Most of the time when the University at Buffalo football team is on SportsCenter, Chris Scharon is part of the highlight. You just have to look closely and avoid following the ball.

The Salem resident recently concluded his college career on a national stage, as part of a program playing in the only bowl game in the school’s history.

As the fullback on a team with a successful running game – star back James Starks broke multiple rushing records for the Bulls – Scharon has a simple yet crucial job: block.

“It’s a hard-nosed, tough position,” said Buffalo running backs coach Lee Chambers. “Every time we had a big game rushing, I’d let Chris know that it was because of him too. He doesn’t care about the glory though.”

During his junior year at Salem High School, Scharon was scouted by some of the top Division I-AA teams in New England. Then Buffalo came calling.

Jack Gati, Salem’s head coach, sent film of Scharon the school, and Buffalo invited the then-linebacker to a camp at the university.

A week after its conclusion, Scharon received an offer for a full scholarship. He accepted it on National Signing Day his senior year.

“It was a thrill because even when I was a little kid I knew what I wanted to do,” said Scharon, who recently completed school as a fifth-year senior. “I wanted to play at the highest level. For me to get recruited by some of the great schools around here and have a (Division) I-A scholarship level, it meant a great deal.”

Gati said it wasn’t necessarily the physical aspect of the game that made Scharon an appealing recruit.

“He was one of the players who comes around once in a great while. He had everything,” said Gati. “Chris had the passion to play the game the right way, digested football all the time, and just showed up and played. He was dominating at his position.”

When Scharon began playing for the Bulls, they were an also-ran in the middling Mid- American Conference (MAC). Buffalo had been a I-AA team until 1999, and won only eight games through the 2004 season. Following a coaching change in December 2005, the team began to improve.

Under Turner Gill, third-year head coach and a national champion at the University of Nebraska, Buffalo appeared in the International Bowl against the University of Connecticut on Jan. 3 in Toronto.

The Bulls lost, 38-20, yet the game’s positive impact was felt beyond the field’s boundaries. The University at Buffalo had been selected to play in the Tangerine Bowl 50 years ago, but the team refused to play because its two black players were not allowed to compete.

“Being able to really be on the first team at the university to play in a bowl game makes it more special,” said Scharon. “Then to know there was a team that stood up for something more important than a football game – it makes me proud to know our university has a piece of history along with it too.”

Scharon broke his hand the last game of the regular season. He saw limited action in the MAC title game – when Buffalo throttled 12th-ranked and undefeated Ball State, 42-24 – and in the International Bowl, but he said it didn’t take away from his experience.

“From the time the MAC Championship ended and the (International) Bowl, you have people patting you on the back telling you how great you are,” said Scharon. “It’s a big accomplishment.”

Chambers and Scharon developed a close relationship, and the running backs coach said he was thrilled when Scharon caught his first-ever touchdown pass in 2007, a home game against Akron.

Gati said he watched one game with pride when Starks broke free for a score, and the announcers specifically highlighted the touchdown-producing block thrown by Scharon.

“Looking down the field, seeing them breaking a big play that you threw a block for, it’s a great feeling,” said Scharon. “I’m not the fastest guy. I’m not the strongest guy. I’ve known that to achieve what I wanted to, it’s going to come from hard work. To become better each year was the thing for me. In my eyes, to be successful you have get down and dirty, and work your butt off.”