Salem's Ironman

Ethan Walsh kicks, punts, tackles and catches passes; and he does it all well

 
  In most cases, when a ball carrier gets tackled by the other team's kicker, he becomes the instant target of a steady stream of good-natured harassment from his teammates.

  Those rules don't apply when you get knocked on your tail by Salem's kicker.

  That's because Ethan Walsh is an un-kicker-like 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and he hits like a tank.

  Since taking up the sport his freshman year at Salem, Walsh has become a three-way force for the Rocks, excelling as a hard-hitting inside linebacker, a sure-handed tight end and a punter/kicker who, outside of Plymouth's Kyle Brindza, has few peers in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.

  In the Rocks' 40-0 victory over South Lyon East two weeks ago, Walsh intercepted two passes, recorded 10 tackles and kicked a 42-yard field.

  Let's see Jason Hanson do that.

  "Ethan has the intensity and savvy that you'd like to see in every one of your players," said Salem coach Kurt Britnell. "I could put him anywhere on the field and he'd do a great job. He's a hitter on defense, he has soft hands as a tight end and he can really kick. He had a 70-yard punt in our first game against Plymouth."

  Walsh's pre-football athletic career was focused on soccer and the martial arts. Along with earning roster spots on some of the area's top travel soccer teams, he has earned a black belt.

  "Even though I never played football when I was younger, I like the physicality part of the sport, so I thought it would be cool to play," he said. "The footwork and the hand-eye coordination that I developed in martial arts helped make me a better football player."

  Walsh's favorite position on the gridiron is inside linebacker. He's teamed up with Austin Root to give the Rocks a formidable one-two line-backing punch this season.

  "Ethan has deceptive speed," said Britnell. "He's not the fastest guy out there, but his 20-yard burst is amazing. Hash mark to hash mark, he gets to everything.

  "Ethan is not only a great football player; he's also a great kid who is well-liked by his teammates and the coaching staff."

  Downtime is rare for Walsh on Friday nights.

  "My only breaks come when our punt-receive and kickoff-receive teams are out there," he said.

  Is it difficult switching from pounding running backs one second to lining up field goals the next?

  "The only hard part about it is that I have to settle down and relax a little bit before I kick," he said. "I have to kind of re-focus, concentrate on going through my steps and keeping my head down."

  Walsh's life is a lot like a football game in that he rarely has the luxury of downtime. In the winter he plays basketball and in the spring he throws the shot put and discus for the Rocks' track-and-field team.

  "Whatever sport I'm playing at the time is usually my favorite," he said. "Right now I love playing football. I love the physicality of it."

  Walsh said the Rocks are playing better than their 1-5 record would indicate.

  "It's been a disappointing season and it hasn't," he said. "We play well most of the game, but we always seem to have one or two little things that we don't execute and it costs us."

  The Rocks will host South Lyon Friday for homecoming. The opening kick is set for 7 p.m.
 

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 453-1980.