers took over on their own 37-yard line. Bartolone delivered a short pass, and Martinez did the rest to finish off a 63-yard touchdown.

The next sequence belonged to Ondreyko, who intercepted Bohunicky, and then caught passes of 26 and 22 yards, the latter of which went for a touchdown, giving Wallkill a 28-0 lead.

“We didn’t really change much,” Pillitteri said. “We just spoke about executing, and I, as a play caller, needed to put Chris in a better position. We feel as though in the third quarter, we did that, and he executed, and it was great.”

Martinez put the icing on the cake with a 17-yard fourth quarter touchdown, setting up a key meeting with the Warriors on October 21.

“This one was huge,” Bartolone said. “Obviously, it has a lot of playoff implications on it. A couple of weeks, after that tough loss to Warwick, seeing Minisink beat Warwick last night shows that this year is really special.”