Starting Lineup: This Exeter quarterback gets straight A’s when it comes to reading
To recognize the top players in Berks County football MikeDragoSports.com has selected the “Starting Lineup,” a preseason All-Berks team that includes the top linemen, backs, receivers, linebackers, and specialists.
Players are selected based on past performance, expected performance this season and college potential. Two-way players were given special consideration.
One player will be introduced each day throughout the preseason, in random order (the players are not ranked). This is the seventh installment of the series.
Riley Martinez, Exeter
| 6-2 | 203 | Senior | QB |
Riley Martinez was destined to be a quarterback.
His dad, James, has coached football Riley’s entire life, most notably as a quarterbacks coach. Young Riley accompanied him to camps all over the country, sat by his side during film breakdowns, and worked closely with him to soak up the finer points of the position.
“It’s helped me a lot being around quarterbacks my whole life,” said the Exeter senior, “knowing what a Division I quarterback looks like, how to get there, what effort needs to be put in.”
Riley’s put in the effort. He’s known as a tireless worker, willing to hit the weight room, stay after practice late to work with his receivers, head to Ohio or Florida or wherever he needs to get first-hand instruction from top people in the field.
“I’ve always been a quarterback,” he said. “It’s the thing I felt I could do the best. It’s been my passion since freshman year. I would wake up early every morning and start grinding. I was really hitting the gym hard, going to Garage Strength every day.”
Three years later he’s one of the best – if not the best – quarterbacks in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, on the radar of college programs, and one of the big reasons Exeter is favored to win Section 2.
“It’s a tremendous comfort to have him coming back,” said Eagles coach Matt Bauer of a player who could well end up as the program’s all-time passing leader.
“Riley is a fierce competitor, understands coverages, checks plays at the line of scrimmage,” Bauer said. “His film study is second to none. He consistently gets us into the right play call vs. the many fronts we see. He has the highest football IQ of any quarterback I’ve had.”
After working closely with noted quarterbacks coaches such as Wilson’s Chad Henne, former Wilson and Conestoga Valley coach Jim Cantafio, Brad Maendler of Ohio (he trained Penn State’s Drew Allar, among others), and Michael Slack of the National Football Academies, Martinez has the mental side of the game down.
He’s been breaking down film since he was 12; little of what he sees on a Friday night remains a mystery.
“Being a third-year starter, the games are going to slow down for me,” he said. “I’m better now at recognizing the defense, knowing what they’re doing before the play even starts. I know where to go with the ball within seconds of the snap.”
It wasn’t like that at first; it never is. In the 2023 season-opener, his first exposure to varsity football, things were flying around pretty fast.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” he said.
Martinez came off the bench that night against Daniel Boone and threw a touchdown pass, the first of many. He was the starter in Week 2 and went on to throw for 1,396 yards and 17 TDs as a sophomore.
He enters his final season with 2,412 passing yards and 33 TDs, against only 11 interceptions. He needs 1,364 yards to become the program’s all-time passing leader and nine touchdowns to break the record in that category.
He could become the first quarterback in program history to record three straight 1,000-yard seasons. He went over that figure last year, but just barely because his season was cut in half. He suffered a lower leg injury in Week 7 vs. Muhlenberg, didn’t play for the next five weeks, and saw only limited action in the Eagles’ final two postseason games.
He was on the way to a huge season, completing 63.6 percent of his passes, with 16 TDs and three interceptions. His was leading the league in passing efficiency rating when he went down; he ended up at 213.8, a figure that would stand as the program record had he had enough attempts to qualify.
“Jake (Hafer) did a great job filling my spot,” Martinez said, “but it was obviously tough seeing my team try to get as far as they could and me being on the sideline.”
Tough as that down time was his father thinks it will aid him in the long run.
“It was the first time he’s had some adversity like that,” James Martinez said. “That was good for his development. He had to learn how to handle coming back from that.”
Riley handled it by attacking the offseason. He tacked 15 pounds onto his now 200-pound frame. He went out for track and trained in the 100 to improve his foot speed. (He qualified for districts in the discus.)
He competed in prospect camps at Boston College, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, Delaware and other places. He made several trips throughout the spring and summer to Florida to work with Slack, who has helped refine his mechanics and improve his release time.
The results are obvious when you see the ball coming out of Martinez’s hand now.
“I’ve been to just about every trainer I can just to get better,” he said. “I’ve been working on finishing my release, following through. I’ve been trying to get my arm strength up. I couldn’t make some of the throws last year, but now I’m making sure I can make every single throw.
“(I’ve been focusing on) getting throws (out) on time, making sure I’m hitting my receivers on time, in rhythm. Not missing any reads. Knowing where the protection’s supposed to go.”
“He’s doing everything he can to give himself the best opportunity to lead this team and be successful,” Bauer said.
Having someone in the huddle who’s been around so long and who has prepared so well will be invaluable to the Eagles when they get to their biggest games in late in the season.
“The guys are comfortable with him,” Bauer said. “He has a calming effect on them. That’s a plus.”
2025 Starting Lineup
| Logan Cammauf | Schuylkill Valley | RB/LB | Senior |
| Drew Engle | Twin Valley | RB/S/KR | Senior |
| Justice Hardy | Wyomissing | RB/WR/S/CB/KR | Junior |
| Chase Herb | Wilson | WR/S | Senior |
| Lebron Leaf | Governor Mifflin | QB/LB | Senior |
| Riley Martinez | Exeter | QB | Senior |
| Cameron Small | Muhlenberg | RB/S | Senior |
