Granada Hills Passing Game Shows Up, 43-6

Can the quarterback of a team that is unbeaten in two games and considered the best in the Valley still feel like the odd man out, like a guy who just bought riverfront property on the pristine, cement banks of the Los Angeles River?

At pass-oriented Granada Hills High, where quarterback success can practically be measured in miles, not yards, Bryan Martin was feeling the pressure. Simply put, he wasn’t covering enough real estate.

Martin, a junior transfer from Illinois, sputtered in his first two games, passing for 46 yards, a sum many previous Highlander quarterbacks accrued in the first series of downs. In Friday’s 43-6 win over Hamilton, Martin showed that the future might again be bright, completing 15 of 25 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns in a nonconference City Section game at Hamilton.

Indeed, things are looking up.

“The game plan was to go to the air more today, just to get our confidence up,” co-Coach Tom Harp said. “This will help a lot.”

Martin threw scoring passes of seven and 15 yards and completed eight of 10 attempts in the second and third quarters. He was one guy who was thrilled to have gone from err to air, if you will.

“Today, I was thinking, ‘I have to get the job done, I have to get the completions,’ ” Martin said. “Last week was erratic, I wasn’t as erratic today. Hopefully, I’ll improve each week.”

Granada Hills (3-0), ranked No. 1 in the Valley by The Times, seems to be getting better with each game too. The defense held Hamilton (1-1) to 16 yards in the first half, by which time the Highlanders had taken a 21-0 lead.

Brett Washington, a starter at tailback and linebacker, scored on a seven-yard pass from Martin and on a 38-yard draw play to give the Highlanders a 14-0 lead with 11:37 left in the first half. Leon Glasgow, sidelined briefly because of a sprained left ankle, then scored on a 29-yard run on his first and only carry of the game for the three-touchdown, halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same. Hamilton scored first to close within 21-6, but Granada Hills scored the final 22 points.