INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – For Brian Martinez, head coach of Incline High School’s football team, the Saturday, Nov. 23, state championship game against Pershing County High School represents the culmination of his eight-year coaching journey. The Highlanders are on the verge of their first state title since 1973, carrying an undefeated record into the championship showdown at McQueen High School in Reno at 10 a.m. 

“When I took over about eight years ago, it was like the ultimate goal was to win state,” Martinez said. “We’ve been making it to playoffs, but this is the first time we’re actually going to the state game. So, it’s kind of overwhelming emotion … we spend eight months a year working on this, and to see these kids fulfill their destiny is just the most rewarding thing you’re going to get as a coach.” 

The path to the championship game has been anything but conventional. Early in the season, the highly anticipated regular-season matchup between undefeated Incline and Pershing County was canceled due to the Davis Fire. Without that head-to-head result, a point differential formula ultimately positioned Incline as the number two seed. 

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According to MaxPreps, going into the game Pershing County is 11-0 and Incline is 10-0. 

“Because we didn’t get to play, then we ended up the number two seed, which was a much harder route to, in my opinion, much harder route to the state championship,” Martinez said. 

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The team’s preparation for this historic season began long before the first kickoff. 

“We started training on June 3,” Martinez said. “And then we trained all summer long, four days a week, minimally, sometimes seven days a week, three hours a day.” 

The team’s dedication was evident from the start. 

“These kids were super motivated, so when I said, ‘hey, let’s train three days a week,’ they said, ‘how about four?’ That was their mentality,” Martinez said. “We were doing weights three or four days a week, running, and a lot of learning, because we knew we’re susceptible to getting canceled for fires or whatever, so we needed to know everything before our season even started.” 

The summer included two camps that helped validate the team’s potential. 

“We attended the Biggest Little City Football Camp put on by Kenny Viser to get the season started,” Martinez said. “Based on the feedback from the camp coaches, we knew we had something special.” 

What sets this team apart is their exceptional work ethic, Martinez said. 

“It’s off the charts, and their attitudes … they came out of the box with winning attitudes, with work ethic, but they’re just never done working, and it makes a coach’s life very easy when all you have to do is teach football.” 

The team has 15 seniors, an unusually large number for a small school, including standout quarterback Tommy Williams, who was named Offensive Player of the Year for their 2A division. Another key player, Lucas McNamara, earned Defensive Player of the Year honors but will unfortunately miss the championship game due to a knee injury sustained in last week’s semifinal. 

“So that was a huge bummer, and we’re playing for McNamara this week,” Martinez said. 

The varsity roster also includes 10 juniors and 4 sophomores.

That semifinal victory against Needles High School proved to be one of the season’s most challenging tests, with Incline prevailing 12-8 in what Martinez described as a “dogfight type of game.” 

“We hadn’t really been challenged that much this season, and we knew that was going to be a really, really tough game against Needles,” Martinez said. “It was two really, really well-matched teams. And, you know, I think if we played 10 times, we would each win five, it was that close.” 

The victory wasn’t secured until the final minute. 

“We didn’t know we had it until there was less than a minute left, and we were able to kneel down and run the clock out,” Martinez said. “That’s when I was like, it happened. Before that, it was just, that team, they’re really good, and they can score on any play.” 

As the team prepares for Saturday’s championship game, Martinez emphasized the bigger picture. 

“We need to support our boys,” Martinez said. “They’ve worked so hard, and we’ve been playing for the pride of our community. Since day one, eight years ago, that was one of my big things is, you need to be proud of the school you’re from, the town you’re from, and not think people are better because they’re from a different town.” 

Martinez and the other coaches, Cory Colflesh, Tim Cleary, Bob Silva, Justin Garcia, Cory Coombes, Tom Jones, and Michael Sacci, encouraged the community to attend. 

“We’re here to represent not only Incline Village, but like everybody who ever played in that high school,” Martinez said. “We have a whole bunch of players from the last eight years that are going to be there supporting us. When we win, it’ll be for everybody, not just us.”