Benton Mayor David Mattingly speaks to the large crowd gathered at the Benton Event Center for the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Panther quarterback impressive in first year

Benton quarterback Cason Maertens rolls out to pass during the Class 6A state championship game. Maertens is the Tri-Lakes Edition Offensive Player of the Year.
Benton quarterback Cason Maertens rolls out to pass during the Class 6A state championship game. Maertens is the Tri-Lakes Edition Offensive Player of the Year.

BENTON — From the time he was in seventh grade, not only did Cason Maertens know he would be a senior-high Benton Panther, but he also knew he was going to play quarterback.

That’s when his football relationship with head coach Scott Neathery began to take shape.

“We started working going into my eighth-grade year,” Maertens said. “We started throwing a lot together, doing drills. He let me come up and throw with the varsity receivers.”

“I knew he was a smart kid and was going to be a starter in high school,” Neathery said.

In fact, Maertens, now a junior, was in the mix as a sophomore and nearly earned the starting nod last season.

“We always knew we had a good one in Cason,” Neathery said. “He knows our offense. He knows concepts and what we are trying to do. For the most part, he is in control.

“For him to come out as a first-year starter and have the year that he had was exciting to watch.”

Even though 2014 was the first year Maertens was given the helm of the Panthers’ offense, the numbers he put up were that of a grizzled veteran.

The junior quarterback threw 369 passes in 13 games, completing 243 passes in 369 attempts — a .658 completion percentage. Maertens amassed 3,370 yards with 34 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions.

Those numbers are even more impressive because even though Maertens started in Week 8 against Lake Hamilton, he suffered a slight concussion in the second series and did not return.

Neathery said that to go along with his talent, Maertens has an impeccable work ethic.

“He gets angry when he sees his linemen in the weight room getting strong and he’s not in there lifting weights and getting strong with them,” Neathery said.

Those early signs of leadership have endowed trust for the young signal caller, so much so that Neathery said he gives Maertens a bit of freedom at the line of scrimmage.

“I let him audible more than I’ve let any other quarterback audible,” Neathery said. “He knows what we are trying to do. I feel confident that he knows what to audible to. Nine times out of 10, he’s right.”

Maertens’ main endeavors in the offseason will be increasing his arm strength and working on his release. Neathery said he isn’t sure that his quarterback can get much smarter.

“The intangibles, I don’t worry about,” Neathery said. “He may not be the strongest or have the quickest release, but he’s got a good head and does not get rattled, for the most part.”

How the Panthers build their success for the next season could start with Maertens, who will return for his senior campaign after a year in which the team wasn’t supposed to be even the fourth-best team in its league going into the 2014 season.

“Everybody in town just kind of rallied around us,” Maertens said. “It was awesome.”

Benton has much to look forward to next season, and Maertens predicts a bit of deja vu for 2015.

“I really think it’s going to be us and Pine Bluff next year,” Maertens said.

In what spare time he has, Maertens is giving back to the community by mentoring a junior-high quarterback — the same way he was mentored four years ago.

If his senior year is anything like his junior year, Maertens may find himself on a college roster.

“I feel like the sky’s the limit,” Neathery said. “He’s only going to get better.”

Staff writer Bruce Guthrie can be reached at (501) 378-3527 or bguthrie@arkansasonline.com.

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