Sometimes they prevailed because of their offense. Sometimes they won because of their defense. There were other occasions success came as a result of their special teams play. It was the combination of all three areas that helped the 1987 Salem Wildcats football team that put together one of the best seasons in school history.

The 1987 edition compiled an overall 8-3 record under the direction of head coach Chuck Budde, which included a solid 5-2 mark and third place finish in the North Egypt Conference. At the time of its induction into the Salem High School Sports Hall of Fame the 1987 squad was just one of three Salem football teams to win a playoff game.

There was little secret how the Wildcats planned to attack opposing defenses. Although opponents had a 1,224-663 edge in passing yards for the season, Salem’s ground game outrushed opposing teams by a staggering 2,533-909 margin. It was largely through that running game that helped Salem average 29 points a game.

The Salem defense also made a name for itself as the Wildcats posted three shutouts and limited another opponent to a single score. Only twice did Salem allow more than two touchdowns.

The Wildcats won their first four games, which included a hard-fought 15-12 triumph over Centralia in the season opener. They followed that victory with NEC wins over Red Hill 36-0, Flora 74-14 and Fairfield 50-0. After having beaten Mt. Carmel the two previous seasons en route to back-to-back NEC championships, the Golden Aces squeezed out a 13-7 victory in week five that ultimately sent the league title back to Mt. Carmel.

Salem bounced back to beat Lawrenceville 28-0, but a 28-7 loss to Olney pushed the Wildcats down another rung on the conference ladder. The Wildcats closed out the NEC season with a 33-20 victory over Carmi and the regular season with a 28-8 win over Benton.

The opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs provided Salem with a chance for some revenge as the Wildcats drew a first-round matchup against NEC runner-up Olney. This time Salem prevailed 24-15 on the Tigers home turf. Round two sent the Wildcats to Effingham where the Flaming Hearts ended Salem’s campaign with a 35-17 setback.

Quarterback Mike Roth accounted for 1,107 yards of total offense, 663 through the air and 444 on the ground. Mark Meador was the leading rusher with 841 yards. Kelly Brasel had 641 yards rushing, but was even more dangerous on special teams where he returned five kicks for touchdowns. Brasel was also key figure on defense with a team-high five interceptions. Eric Larson had a team-high 77 tackles. Guard Dan Purcell anchored the offensive line and eventually took his skill on to Eastern Illinois University.

A 1958 graduate of SCHS, Norton was a four-year member of the Wildcats football and track teams. He also had stints with the baseball and basketball program. His biggest success in high school came on the gridiron where he led Salem in tackles as a junior and was second in that category during his senior season. Spencer received Special Mention on the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News and Champaign News-Gazette All-State Teams. The Wildcats posted four winning seasons and an overall record of 22-13-1 during Spencer’s time with the program, which was under the direction of Coach Howard Thurman.

Spencer took his athletic skills to Eastern Illinois University where he was not only a key contributor to the Panthers football team, but wrestling program as well. During his sophomore season in 1959 he set a school record for solo sacks in a game when he had five against Southern Illinois. Besides earning three letters with the Eastern Illinois football program, he did the same with the wrestling team. Spencer took second place at the Midland Tournament and his only loss in dual competition during his junior and senior seasons was to NCAA champion Roy Conrad of Northern Illinois University. During his senior year at Eastern Illinois Spencer received the Blanket Award, which was the highest athletic award given by the school.

Spencer had a chance to continue his football career after college as he was offered tryouts with Cleveland of the National Football league and Montreal of the Canadian Football League. Instead Spencer returned to Eastern Illinois as a graduate assistant and worked with the Panthers football and wrestling programs during the 1962-63 school year.

Spencer continued to coach after he graduated from college. Not only did Spencer continue to coach football and wrestling, but also track, cross country, basketball and golf.

Lux contributed to Salem’s 7-3 record during his sophomore season in 1998, but made his biggest contributions the next two seasons. During his junior season in 1999 Lux was an All-North Egypt Conference First Team selection at running back and was also named the squad’s Most Valuable Player on offense as the Wildcats once again went 7-3. Lux finished his high school career with an even better senior season in 2000 when he was not only once again an All-NEC First Team choice at running back, but also an All-NEC First Team choice at defensive end for a Salem team that finished the season with a 6-4 record. Lux received the Wildcats Team Most Valuable Player Award for the 2000 season.

Besides being a four-year member of the Wildcats football program, Lux also spent four seasons with the SCHS basketball program, two seasons in baseball and two seasons in track.
Lux continued to be a standout on the gridiron when he took his skills to Millikin University at Decatur. Lux played tight end four seasons (2001-04) with the Big Blue and like high school, saved his best season for last. Lux capped off his collegiate career when as a senior in 2004 he was named to the All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin First Team. It was also in that 2004 season when Lux received Millikin’s Blue Helmet Award.

While Lux completed his undergraduate education at Millikin, he attended graduate school at Eastern Illinois University. Lux finished his education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville where he got his degree in education specialist.

Lux entered the coaching ranks after he finished college. His first stop was at Mt. Zion High School where he served as a volunteer assistant baseball coach in 2005. Lux spent the 2005-06 school year as the head boys’ basketball coach at Brownstown High School. Lux returned to his high school alma mater in 2006. He served as an assistant football coach with the Wildcats from 2006-14 and as a volunteer football coach since 2015. Lux was freshmen boys’ basketball coach from 2006-10 and served as the SCHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle Coach from 2007-15.

Lux became assistant principal and athletic director at Franklin Park Middle School in 2015 and moved to the principal position for the 2016-17 school year. Lux was still in that position at the time of his induction in the Salem High School Sports Hall of Fame.

After college Kerry became an assistant coach at Sparta High School for three seasons and then became the head coach for one season. That year Sparta won the Southwest Egyptian Conference and qualified for the playoffs. From there he became the head coach at Flora High School where he stayed for three years and finished with a record of 18-11 and two playoff appearances. Kerry moved on to Carterville High School where his team won four Black Diamond Titles and qualified for seven playoff appearances. His 1996 season was his most successful going 14-0 and winning the state championship. In 2002 he moved on to Marion High School where he currently coaches. His record at Marion stands at 87-49. Marion has made ten consecutive playoff appearances and his overall record stands at 178-82.

During his career Kerry has served as Athletic Director at Carterville, he is an avid Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader, has been named Coach of the Year by The Southern Illinoisan and has been chosen as Teacher of the Year. He has also coached in fourteen different All-Star games.

Salem Community High School has always had its share of quality running backs and linebackers. Very few have ever been able to play both positions equally as well as Ryan Weeks.

Coming to SCHS from Selmaville School Ryan was known to be a good athlete. Nobody could have ever predicted the success that he would go on to have on the football field at SCHS. As a freshman he quickly impressed the freshman coach Jim Koehler. The freshman coach felt that he was an outstanding player that could move into a varsity position as a sophomore. In the summer of his sophomore year, and after an off season injury to a senior running back, and a promising junior that did not play, Ryan was moved to a starting position in the offensive backfield. Ryan quickly proved his worth at summer camp and won the starting running back position. As the season progressed, he quickly began to play more on defense. First, playing an Eagle Linebacker, he finished the season with 256 rushing yards, and defensively he recorded 36 tackles. The team finished 7-3 and was a playoff qualifier.

After becoming a leader in the weight room and in the off season, Ryan went into his junior year as a starting running back and a line backer. His 1993 season proved to be a great one. He led the team in rushing with 1005 yards rushing and also led the team in defensive statistics with 56 tackles, and 7 tackles for loss, 4 sacs, 2 interceptions and 4 recovered fumbles. He was selected o the 1st team all North Egypt at running back and 1st team line backer. He was also selected as the most valuable player in the NEC Conference and to the Southern Illinois Coaches Association 1st Team. The team finished the 1993 season 7 – 3.

After a great junior year, Ryan had big expectations and a target on his back. He was the only player in SCHS history to be a NEC Conference MVP. Ryan did not disappoint saving his best games for last. Once again, he was the team leader rushing for over 1000 yards in the 1994 season. Again he led the team in defensive statistics with 67 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 4 recovered fumbles. He then repeated as 1st team NEC as a running back and line backer and was unanimous selections as both. And was also voted an unprecedented two times NEC Most Valuable Player. Again he was selected to the SICA All South Team. Coach Steward has referred to him as the best all around player he ever coached.

After high school Ryan signed to play football at Lindenwood College, but returned home and graduated from Kaskaskia College. He went on to be involved with law enforcement
Agencies and is currently a law enforcement official in the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Department. He has become a valuable deputy and continues to serve Jefferson County. He is married to SCHS graduate Jonna (Green) Weeks and has a son Ryder Weeks.

The Head Coach Scott Steward gives much of the credit to an outstanding coaching staff. Brad Detering: Offensive Coordinator, John Boles, Roger Brummett, Jim Koehler, Terry Heern, and Chuck Fairbanks.

The season opened with a heartbreaking loss to Centralia but the Wildcats followed that up with eight consecutive wins. Defeating conference opponents, Red Hill 28-14, Flora 21-8, Fairfield 34-8, Mt. Carmel 20-8 and finally a non-conference win vs. West Frankfort 29-15. The Wildcats qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated by a tough Morton team. Probably the biggest win was defeating Mt. Carmel at home after falling behind early in the game. Huge catches by Tyson Bargh and Pat Lobek were 2 highlights and a strong performance defensively against an excellent Mt. Carmel offense led the Wildcats to victory.

The 1997 team was led on offense by all conference players, Kyle Bowers (QB) whose passing statistics were 81/146, 1363 yards, and 18 touchdowns. Chad Hawley (WR) had 30 receptions for 474 yards and 6 T.D.s. Eric Lux who was a great blocker had 12 receptions for 241 yards, 3 T.D.s and 2 conversions. Up front a strong offense line was led by tackle John Colclasure. Jason Kirstein was a first team all conference kicker.

The defense was led by 4 all conference players. Eric Lux, John Colclasure, Mike Minton, and Pat Lobek, who were known for swarming to the ball, the defense was also known as great hitters who worked together within a sound scheme.

Team Statistics seemed to define the season the most. Four ball carriers rushed for over 450 yards. Mike Minton and Tyson Bargh had 571 yards, while Derick Vincent had 535 and Pat Lobek had 488. As a team the Wildcats rushed for 1993 yards, passed for 1363 yards for 3056 total yards while allowing only 1194 on defense. Coach Steward frequently remarked that the difference was in the 3rd quarter in most games outscoring opponents 96-27 for the season.

Captains for the season were Tony Ferrero, Kyle Bowers, Chad Hawley, Pat Lobek and Eric Lux. For the post season awards Mike Minton was the MVP, Kyle Bowers was offensive player of the year, Eric Lux was the defensive player of the year and Jason Kirstein was Special Team Player of the year.

Minton claimed his first two state medals as a sophomore in 1997 when he finished third in the discus throw with a toss of 171-8 and fifth in the shot put at 56-7 1/2. Those medals were the first by a Salem Community High School boy at the state track meet since Louis “Tuffy’ Middleton’ took fourth in the mile back in 1927.

As a junior in 1998, Minton not only became a two-event state champion but also set a state meet record in the discus with his winning throw of 192-1. That came after he won the shot put with a throw of 60-8 1/2.

Minton successfully defended both of his state championships as a senior in 1999 when he again won the shot put with a throw of 60-5 3/4 and the discus at 187-7.

Prior to winning those six state medals Minton won six Class AA sectional championships with throws of 56-10 in the shot put and 169-8 in the discus in 1997, 59-3 in the shot put and 190-7 in the discus in 1998 and 58-5 in the shot put and 182-9 in the discus in 1999.

Minton’s state meet record of 192-1 still stands as the SCHS record at the time of his induction as does his shot put throw of 62-2 1/2 set during the 1999 season when he finished 2nd at the Golden West Inivitational in Sacremento, CA. Minton is also part of the school high hurdle shuttle relay record along with Ryan Petrea, Joey McDonald and Bryan Carter with a time of 1:02.6 set in 1997, the shot put relay record of 148-4 1/2 set in 1996 along with Bobby Carter and Bobby Donoho and the discus relay record of 457-7 1/2 set in 1998 with Billy Tate and Clint Wolfe.

Minton was a four-time North Egypt Conference champion in the shot put and three-time champ in the discus. Minton broke the NEC record in both events as a sophomore in 1997 with throws of 58-2 in the shot put and 175-5 in the discus. Minton broke the NEC shot put record again as a junior in 1998 with a throw of 60-0.

Minton was also a standout performer on the football field where he was an All-North Egypt Conference performer on both offense at running back and on defense at linebacker leading the Wildcats to three playoff berths and the 1997 NEC championship.

Minton was an NEC Second team choice on offense in 1996 when he rushed for 640 yards and eight touchdowns. A year later Minton was an NEC First Team choice on defense and shared the team lead in rushing with Tyson Bargh with 571 yards. Minton was an NEC First team choice on both sides of the ball in 1998, as he scored a team-high eight touchdowns and rushed for 337 yards. Minton was honored again for his football skills in 1999 when he was voted as one of the linebackers for the program’s 75th anniversary team, which was voted on by the fans.

Minton continued his track and field career at Indiana University where he earned a fourth place finish in the Big 10 Conference Outdoor Meet shot put competition in 2001. At the time of his graduation from Indiana, he ranked sixth on the Hoosiers all-time discus list with a throw of 183-0.

Minton ranked 27th nationally in the shot put during the 2003 indoor season with a throw of 59-2 3/4 and was an NCAA Regional qualifier in 2003 and 2004.

During his time at Indiana Minton was a three-time All-Big 10 Conference Academic Team selection and was an NCAA Life Skills Champ Recipient in 2003.

Currently, Mike is the director of the Trio-Student support services at the University of Southern Indiana.

The North Egypt Conference co-champions compiled a 9-2 record, a victory total topped only by the 1985 team’s 10-1 mark, and at the time of its inductions was one of only three Salem football teams to have won a playoff game.

Coach Scott Steward’s team kicked off its season with a 35-21 win over Centralia in the annual Shriners Game, as running back Brad Mabrey rushed for a school record 354 yards and had touchdown runs of 48, 6 and 57 yards.

Mabrey ran for 154 yards and scored three more touchdowns on runs of one, three and seven yards and the Salem defense recovered two fumbles, as the Wildcats opened NEC play with a 28-0 win at Red Hill.

Salem’s defense posted its second straight shutout in a 35-0 triumph against Flora in week three, as quarterback Jeff Hopkins ran for two TDs and threw for two more to go along with 185 yards passing.

The Wildcats survived a tough battle in week four when they slipped past Fairfield 16-8, as Hopkins threw a 33-yard TD to Justin Carter and a 24-yard TD to Brian Hill to go along with Ed Mann’s 33-yard field goal.

Salem suffered its lone regular season blemish in week five and fell out of sole possession of first place in the NEC. The Golden Aces ran for a 76-yard TD the first play from scrimmage, converted four Salem turnovers into TDs and ran out to a 34-0 halftime lead and held on for a 34-20 victory despite 278 yards of total offense  from Hopkins and 104 yard receiving by Tony Evischi.

One week after being down 34-0 at halftime, Salem led 34-0 at halftime in week six en route to a 47-0 win over Lawrenceville thanks to a pair of TDs from Hill, Evischi and Chad Donoho and another TD from Hopkins.

The Wildcats also built a 34-0 lead by halftime and cruised to a 34-6 win over Onley in week seven, as Hopkins threw for 201 yards and two TDs and ran for another TD from 49 yards out.

Salem needed a win over a 2-5 Carmi squad in week eight to clinch a share of the NEC crown with Mt. Carmel and the stubborn Bulldogs put up quite a fight. The game was tied 7-7 late in the third quarter before a 13-yard TD run by Scott Falletta, who rushed for 113 yards, put the Wildcats ahead for good. A 16-yard run by Hopkins late in the fourth quarter secured the 21-7 win that wrapped up a share of the league title and a 6-1 NEC record.

The Wildcats concluded the regular season with an impressive 24-0 win over a DuQuoin squad that ranked No. 8 in Class 3A. Hopkins threw TDs of 22 and 24 yards to Evischi, Falletta rushed for 102 yards and Mann kicked a 30-yard field goal in the 24-0 victory.

Salem drew a first-round postseason matchup home game against Highland in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Bulldogs owned the first half and a 10-0 lead, but three second half TDs by Mabrey on runs of 4, 8 and 15 yards rallied the Wildcats to a 20­10 win and their first playoff victory since 1987.

Salem traveled to Jerseyville in round two. Snow had fallen on the field earlier in the week and melted shortly before the game and left the field a muddy quagmire. After having averaged 28 points going into the contest, Salem’s offense could never find its footing against the tough Panthers defense. Jerseyville got a 20-yard TD on a halfback option pass late in the first half and a 45-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Panthers a 14-0 victory.

Ten Wildcats earned NEC honors. First Teams picks included Steve Garrett at guard, Falletta at tackle, Evischi at wide receiver and Hopkins at quarterback on offense and Joe Owens at lineman, Falletta at linebacker and Carter at defensive back on Defense. Evischi was chosen as return speciaist. Second Team honors went to Hill at running back and Doug Jourdan at defensive end. Special mention went to Mabrey at running back and Shawn Morris at linebacker, who had their seasons reduced by injury.

A 1988 SCHS graduate, Purcell cracked the varsity lineup in 1985 and helped lead the Wildcats to an undefeated North Egypt Conference championship, the first unbeaten and untied regular season in school history, a school record ten wins in a season and the program’s first ever playoff win against Troy Triad.

Purcell was also a key cog up front for the 1986 Wildcats squad that earned a three-way share of the NEC championship with Mt. and Olney. Salem went 7-3 on the season and earned another berth in the state playoffs.

The Wildcats matched their deepest advancement in the postseason in Purcell’s senior season of 1987, as Salem’s 8-3 record included a first-round playoff win over Olney.

Purcell, who earned All-NEC honors in high school, continued his playing career for the next four seasons at Eastern Illinois University.

Purcell not only made the traveling squad for EIU as a freshman, but worked his way into the starting lineup at left offensive tackle for the season opener. Purcell hung on to that starting spot for every game for the rest of that season and the next three seasons. His 1989 Panthers squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I AA playoffs.

Purcell was looked at by several NFL scouts and had tryout opportunities after college, but was unable to land a contract.

Meador, a 1986 graduate of Salem Community High School, ran for a school record 1,681 yards in that 1985 season and set a school record for most career rushing yards with 3,278. Meador set two other school marks that year, which included most points scored in a season with 180 and most yards rushing in one game with 265 against Fairfield. Those 180 points ranked second in the state that season, while his rushing total was fifth best. He also ranked eighth in the state in tackles. He was also an NEC First Team pick on both sides of the ball.

As a junior and senior, Meador was a two-time Evansville Courier All-Area Team selection, a Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South Team and a Decatur Herald All-Area Team choice. He was selected to play in the Shriners East-West All-Star game as a senior.

Meador, who also participated one season in basketball and track at SCHS, was an NEC First Team pick on offense and defense as a junior and senior. He also received Salem’s Team MVP Award in 1984 and 1985.

He continued his football career at Western Illinois University where he played the 1986-87 season. Meador was selected to the SCHS 75th anniversary team on both offense and defense in 1999.

At the time of his induction, David Meador still resides in Salem where he has coached youth baseball and football