Mike Mastovich: Bishop McCort's Salem made lasting impression throughout PSFCA Hall of Fame career

May 8—Each time his Greater Johns- town High School football team lined up against Ken Salem's Bishop McCort squad, then-Trojans coach Tony Penna Jr. knew what to expect.

"We were extreme rivals when we played against them, but you couldn't help but to respect the level of play and the standard they had at Bishop McCort when Ken Salem was coaching," said Penna, now the head coach at Conemaugh Township High School.

"The first thing is how well-coached they were in extreme fundamentals," Penna said. "They were fundamentally sound in every aspect of the game.

"After that, it was that toughness and that belief that they were going to win every time they walked on the field.

"It took us a long time to overcome that, and that was a tribute to Kenny and what he instilled in them."

The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) Hall of Fame will induct Salem as part of a 10-member class on May 30 in Harrisburg.

The hall of fame event will be held in conjunction with the Big 33 game.

"I was thrilled when I found out about this," said former area coach Ernie Fetzer, who led Westmont Hilltop, Somerset and Penn Cambria teams in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference and was part of a fierce rivalry between the Hilltoppers and Crushers. "He had 15 years as a head coach and never had a losing season. He had a very good record and won some championships. To earn an award such as this is very special.

"I think he is deserving, and I'm very happy for him."

'A winner'

Salem was 135-44 with the Crimson Crushers from 1996 through 2010.

His teams never had a losing record, and McCort advanced to the District 6 playoffs 14 times in his 15 years as head coach.

Salem's teams advanced to nine District 6 title games, winning five times (2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009).

The pinnacle of his Crushers career was in 2009, when Bishop McCort advanced to the PIAA Class 2A championship game and finished as state runner-up to Clairton at Hersheypark Stadium.

That team went 14-1, overcoming heartbreak as two players, Josh Seidel and Dane Domonkos, lost their fathers three months apart in 2009. All of the McCort players rallied together in support of their grieving teammates to produce a special season.

Seidel's record-breaking performances earned him recognition in Sports Illustrated and the annual Point Stadium Award.

Josh's father, the late Dave Seidel, and Salem were close friends. Dave served as an assistant coach on the football team. Salem returned the favor by assisting head coach Dave Seidel on the Crushers track and field squad.

'Best friend'

"Looking back on it, it was truly a great joy and honor to coach with my best friend, Dave Seidel. I share this accomplishment with him," Salem said of the upcoming induction. "We were in this the whole way through, and I know he is smiling down on us and is excited about this."

Salem also appreciated the lessons he learned as an assistant coach to former head coach Frank Krevetski. He credited former coach Marlin Ressler as well as his assistant coaches, especially Jeremy Burkett and Kevin Sheridan, who followed Salem as head coach at McCort.

"I was just blessed to have so many talented young men that played for us and the support of their families and just an outstanding coaching staff," Salem said. "Winning programs are all about culture. At that time at McCort, we had everything that we could want moving in the right direction, and it allowed us to do some pretty special things."

'Key moments'

Salem said the 2001 Crushers team helped set a foundation. That year, McCort went 11-3 and advanced to the PIAA Class 2A semifinal round before falling to eventual state champion Washington.

"Some of the key moments in the program that allowed us to get our legs underneath us were in 2000 when we went to Tyrone and we lost to the reigning state champion," Salem said. "That gave us the confidence in 2001 to take it to the next level.

"(Quarterback) Joe Arcurio, (running back) Pat Schrey and the great offensive and defensive lines we had that year (2001) gave us the energy and the excitement in the offseason to go on that great 10-year run. That run really started with those guys."

From 2001 through 2009, Bishop McCort won 94 games in nine seasons. The Crushers went 49-6 from 2006-09, winning 11, 12, 12 and 14 games.

"Respect was the word," Fetzer said. "When it came to McCort against Westmont, it was brutal, and I mean that from the perspective that it was a rivalry.

"You knew they were extremely well-coached, and the kids were well-prepared. You knew it was going to be a battle. During that run, that was some of the best high school football around."

Current Crushers coach Tom Smith called on his former teammate Salem as a volunteer advisor last season, a relationship that continues heading into the upcoming season.

"Ken was a senior at McCort whenever I was a sophomore here," said Smith, who like Salem stood out at then-NCAA Division III St. Francis University. "I always had a tremendous amount of respect for Ken because of the way he helped me when I was a young football player here.

"When I graduated from McCort, he was the one who really recruited me to St. Francis. He was the right guard and I was the nose tackle, and we went at it in practice."

Smith also briefly assisted Salem at McCort and later coached against him as an assistant at Richland.

"He gave me an opportunity at McCort to come coach with him," Smith said. "Everything he did from top to bottom, he was so detailed and everything was done to a T. The standard he set for respect and the culture he built here at McCort — people thought the program had peaked in the years before he took over. He smashed the ceiling and created a culture here that was second to none.

"He produced players who went to Division I colleges. He had one go to the NFL. He knew how to get in there and teach kids and motivate them, and made them understand it was about the program and not the individual."

Salem and his wife, Lee, have three sons, Gabe, 11; Jake, 9; and Luke, 5. Ken coaches two of his boys in both youth baseball and flag football.

In fact, he received news of his induction after he coached a West Suburban Little League contest.

"I was with my boys and we were getting something to eat after a baseball game," Salem said. "We took the phone call and had some fun in the car when we got the call."

Joining Salem in the class are: former Homer-Center coach Rick Foust; legendary coach George Curry; Mickey Minnich; Steve Schein; Robert Stem; Andy Evanko; Guy Montecalvo; Al Wolski; and Robert Barbieri.

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter{/em} @Masty81.

{em}Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.