Union celebrating Homecoming,
and so will South Side quarterback
Written: Sep 22, 2011
  By “Bazooka” Joe Simon
New Castle News
It’s Homecoming at Union High on Friday night — and not just for the Scotties.
When South Side Beaver pays a 7 p.m. visit to Socs Roussos Stadium for a WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference clash, Rams quarterback Jon Magusiak will experience his own “homecoming.”
The junior, in his first year starting at QB, grew up in Union and even served as a water boy for the Scotties before moving out of the district before high school, according to South Side Beaver coach James Winner.
“He knows all the guys on the Union team; he grew up around them all,” Winner said. “He still has family there and spends time with those guys during the summer. So, he’s pretty excited for the game.”
Union (0-1 conference, 1-2 overall) is just happy to play on its own real estate for the first time this season.
“It will be nice to be home. We’ve had some far trips where we’ve come home at midnight and 1,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “I think I have a group of guys, especially the juniors, who know the window to play this game doesn’t stay open long, so they need to enjoy it. They are very excited to be at home.”
The Scotties opened with a 35-14 loss at Chartiers-Houston, but rebounded for a 35-0 triumph at Avella. Last week, Union dropped a 46-7 decision to power Rochester in the conference opener.
“Even though it was 46-7, we had some guys who performed well. We have to get the rest of the crew on board and I think we’ll be OK. Sometimes that’s a tall task to ask,” Robinson said. “Rochester tests you and it could break your will if you let it. I don’t think it did. I think the guys are ready. They woke up Saturday morning and put it behind them. We’re looking down road.
“It’s a big game for us. They are all big in the Big Seven,” he continued. “We’d like to get a victory and stay on a positive note. We have some tough ones coming up. I have a lot of kids where football is not just a hobby for them. They work hard at it and I am expecting big things — and I hope good things — for them.”
South Side Beaver (0-1, 0-3) had a tough start to the season as well. The Rams dropped decisions to Burgettstown (33-7), Brentwood (34-0) and Shenango (29-21). South Side Beaver rallied from a 21-0 deficit against the Wildcats last week, but fell short.
“We’re excited for this game. Union always comes well-prepared and is competitive,” Winner said. “I expect Stacy to give a lot of different looks and fronts. It’s a short week and a quick turnaround for us. Really, we only get two days of full-pad practice. We have to make the most of our time, especially going against team like Union.”
The Rams graduated most of their backfield, but return veteran receivers Justin Gentile and Mike Konopko and a strong offensive line.
“They are big up front. It’s a typical South Side team,” Robinson said. “They look physical. We’ll have our work cut out for us on both sides of the ball on that end.”
Magusiak took over at quarterback this year and passed for 226 yards last week.
“For a kid who hadn’t really started a full game, he’s thrown the ball almost 80 times and done a good job, he really has,” Winner said. “This will be a test for us.”
The Scotties like to throw the ball, too. Joe Salmen has passed for 409 yards, while Clifford Clark leads all county receivers with 16 grabs for 222 yards. Wayne Seamans has seven catches for 79 yards.
“We do what we have to do. We pass because we haven’t been able to run the ball consistently,” Robinson said. “We hope to get our running game going this week, but we can go to the air if we have to.”
Drew Robinson, the coach’s son, leads Union with 170 yards on the ground.
“We will prepare for balance. (Drew) Robinson is a premiere running back, in my mind. They had a great quarterback last year and their new quarterback seems to be doing a good job throwing the ball,” Winner said. “One of our keys is going to be to keep playing team football, getting as many guys around the ball as possible on defense. That helped us on defense last week — group tackling.”
Stacy Robinson hopes his troops are ready for another tough opponent.
“The main thing is, with our guys, I tell them they have to be able to cope,” he said. “It starts with the physical part, then the mental and then the emotional. We have to stay positive and fight to the end.”
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