Last year, 15-year-old Ian Martilla was just like many other boys his age. He just wrapped up his sophomore year at Iron Mountain where he was the starting QB of the JV football team and was a starting point guard on the varsity basketball team. During the summer he was doing what many kids do, help out family with some chores and things that need doing.
One morning, he was mowing the lawn in front of his grandfather’s house, when suddenly everything changed.
As he was mowing an area going downhill, he slipped. As his right leg extended, his foot slipped underneath the mower, the blade slicing through his shoe. After Ian was marched to the emergency room, X-Rays determined he had suffered broken bones and sliced his big toe tendon in half. He was then flown to Children’s Wisconsin Hospital in Milwaukee.
Ian would undergo four separate surgeries, that all-in-all put in 6 pins, 30 stitches, a bone graft, and a plate with 6 screws. Ian was finally released from physical therapy after 5 months, after learning how to push off with his other four toes due to not having a joint in his big toe.
Last Thursday, after an excruciatingly long year filled with concern, the Mountaineers took the field against Houghton at home in their season opener, with Ian Martilla making his first career varsity start at quarterback for his father Robin, the head coach.
Martilla led the Mountaineers to a huge 56-6 victory, completing 6 of 9 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, telling the Iron Mountain Daily News after, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
Martilla made his second start Thursday night, with the Mountaineers hosting Bark River-Harris.
For more local sports coverage tune into the Sports Drive weekdays from 3-4pm with myself and Tyler Young on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 – 99.9
