By Joe Sager

New Castle News

Union High’s football team knew Joe Salmen could pass and kick.

The Scotties found out this year he’s pretty good at running the ball.

They discovered Friday he could punt it, too.

Salmen performed all four tasks well Friday in Union’s 27-0 home win over Western Beaver in WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference action.

The performance earned him Lawrence County Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

Salmen, a senior, passed for 77 yards and a touchdown in the triumph. He opened some eyes with his running ability, too. He carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown dash on an option.

“My team is the biggest reason why I can do this. It’s not me. I give credit to my offensive line because they try hard. This isn’t a knock on our (offensive) line, but we have one of the smallest lines because we have one of the smallest teams. So, you can’t be a stationary quarterback; you have to be able to move,” he said. “John Clark, Drew Robinson and Wayne Seamans lift a lot and I followed them a little and got my legs stronger so I could run a little better this year. It’s paid off because we have a winning record and we’re hoping to go to the playoffs.”

Salmen’s dual-threat ability is key for the Scotties (2-1 conference, 3-1 overall).

“He adds another dimension to the offense when he can play like that. You can’t zero in on the one or two players people have been zeroing on,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “Now, he adds another dilemma to teams to try to defend us.

“We have to get him on track with the passing. Joe’s best games are still ahead of him and that’s a good thing. He hasn’t got on track like he was last year with the passing game, but we’re looking forward to it because we have to be balanced,” he continued. “We’re just not capable of coming out and running the ball down your throat. We’ve got to try to keep you on your toes with the pass. I expect Joe to perform up to his ability like he’s capable in the passing game.”

Salmen, who kicks extra points regularly, was called upon to punt last game. He delivered boots of 51, 47 and 48. The last one pinned Western Beaver deep in its own territory and eventually set up a Scotties TD.

“Special teams and defense get overlooked. Everyone wants to look at the quarterback and running back. But what gets overlooked is a good special teams game and when your defense steps up big,” Salmen said. “It really helps that our defense is stepping up big. Punting the ball and pinning them deep, then the defense stepping it up, that helps you a lot.”

Robinson was excited to find another special teams weapon.

“He wasn’t the punter, but you can bet he is now. During the game, you could tell they were some good punts. But, you don’t realize until the game was almost over that he put some real booming punts in the air and that helped shift the momentum of the game,” he said. “It was a surprise. That’s just Joe. He works at things and wants to be good at everything. He wants to be the quarterback and doesn’t give lip service to it. A lot of people think they want to be quarterback until they get out there and the pressure is on them.”

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THE JOE SALMEN FILE

POSITION: Quarterback/Defensive Back

TEAM: Union

GRADE: 12

KNOWN FOR: Salmen rushed for 91 yards and passed for 77 more in Union’s 27-0 win over Western Beaver.

PARENTS: Marcia and Dave Salmen

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Randy Moss, 49ers. “As a quarterback, if I had to pick one receiver, it’d be Randy Moss, especially when he was in his prime.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Minnesota Vikings. “I just love the Vikings symbol. Daunte Culpepper was always my favorite to watch and Randy Moss and Cris Carter were my two favorite receivers.”

FUTURE PLANS: Salmen hopes to continue his athletic and academic careers. “I am definitely going to college and try to play a sport.”