Don't call him Touchdown Tommy
Elk's Tamaska makes his points
By Sean McClelland
Dayton Daily News
CENTERVILLE | As Metallica blares in the locker room before a Centerville High football practice, Tommy Tamaska is saying all the right things above the music. He credits his offensive line for his 20 touchdowns and speaks highly of his coach, Ron Ullery, who also happens to be his stepfather.
"On the field, (Ullery) demands a lot out of us because he knows how much we've put into it and how much fulfillment we get on Friday nights after big victories," Tamaska said. "Off the field, our relationship is just father-son."
This has been a blended family for as long as "Tommy Touchdown" can remember. His mom married Ullery when Tommy was 3. Tommy, although living in the Ullery household most of his life, says he remains close with his biological father, Terry Tamaska, a fine athlete in his day who regularly attends Centerville games.
Football at Centerville can be looked upon almost as a family business. Shawn Ullery, one of the coach's two biological sons, plays linebacker for the Elks. Three months apart in age, he and Tommy are best friends and almost mirror images, each about 5 feet 10 and 205 pounds.
In the backyard growing up, Tommy would be Steve Young or Jerry Rice. Shawn would be Deion Sanders or Emmitt Smith. "Any game you could think of that was competition, we played," Tommy said. "A game of checkers could have escalated into war."
Both have been central to Centerville's 6-0 start, but the spotlight shines brighter on Tamaska because of the gaudy touchdown total. He was featured last season, but not quite as feared. Diligence in the weight room helped change that and Ron Ullery, who wasn't convinced last year, now thinks Tamaska can succeed as a running back at the Division I college level.
Something Tamaska hopes won't follow him to college? His nickname. Turning up often in newspaper accounts, it is beginning to haunt him. "Honestly, if I had to say, I don't really like it, but I don't really have anything to do with it because I didn't start it," he said. "Whenever I score, somebody says, 'What do you know, it's 'Tommy Touchdown' scoring again.' I just shrug it off."
At home, where nobody feels obligated to adorn his name, football naturally enters the conversation. "But it's not like we sit there and talk about the next game, then go out and work on blocking drills," Coach Ullery said. "We talk about everything."
They could talk about how Tamaska is the most lethal weapon in a triple-option attack that at times seems stoppable only by acts of nature or turnovers. Last week, Fairmont stacked the line against him and Tamaska still bulled his way to 130 yards on 20 carries with three more TDs. "People are coming after me now," he says. "You can see on film they're keying on me."
Not that he's complaining. "I like that," said Tamaska, who is averaging 8.4 yards per carry. "It's more of a challenge."
Nineteen of his TDs have been from scrimmage. The other came on a 90-yard kickoff return two weeks ago against Springfield North.
Best way to annoy Tamaska's coach is to question his speed. "He may not line up in a race and beat every running back, but on Friday night he runs away from people," Ullery said.
Coaches' kids tend to be that way. Brent Ullery, who played for his dad, is a sophomore walk-on receiver at Ohio State. An older Tamaska brother, Terry, also played for Centerville.
"I see the values that football and high school athletics bring to kids," Ullery said. "But my wife and I were very careful not to push them, mainly because I didn't want to push them away."
