In the time it took him to graduate high school, Amarillo College freshman and former Bovina football player Fernando Martinez has been through more than most adults. From losing his mother in a car accident his freshman year to suffering a freak season-ending injury his senior year, Martinez has faced a lot of loss and adversity over the past four years.
However, his story is not just one of heartbreak. Instead, it’s one of resiliency, the love and sacrifice of a high school principal, and, of course, Texas high school football.
Martinez immigrated from Honduras as a child and originally settled in Farwell, Texas, a town of 1,363 people located on the New Mexico border in the Panhandle.
In seventh grade, Martinez moved 14 miles northeast to the town of Bovina (population 1,800) and found a community that greeted him with open arms.
“I was kind of nervous to move [to Bovina] because they were [Farwell’s] rival,” Martinez said. “But when I first moved here, there were a lot of good people that had welcoming arms. The kids here were really nice.”
His move to Bovina also coincided with his first taste of football.
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