Illinois high school football players have been waiting a long time to get back on the field for a game. Waukegan senior Martin Sotomayor has been waiting longer than most.
Sotomayor, a two-way lineman, missed last season after breaking a team rule during summer 2019. He has worked his way back and become a leader for the Bulldogs, who open the six-week season at Stevenson on Friday. He’ll start on both sides of the ball.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I got a whole bunch of emotions built up going into Friday.”
According to Waukegan coach Jonathan Hadnott, Sotomayor showed impressive leadership traits early in his high school career, driving to pick up teammates and bring them to summer practice once he got his license. His absence during the 2019 season left a hole on the offensive and defensive lines.
“It hurt us big time,” Hadnott said. “We had a couple of games that we could have won last year, and I think that if he would have been there, we would have taken them. He learned from that. He was at those games, and he saw where we had our challenges.”
An athletic lineman at 6 feet and 240 pounds, Sotomayor started for Waukegan as a sophomore. Watching the Bulldogs go winless last season provided him with extra motivation.
“It was really hard seeing them take the field knowing that I put in hard work all summer, all season,” Sotomayor. “All I had to do was take all of that and put it into this offseason — a minor setback for a major comeback.”
Sotomayor focused on improving his strength and technique during the offseason. He’ll play left guard on offense and different roles on the defensive line.
Just as important to the Bulldogs this season is Sotomayor’s leadership. They haven’t won a game since 2016, but the current senior class has Hadnott feeling confident a win is coming sooner than later. Leading that group is Sotomayor, who stuck with the program after not being allowed to play last season.
“He’s a kid that easily could have walked away and turned his back on us, and he didn’t,” Hadnott said. “I tell these guys about the culture and doing things the right way, whether in front of me or behind my back. They have to do those things. That’s one of the things I’ve asked Martin to help do, especially with the younger kids and some of his peers.”
Sotomayor said he has become more vocal within the program since his freshman year.
“Coming in as a freshman, I wasn’t a leader,” he said. “I was just that kid in the back. The more I’ve come to practice, it’s taught me a bunch of different leadership skills. You can’t always just be the kid in the back. You’ve got to step up and lead the team if you want success.”
Sotomayor has set goals for this season. He wants Waukegan to beat Zion-Benton at home on March 26, and he wants 15 sacks.
“I also want to have my running back rush for 500 yards,” he said. “Hopefully some of those touchdowns come from blocks from me.”
Nick Frazier is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
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