By Corey J. Corbin

New Castle News

Union High football coach Stacy Robinson wants his players to show up when the lights are shining on Friday nights.

Scotties defensive linemen Dakota Cameron and Jullian Johnson showed up big-time once the lights came on in Friday’s 27-0 blanking of WPIAL Class A Big Seven rival Shenango.

Cameron, a senior, pounced on four fumbles and Johnson, a junior, returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown to energize Union.

Their performances earned them Lawrence County Co-Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

“I often tell the kids ‘You have to do what you’re coached to do under duress,’ ” Robinson said. “That means during the game. It’s easy to stand out on the practice field and it’s not 100 percent full-speed. When the bullets start to fly, so to speak, how are you going to react?”

Johnson’s interception return was a prime of example of a player doing what he’s coached to do.

“They beat us on the screen before,” Robinson said. “His position coach (John) Bertolino told him they were probably coming back with it again, so it’s a testimony to both of them that Jullian was able to do what he was taught to do. That was to stay home and pick the ball off.”

The problem for Johnson was figuring out what to do once he had the football in his hands.

“I had the ball and I was like ‘What am I supposed to do with it?’ ” Johnson said with a sheepish chuckle. “I didn’t expect it. I had Jamie Hooks blocking for me, so my mission was to get to the end zone and that’s what I did.

“I didn’t think I was going to get a pick this year. I figured I’d get a few sacks and some tackles, but when I saw that ball, I was like ‘Is this really happening?’ It felt like there were stars around me. It was like a scene from the movies.”

Even in Hollywood, there aren’t too many scripts calling for one player to recover four fumbles in a single game.

“A lot of it has to do with hustling to the ball,” Cameron said. “Coach Bertolino is always talking about 11 hitting fools just hustling to the ball. A lot of the time if you hustle to the ball, you’ll be at the right place at the right time.

“It has to do with ball awareness — just awareness of the field and where you’re at. If your head isn’t on a swivel, a lot of stuff can happen. I was aware the ball had popped out and I was the first one there.”

Despite the four fumble recoveries, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Cameron had only one real chance to match his younger teammate in the touchdown department.

“The first one, I had to dive on it, because everyone was around it,” he said. “The second one, I probably should have picked up, but I dove on it. The third one, I picked it up and one of my teammates, Jamie Hooks, told me to go. I ran for a couple yards, but I kind of stumbled and got tackled. The fourth one, I just dove on it.”

Defensive touchdown or not, Cameron has left a mark on the 2013 Scotties.

“He’s an unselfish kid,” Robinson said. “Dakota fancies himself as a skill player, but we have a bunch of them. To his credit, he volunteered to go back on the line, because he could have played a couple of skill positions for us. I’m happy for him. He’s quite the character and I’m going to be sad to see him go. He has a different type of personality and it’s one the kids and coaches all like. He’s a good kid to be around and we enjoy having him here every day.

“Dakota’s a leader. I tell the kids all the time that you can’t lead from the rear, so Dakota stands out front and he’s a big asset for the program.”

Because of his willingness to learn, Johnson, too, has been a major contributor for the Scotties.

“We’re glad to have Jullian with us,” Robinson said. “He moved into the Union school district this year. We began coaching him up on what we like to do. He comes to play every game. He’s a good kid and he’s coachable. That’s one of the positives that he’s always going to have. He’s always willing to learn.”

Apparently, the 5-10, 175 Johnson also is willing to hit the weights.

“The nose tackle has to be strong, so you have to be in the weight room 24-7, getting stronger,” Johnson said. “Every day, I try to work out and keep myself in shape. I need to get stronger, because there’s bigger and badder players than me out there. I know they’re waiting to wreck me. I got the position because there’s no one else strong enough to play it — other people were needed at other positions.”

Behind the combined efforts of Cameron and Johnson, the Scotties still have an outside chance at earning a playoff spot, but need a lot of help.

Union (2-4, 3-4) is a game behind Western Beaver (3-3, 3-4) for the Big Seven Conference’s final playoff spot and needs the Golden Beavers to lose their final two games against Shenango and South Side Beaver, while the Scotties win out.

“We thought should have been 5-0 and that Sto-Rox was our only serious loss,” Cameron said. “We feel like we should be 6-1. Our losses have been influenced by the fact we thought, because we beat them last year that we should beat them this year. We came out and didn’t play as hard as we should have. Against Rochester, we wanted to win, so we got the job done.”

THE JULLIAN JOHNSON FILE

POSITION: Fullback/power back/nose tackle

TEAM: Union

GRADE: 11

PARENTS: Keisha Johnson and Clayton Mayo

KNOWN FOR: Returning an interception off a screen pass 65 yards for a touchdown in a 27-0 victory over Big Seven rival Shenango.

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Michael Vick, “He’s an all-around quarterback and could play any position.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Philadelphia Eagles. “I always liked them when I was growing up. I never liked the Steelers and the Eagles are a Pa. team, too, so I’ll run with them.”

FUTURE PLANS: “I want to go pro in football or basketball, but if not, I want to be a body-builder.”

THE DAKOTA CAMERON FILE

POSITION: Left tackle/defensive end

TEAM: Union

GRADE: 12

PARENTS: Jason Cameron and Lisa Kerr

KNOWN FOR: Recovering four fumbles in a 27-0 victory over Big Seven rival Shenango.

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Ray Lewis. “I know he just retired, but my favorite thing about him is his presence on the field. When he comes out, he’s a different person — he’s an animal — and he boosts his team. That’s a huge thing for me.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: San Diego Chargers. “I like them because of LaDainian Tomlinson. I really liked him at a young age. A lot of people make fun of me, because I don’t like the Steelers.”

FUTURE PLANS: “My future plans are to graduate high school and go to college to further my education. I’d like to play football.”