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Martin says he got strength from his grandmother, Martha Walker. ''My grandmother always says, 'When God takes something away from you, he always puts it back in other places.' "

Walker remembers that. ''I told him, 'He'll give you something else to get you through, " she says. ''He gave him strong arms, and a good will to do what he does."

Martin wound up second in both the city and state championships. Coach White and Martin devised a unusual strategy to maximize his arm strength.

''You'd get 2 points for a take-down," says Martin. ''So I'd tackle him, let him back up, and then tackle him again. And they wouldn't know what to do."

But Martin lost in the finals. ''He did some kind of move that put his elbow into my back and it made my shoulder kind of weak," he says. ''I just couldn't do nothing. It was a kind of cheap shot."

But this year as a senior, he decided to go out for football.

''My brother played when I was little," Martin says. ''He kind of inspired me. I wanted to try something new. In my head, I think I can try anything. I'm going to try and see if I can do it or not."