Martinsen Named Defensive MVP At Northeast Classic

​Recent Boone County graduates were all over the field Saturday at the Northeast Nebraska Football Classic at Norfolk’s Memorial Field.

Boone Central’s Brenden Beierman, Will Frey, Jon Merten and Weston Choat joined Riverside’s Ty Martinsen on the White squad.

Holding a 10-0 lead late in the first half, Martinsen jumped a pass and took 49-yards to the house to give the White team a 17-0 advantage at the break.

“I was drifting over into my zone and next moment later, he threw it right to me,” Martinsen recalled. “I hauled my butt down the field.”

After a Connor Clayton field goal gave the White team a 20-0 lead, the Red squad responded with 13 unanswered points.

O’Neill St. Mary’s Grady Semin recovered an onside kick with two second remaining in the game to give the Red team a chance to tie the ball game or take the lead.

The Red squad executed a perfect hook-and-ladder, but the White team’s last line of defense, Oakland-Craig’s Robby Mayberry, brought down Randolph’s Noah Scott to prevent him from finding pay dirt and ending the game.

Martinsen was named defensive MVP for the White team. The former Charger collected seven tackles and an interception for a touchdown.

“It was a great experience and I loved this week,” Martinsen stated. “The key to the game was the defense being aggressive and making their reads.”

Frey also recorded seven tackles, Merten tallied three tackles, Beierman notched two tackles, while Choat anchor the offensive line and played on numerous special teams.

Martinsen competes at the Sertoma 8-man all-star game June 15 at 6 p.m. at Hastings College.