Bell-Jeff football unloads on St. Genevieve

A year ago Saturday, the Bellarmine-Jefferson High football team took the field on homecoming night eager to triumph for the home faithful against St. Genevieve. The Valiants of Panorama City did the Guards no favors by winning convincingly.

One year later, on homecoming night for St. Genevieve, Bell-Jeff took the field ready to exact revenge for last season’s defeat. The Guards used junior running back Josh Martinez almost exclusively in a 55-28 win. Bell-Jeff Coach David Machuca would not relent feeding the ball to Martinez, who finished with 32 carries for 320 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

In the first half, Martinez contributed to 90 percent of the team’s offensive production with 238 yards rushing.

“Josh is one of the best players we got and probably the best player in the league,” Machuca of his star running back.

The Guards ran into halftime with a resounding 34-6 lead. Martinez scored four first-half touchdowns and senior tight end Andrew Belsito scored on a trick play.

After halftime, the Guards piled it on some more with two touchdowns by senior quarterback Mitch Kellogg and Martinez turning the score to a very comfortable 47-6 lead.

Valiants running back Anthony Blue’s five-yard run up the middle with 2:35 in the third quarter started a 22-0 run, giving the homecoming crowd motivation to cheer.

The Guards took the win with great celebration knowing what happened last year.

“We had to return the favor from last year. This is a little bit of revenge,” said Martinez.

“I love getting the ball. Everyone knows I love getting the ball. (Coach) knows that I want the ball so he trusts me to run well with it,” said Martinez.