By ANDREW GOODMAN

Herald Sports Writer

Joe Martinek got a rare opportunity.

He started as a freshman running back.

If Martinek played at any other school, he would never have gotten that chance. But Hopatcong coach Paul Reduzzi came from Belividere, where he had some standout freshmen.

"The advantage I had coming from a Group I school, was that we had always started at least one freshman," Reduzzi said. "We had been successful, so starting a freshman on the varsity wasn't something that was unheard of."

But Martinek was a running back. If there's one position a freshman may not be ready to play, it would be running back. The beating is unlike any other.

So Reduzzi had some concerns, but he analyzed the situation in another fashion.

"If you have a 14-year-old daughter, you don't want her to date an 18-year-old guy," Reduzzi said. "But we were putting a 14-year-old kid against 18-year-old linebackers. It was different."

Martinek's performance proved Reduzzi's decision was correct. He ran for over 1,300 yards and was a key to Hopatcong's offense.

Without that year, Martinek's probable accomplishment today against Kittatinny wouldn't be possible. Martinek, who's now a senior and will play at Rutgers next year, only needs 134 yards to break the state rushing record of 6,720 yards — held by Keyport's Kenny Cattouse, who set the record in 2003.

Heading into that year, Martinek said he knew he may play early if he could impress Reduzzi during scrimmages. And he did enough to earn significant playing time.

Martinek still had some concerns about playing at the varsity level.

"I knew that I had the ability, I just wasn't sure if the season was going to go the way I wanted it to," Martinek said. "It worked out pretty well."

But Martinek still had a long way to go. The running back he was then is in a different world from the back he is now.

"I'd go down easily," Martinek said. "Now it takes three or four people to bring me down. Freshman year, a one-person arm tackle would bring me down."

Fatigue may have contributed to that. Martinek got the ball a lot more than he was used to.

"Experience is huge," Martinek said. "It was a lot different. Usually I was getting five carries a game and three touchdowns when I was in midgets.

"Now I was getting 20 to 30 carries a game."

Seeing game action benefited Martinek's career not only in statistics. There was an intangible quotient that helped Martinek.

If he didn't play much, it may have affected his mindset.

"It would be hard to take a year off just because I'm so competitive," Martinek said. "If I took a year off and didn't play a lot, I'd be kind of down."

But Martinek wasn't the only freshman who saw significant time. Linemen Matt Imroth and Zach Rey were also freshmen who played on that team. Reduzzi said their presence on the field made Martinek feel even more comfortable.

But Hopatcong suffered through a 1-9 season that year.

It didn't help when the fans voiced their displeasure. It was difficult for Reduzzi, but even harder on Martinek, who was in the spotlight for the first time.

"We had a rough season," Reduzzi said. "Joe went for 325 yards against Lenape Valley and we were booed the next week for giving him the ball. It was a tough thing for me to take and I know it was tougher for Joe."

But fast forward three years and the fans are no longer unhappy .

Martinek was a key in Hopatcong's 5-5 record two years ago.

And last season was as good as it gets for Martinek. He led the Chiefs to a North I, Group II state title. He ran for 2,508 yards, 28 touchdowns and was First-Team All-State.

The spectacular 2005 season and the pursuit of the record may not be possible if Martinek didn't go through his experiences as a freshman.

"I can talk to people and say I've been through it all," Martinek said. "I've been through the best and the worst and I've been through the middle."

Today, he'll go through a day unlike any other. But if he didn't play as much as a freshman, today's game would be just like any other.