Leyden’s Damian Salazar (2) holds off Highland Park’s Christian Billetdeaux (7) during a game in Highland Park on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)

When Leyden senior Damian Salazar was a young kid, his mother, Wendy, insisted that he play football.

The experience, at first, was traumatic for Salazar, who said he had no desire to get involved in the sport.

“That first year I did not like it at all,” Salazar said. “I was a big mama’s boy growing up. My mom was young when she had me, and she was the only one who took care of me growing up. I was always making sure she was there watching me practice. She’d leave just to walk around the park — and even that, I didn’t like her leaving.

“I cried a lot at practice my first year. After that year, I started liking it.”

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Salazar has come a long way. He is an invaluable member of the Eagles and hopes to play college football.

Versatility is one of his strengths. He’s a receiver, a defensive back and a multipurpose special teams contributor for the Eagles.

“The biggest challenge is making sure I can do my job at every position and just keeping my head no matter what,” Salazar said. “It’s a lot, but I always try to make sure I know everything I need to do, and I hate making mistakes. But if I do, I can’t get down on myself.”

Salazar gets the jobs done, according to Leyden coach Tom Cerasani.

“First of all, he’s a great leader,” Cerasani said. “He’s not the most vocal guy in the world, but his work ethic is huge. He never comes off the field. He’s on all the special teams, offense and defense. He’s a special kid. The kids look to him for an example of how to act and what to do, and he sets a great example.”

Leyden’s Damian Salazar waits for the ball on an extra-point attempt during a game in Highland Park on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Salazar had 27 catches for 320 yards and four touchdowns last season, when Leyden went 3-6 and averaged just 13 points a game.

The Eagles started 0-2 this season but have showed major improvement on offense, falling 28-25 to Highland Park in the opener and 39-26 to Proviso West on Sept. 1.

Salazar, who caught a two-point conversion pass in the loss to Proviso West, said he hopes Leyden can keep making strides offensively and win some games.

“I’m just trying to make the team better this year, make sure everyone gets their head on straight,” he said. “I want to make sure we all do our part this year. Being on varsity for three years now, I can really see potential in this team. I hope we can make it far.”

When Salazar was a kid, his interest was in another fall sport.

“I always wanted to play soccer instead, but my mom said I wouldn’t be able to handle soccer because there’s too much running,” he said. “She put me in football instead.”

So Salazar can credit her for sparking his greatest passion.

“I thank her still to this day for putting me in the sport,” he said. “I love it now, and seeing now where I’m hopefully going to play in college, maybe make it to Division I, if I can do that, she will definitely be the first person I thank.”

Salazar played basketball, too, during his freshman year. But he decided to give it up to focus on football. He came to believe he could continue playing beyond high school.

Leyden’s Damian Salazar picks up yards during a game in Highland Park on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)

“After freshman year, that’s when I really started to take football seriously,” Salazar said. “That’s when I fell in love with the game. That’s when I wanted to start really grinding hard and focus on getting to the next level.

“Watching my film, I saw potential in me. I think that’s the main thing anyone needs when they’re playing any sport is to believe in yourself, and I told myself that I can do it. I know that I can do it. I’ve been working hard. Looking at back at myself when I was younger and then seeing where I’m at now, I can see I have the potential to go to the next level.”

Salazar has received his first college scholarship offer from Roosevelt, an NAIA program in Chicago. He’s hoping for more.

“I want to show that I can be better than anyone else at my position in the conference and stuff like that,” Salazar said. “I know it’s not just about catching the ball and scoring. Blocking is a big part of it too. I want to show that I can be versatile and can do different things, and that makes me different from a lot of receivers.

“I’m hoping to get more looks from coaches. I know my game, and I know I have the talent for the next level. I’m hoping coaches recognize that and give me a chance.”

Salazar said he also thinks his skills on defense and special teams can open up more possibilities for him.

“A lot of the receivers I look up to, it seems like they always only play on one side of the ball, in high school, college, the NFL,” he said. “Looking at it now, me playing all over the field and basically never coming out, I think that shows a lot about me. If I can’t play receiver at the next level for you, I can do other things at the next level for you.”

Cerasani agrees that Salazar can find many ways to help a team win. Leyden wants to utilize all his skills this season.

“He’s got some speed and some shiftiness, and he’s one of the stronger kids on the team,” Cerasani said. “If you saw him, you might not think that. He’s not that tall, but he’s thick. He can break a tackle. He can make people miss.

“When he gets the ball out in space, he’s dangerous. That’s what we’re trying to do with him a little more is get him the ball in space and let him work.”

Salazar and senior quarterback Ethan Corral grew up together and have been good friends for a long time.

When Corral broke his leg in eighth grade, forcing him to miss his freshman season, the pair still found ways to make sure they’d be in sync the next year.

“It started when we were freshmen,” Corral said. “We were very limited in terms of what we could do, but I remember us two going to the park and running routes, talking about different coverages and what he would do against certain coverages. We just built that connection.”

That has grown over the past three years, and Corral and Salazar have become quite a dynamic duo.

“Ethan is a great quarterback,” Salazar said. “He’s gone through some injuries where I haven’t been able to play with him as much, but whenever he got healthy, I was always there to pick him up again, and he was always there to pick me up again. We always work together no matter what. Translating that to the game, I feel like that helps a lot.”

Leyden coach Tom Cerasani, left, talks with Damian Salazar during a game in Highland Park on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)

For Corral, having a player like Salazar certainly helps.

“He’s probably my favorite target,” Corral said. “His route running is very good. It’s something that’s developed greatly over the years. He works a lot on it. His football IQ is huge. He knows where to be, when the ball is going to get to him. Then obviously he’s an exceptional athlete.”

Cerasani sees Salazar playing with more self-belief, as well.

“Just being a senior, there’s a level of confidence the guys get from junior to senior year, and it’s cool to see when it happens,” Cerasani said. “It’s not just him. It’s a bunch of our seniors. It’s like all of a sudden, they get it.

“Damian definitely gets it. He understands what it takes to win a game, what it takes to prepare for a game.”

Salazar said he spent much of the offseason working on speed training. He was already fast but wanted to find another gear heading into his senior season.

“I knew I had a great game with my route running and strength,” he said. “I knew if I worked on my speed, I could be dominant. At the gym, there was an equipment sled I’d use, and then I’d just run my hardest on the treadmill.”

Leyden’s Damian Salazar (2) finds room to run as Highland Park’s Jordan Bernstein gives chase during a game in Highland Park on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Mark Ukena / Pioneer Press)

Salazar waited until late in the summer to see what progress he had made. He was happy with the results.

“I did a before and after with unofficial (40-yard dashes),” he said. “I was going to keep doing them throughout the process, but I really wanted to surprise myself with how much progress I made at the end.

“I used to run a 4.69 40, and now I run a 4.5. The big difference it makes for me is when I’m running a shorter route and I catch the ball, I can accelerate really fast. I think that’s a big part of my game, getting the ball and running fast with it.”

Salazar said he hopes all that work pays off for both him and the Eagles.

“It’s my senior year,” he said. “We’re just trying to make the playoffs, and we obviously want to go beyond that. That pushes me a lot. I have a lot of motivation.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.