Francisco Martinez’ senior year was a disappointment.

“I thought we’d use him more,” said Kennedy head coach Jerry Horowitz. “But I was really disappointed with how he came into camp this summer. He was slow and out of shape.”

Worse, Martinez didn’t know what to do once he got on the field.

“He had trouble knowing where to be and where he was supposed to go on different plays,” Horowitz said. “He wasn’t practicing well, so I knew I couldn’t use him the way I wanted to.”

Because of that, the diminutive (5-7) running back was relegated to the second string, and sometimes worse.

“There were games when I would only put him in at the very end when the game was already over,” Horowitz said. “I kept telling him that he was too good to be used just during garbage time.”

On the rare occasion when he did see action while the game was still in doubt, he was hurt by his teammates’ failures.

“He didn’t make it easy on himself,” Horowitz said. “But even when I did get him in there, he was unlucky. Someone always seemed to blow an assignment on his runs. He would look bad, and it wasn’t until after we looked at the tape that we realized what happened.”

Despite the rough year, when starting running back Victor Duran went down with an injury before the PSAL playoffs, Martinez was thrust into a starting role and has flourished, particularly in the Knights’ 30-14 semifinal win over defending champion Curtis on Saturday.

“He didn’t surprise me,” Horowitz said. “He should have been a bigger asset all season. He’s just getting started late.”

Now he’s making up for lost time. Martinez ran for 128 yards on 10 carries against the Warriors, zipping through holes and racing downfield. His running helped get Kennedy to its first championship game since 1996 – this Sunday against Wagner – and allowed Martinez to view his senior year in a brighter light.

“I was trying to make it happen,” Martinez said of his success. “I knew it was going to happen. Now that it has, I’m proud.”

Martinez paused thoughtfully before he answered nearly every question, seemingly overwhelmed by how far he had come in such a short time. Before the playoffs began, he was practically nailed to the bench. Now he was in a position to lead his team to a championship.

“It definitely was hard this year, watching everybody else play when I wanted to be out there so badly,” Martinez said. “Especially since I had played in the past [during junior year]; you never want to be out during your senior year.”

Still, even when he wasn’t much a part of Kennedy’s offense, Martinez didn’t get too despondent.

“I don’t know why, but I just had a belief that things would work out like this and I’d be able to get back in,” Martinez said. “And once I did, I knew I wasn’t going to waste it, like I did before. There’s no doubt I appreciate it more now after not playing much. But I’m not greedy. I don’t need to be the star.”

Maybe not, but Kennedy would be in pretty good shape if he could be the star one more time.