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Martin, 17, plays on special teams and is a backup nose tackle who sees limited playing time. But when he does, he fearlessly propels himself with gloved hands, his torso inches above the turf. He's agile and has tremendous arm strength. He makes cobra-like tackles and is the last defense on kickoff returns.

Don't tell him he is handicapped.

''I stand 3 foot 1 inch but I've got a soul of a 6-foot-4 person," he says. ''I have no disability. I can do anything everyone else does."

And then some.

When Martin sets his sights on something, he is unstoppable. He campaigned hard for king. He placed ''Bobby Martin 4 Homecoming King" signs all over the school and gave a passionate speech at a rally that ended with him doing rapid-fire pushups that were more like handstands. At least one of his opponents apologized for running against him and even promised to vote for him.

As halftime ends, Martin races into the locker room and trades his crown for his helmet. During the second half, he propels his body into a punter who has faked a kick. Martin grabs the runner's leg with a viselike grip and pulls. The runner flips; Martin is pumped. Heading off the field, he high-fives coaches and teammates, screaming, ''Bam, bam, yeah!" Even the referee taps his helmet.

''I just made a game play," he says. ''If it weren't for me, he would've scored. I swear. I saved the game once again. And that's the bottom line."

Actually, the Cougars are comfortably ahead of the Western Hill Mustangs, 21-0. But no matter. Everybody is invited along for the ride with Bobby. His friends call him Tony Hawk, after the legendary skateboarder, because he rides an oversized skateboard everywhere but on the football field. It was made by prisoners at a local jail.