JOSEPH LEE

CENTRAL SALLISAW

Being part of a record-setting football team this year is just part of what Joseph Lee has meant to the athletic program at Central Sallisaw.

“He’s been everything you could ask for in a quarterback and leader for the four years he’s started for me,” said Tiger football coach Jeremy Thompson. “He’s been a dual threat guy who can make things happen and was a guy we depended on for offense and defense. He rushed for over 1000 yards both years he was quarterback and is an excellent student as well with a 4.0 GPA.”

The Tigers were 12-1 this past season including a perfect 7-0 mark in winning the District A-8 title. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs before suffering their only loss of the season to Hooker which is the farthest a Tiger team has ever made it.

“I started playing football and basketball around the second grade and really fell in love with football right away. I enjoyed watching guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in football and Russell Westbrook in basketball” said Lee who attended grade school and junior high at Brushy. “I was always real competitive with my older sister Courtney (now playing basketball at NSU). She would always say she was the better athlete and I had to go out and prove her wrong,” he laughed.

Lee passed for 1453 yards with 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1309 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading the Tigers to their success this year. For his two years at quarterback Joseph passed for 2506 yards and rushed for 2311 more. He is also a two-time state track qualifier in the two-mile relay.

In basketball Lee averaged six points and five rebounds a game last year but his real strength for the Tigers is on defense according to basketball coach Caleb Cawhorn.

“I’ve got several guys that play good defense, but Joseph will always be on the other team’s best player because he’s versatile enough to be able to guard a guy on the perimeter or go inside against the bigger guys in the paint. As a senior leader he sets a good example. He’s what I call a good practice player because sometimes you have guys that really just turn it on when it’s game time. But Joesph is a guy that’s full on whether it’s practice or game time. He’s not a real vocal guy and won’t be the guy leading a team meeting at half time, but he does a good job of directing the defense out on the floor.”

On the gridiron Lee started out playing wide receiver at Central but moved to quarterback his last two years.

“I never really wanted to play quarterback because I didn’t think I was good enough, but coach believed in me and that gave me a lot of self-confidence,” said Lee.

And it was in that quarterback spot this year where Joseph found his career highlight as a Tiger.

“For me the biggest thrill was our playoff game against Pawnee. I had five touchdowns on offense and made a game-saving tackle on a two-point conversion try in overtime that helped us keep going in the playoffs.”

Going from Brushy to Central Sallisaw impacted Lee’s life from the time he set foot on campus.

“Being a Tiger has really been a special deal for me. Just growing up and then getting here and watching the guys ahead of me really showed me what being a Tiger is all about,” said Lee.

Lee still has memories to make as he plays basketball and runs track the rest of his senior year and says he will always cherish his time as a Tiger and hopes the guys who have watched him will have good memories like he did about the upperclassmen he admired.

“I guess I’d like to be remembered as a good player and good friend and someone you felt like you could always talk to.”

Simply said, Joseph Lee does everything looking through the “eye of the Tiger” with 20-20 vision and effort.