Ayden Martin-Gov. Mifflin

If you saw him throw down a windmill dunk, you might think Ayden Martin is going to college to play basketball. The football field, however, is where the rising senior at Gov. Mifflin excels. Martin recently committed to Division I Monmouth, an FCS program in the Colonial Athletic Association. Martin narrowed his choices down to Monmouth, Lehigh, Duquesne, and New Hampshire. He selected the Hawks because of the coaching staff, family atmosphere, and business program. The 5’11, 185-pound safety told me that location was also a primary factor. Monmouth is in West Long Branch, New Jersey, a little over two hours from Shillington. Martin stressed that it’s important for his family and friends to be able to see him play. He gave credit to his mom for pushing him to be the best. Gov. Mifflin head coach Jeff Lang said, “What makes Ayden a special player is the effort, attitude, and extra work he puts into his workout regimen. On top of being a really good athlete, he puts in a lot of time in the weight room.” Martin is one of the strongest pound-for-pound players that Lang has ever coached, and he’s been with the Mustangs’ program for three decades. Gov. Mifflin finished (10-1) last season. The Mustangs averaged nearly 48 points and allowed less than 16 per game. They rolled over the competition until coming up short against Exeter 31-28 in the District 3-5A championship. We talked about what it was like playing with Penn State freshman Nick Singleton. The Gatorade National Football Player of the Year set Berks County records with 116 career touchdowns and 6,326 rushing yards. We joked about what would happen if Monmouth played the Nittany Lions and Martin had to tackle Singleton. Although Singleton has moved on, Martin still believes Gov. Mifflin will have another very good season. He mentioned several young players, including some running backs, to keep an eye on. Martin will likely be getting more carries as well. He ran 14 times for 119 yards and 2TD in 2021. The second team DB in Section 1 of the Berks Football League also chipped in with three catches for 93 yards. Martin had a pair of touchdown receptions in a 49-13 victory over Harrisburg. He made more than 40 tackles last year (5TFL) to go along with 14 pass breakups and 2INT. Martin took a pick 41 yards to the house in the season opener against York High. The Mustangs will be in Section 2 of the new Lancaster-Lebanon League. They’ll be joined by Exeter, Muhlenberg, Manheim Central, Warwick, Conestoga Valley, and Lebanon. Gov. Mifflin will meet Exeter on September 16th. “I’m looking forward to that game a lot. That District championship game was a tough loss, but now we got to bounce back for the whole community,” he said. Martin had some fun talking about his favorite food, rapper, football team, video games, and teachers. He also revealed his favorite NFL player.