BILLINGS – Howie Martin has experienced his fair share of winning at Billings Central, helping the Rams to a pair of state championships.
Martin was the quarterback last year as the Rams put together a 12-0 record and won the State A football championship. He was also a member of the Rams’ baseball team that finished 16-4 in its inaugural season and won the state tournament.
And so far this season, Martin has guided the Rams to a 3-0 record and No. 1 rating in Class A in the 406 MT Sports football power rankings.
On Sunday, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior verbally committed to the Montana Tech football program, where he is projected to play quarterback. Martin was especially drawn to the seventh-ranked Orediggers because he likes the foundation of the program, comparing the culture at Tech to that of Central.
“It’s a fun college city,” said Martin of Butte. “And you know, just like the coaches there in general, just like the culture they built there is really exciting to be a part of; kind of like the culture we have right now at Billings Central. I kind of want to carry that on at Tech. Just like being competitive in a lot of different aspects. And I think we can really do that.”
Last season, Martin was an all-state selection and a first-team all-conference quarterback for the Rams. Entering this season, he was one of “22 Montana high school football players to watch in 2025” according to Chris Peterson of 406 MT Sports.
22 Montana high school football players to watch in 2025
At Central, Martin has put together a cumulative 3.9 grade-point average and is enrolled in honors classes.
“He’s a winner in everything he does,” said Rams football coach Jim Stanton of Martin. “He just goes about his business. He’s a great leader on our football team. He’s very cerebral.”
“He just runs our offense really like we want it to run. He’s just an extension of our coaching staff on the field.”
Martin, a three-sport athlete at Central who plays point guard for the basketball team, also is a shortstop for the American Legion baseball Billings Scarlets. He was a second-team all-conference selection in baseball for the Rams this past spring.
While Martin enjoys playing all three sports, football is his true love. He is especially excited to receive the opportunity to play quarterback at the next level.
“I’m obviously a three-sport guy and football is the one I chose to pursue,” Martin said. “But quarterback is kind of my lifestyle. I love playing quarterback. It’s one of the toughest positions in sports, but I love doing it and I’m excited to continue that on at Tech.”
Stanton said the Rams are going to enjoy having the second-year starting QB for the rest of this season.
“We’ll certainly miss him, that’s for sure,” said Stanton. “Every game he’s started he’s won, all the way through middle school. He’s just a winner and a leader in all that he does, and definitely is a big, huge piece of our football program.”
Martin realizes there’s plenty of business left to finish this year at Central, starting with a 7 p.m. Friday game against No. 2 Laurel (3-0) at Herb Klindt field in a rematch of last year’s state championship game. Central will also celebrate homecoming on Friday.
“They’re a tough football team,” Martin said of the Locomotives. “We know they’re going to be coming for us, but I’ve got a lot of faith in my guys and we’re going to be ready to go on Friday. I guarantee that.”
This past week has been one of celebration for Martin, who hopes to continue that trend the rest of this season and into his collegiate career at Montana Tech.
On Saturday, a day after helping Central past then No. 4 Frenchtown 35-7 with two touchdown passes, Martin was on a game day visit at Tech as the Orediggers improved to 3-0 with a 34-23 victory over Rocky Mountain College.
A day later Martin committed to Tech, where he’ll receive an athletic scholarship. The trip to Butte and experience at Alumni Coliseum wrapped up an exciting weekend for Martin.
“It was just a really good atmosphere. They get after it up there,” said Martin of the Orediggers. “Coach (Kyle) Samson has really done a great job of building an amazing culture. They quite honestly have had a lot of success, and I can foresee a lot of success in the future with that program and it’s kind of the place to be, in my opinion, right now.”
Email Gazette Sports Editor John Letasky at john.letasky@406mtsports.com or follow him on X/Twitter at @GazSportsJohnL
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