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Ponitz senior, Russian Turk enjoys hard hits of football

Russian Turk plays a variety of positions on both sides of the ball.

Teesha McClam Ponitz Career Technology Center football players (from left) Christopher Houston, Rustam Saddatov and Jordan Baxter.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Marc F. Pendleton, Staff Writer Updated 3:12 PM Thursday, August 25, 2011

DAYTON — Rustam Saddatov had been in the United States long enough to pick up a common teen trait: He was bored.

But that all changed last fall for the transplanted Russian Turk and senior at Ponitz Tech High School. A thick and imposing figure, friends encouraged Saddatov to play football.

After the first stunning hit, he was hooked.

“The adrenaline just rushed into me,” he said. “I was out for revenge. I wanted more.

“Once I got into football, America started being interesting. On the field, you can break somebody and not get in trouble for it. That’s the best part.”

Ponitz is in its third year of football and is coming off a 2-8 season. The program has a new coach in former Central State head coach Theo Lemon. The Golden Panthers open Friday at Preble Shawnee.

Saddatov, 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, found what he was missing on the football field and quickly won over teammates with his relentless effort. His practice and game motor revved even as last season unraveled. Teammates found his name hard to pronounce and instead tagged him “Yo.” It stuck.

He has been a recurring hit with the new coaching staff during this preseason.

“I learned real quick that if I don’t hit, I’ll be hit,” Saddatov said. “So I hit, hit, hit and don’t stop. Coaches love that. It helps to get on their side, and if you get on their side, it means that you play.”

Last season Saddatov played defensive tackle, defensive end, linebacker, guard and kicked. It’ll probably be more of the same this season.

“I’ll play anywhere they put me,” he said. “I love this game. The game isn’t fun unless you give it your all.”

Lemon smiled and nodded when asked about Saddatov’s impact on the team.

“He’ll go both ways and also be our kicker,” Lemon said. “He’s one of those guys that you go over in a boat, stick a bayonet in his mouth and tell him that we don’t want any prisoners. Let’s go. He travels to a different beat and keeps things going for us.”

The Saddatovs joined a migration of Turkish families to leave Russia since their persecution there began in 2004.

Residing just north of Moscow, Saddatov “street wrestled” and was a reluctant soccer player.

“I was good at (soccer), but it was not that exciting because I didn’t have any physical contact,” he said.

Most of his relatives remain in Russia.

“I miss my neighbors and close friends,” he said. “I wish that I could bring them here and show them America.”

City League schools began classes last Wednesday. Saddatov will split his classroom hours at Ponitz and Sinclair Community College. Following graduation next spring, he’ll be a sophomore at SCC and plans to pursue electrical engineering.

“Yo’s a great athlete and a good kid, not just in football but off the field as well,” said Ponitz senior Jordan Baxter, another lineman who’s also expected to play offense and defense.

“He’s smart.”

Initially, Saddatov had to pass a football learning curve. He broke free with a recovered fumble at one of those early practices. The only problem was he ran the wrong direction.

“I did not know any rules,” he said. “I didn’t know which way I was supposed to go. But I got fixed and I caught up pretty quickly.”

Saddatov said his father is OK with football, but he still has yet to win over his mother.

Now, college and NFL football are his main sources of inspiration.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “My mom can’t get the remote from me.

“As long as I see somebody hit somebody, basically, that’s how I learned football, from watching.”

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2381 or mpendleton@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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