Trusky runs Bishop Canevin into WPIAL playoffs with win at GCC

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 20, 2017 | 11:06 PM

Bishop Canevin came to Greensburg Central Catholic hoping to play well enough to earn a trip to the WPIAL playoffs.

The Crusaders did more than enough in a 49-21 rout of the Centurions on Friday night.

“The bottom line is I asked these guys to play 48 minutes of football as hard as they could and to the best of their ability, and they did it,” Bishop Canevin coach Darren Schoppe said. “They've worked their tails off all year, and this is the reward.”

Senior Zach Trusky rushed for 194 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead the Crusaders (3-5, 3-4), who clinched a playoff berth out of the Eastern Conference.

Both teams were hoping for a victory that would have secured a postseason spot. Greensburg Central Catholic (3-6, 2-4) saw its slim playoff hopes dwindle with one regular-season game remaining.

“It's going to be tough for us now,” said Greensburg Central Catholic coach Aaron Smetanka, whose club's only opportunity for a playoff spot would come as a wild-card entry.

Trusky scored on runs of 41, 24, 10, 10 and 5 yards for Bishop Canevin, which pulled away from a 14-point halftime margin with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to widen the lead to 42-14.

“I told our guys that if we don't wrap him up, he can roll up some numbers,” Smetanka said. “It's like he's running downhill once he gets up a head of steam.”

Max Pisula threw for two touchdowns and finished with 122 yards passing for Greensburg Central Catholic.

Bishop Canevin wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking the opening kickoff and capping a drive with Trusky's first touchdown, a 41-yard run that gave the Crusaders a 7-0 lead.

Pisula scored on a 5-yard run to pull Greensburg Central Catholic even early in the second quarter before Bishop Canevin scored three unanswered touchdowns — all by Trusky, who carried 22 times and ran for 141 yards in the first half.

“He's a great runner,” Schoppe said. “Zach has prepared for four years for this (making the playoffs), and I couldn't be happier for him. He's a hard worker, and he deserves the benefit of it.”

Trusky's 24-yard touchdown run gave Bishop Canevin the lead for good, 14-7, after the Crusaders took over in GCC territory following a partially blocked punt near the end zone.

Trusky then scored twice from 10 yards out each time, the last following a the first of two interceptions by Brian Deschon, as Bishop Canevin went ahead 28-7.

Pisula, who threw three interceptions, completed 11 of 30 attempts for GCC, but two of his passes went for touchdowns.

He completed a 9-yard strike to Brandon Brown in the closing minute of the first half to help the Centurions cut their deficit to 28-14 at halftime.

Pisula also found James Rice on a 20-yard scoring pass late in the fourth quarter after Trusky scored his final touchdown of the night on a 5-yard run and Robert Goodnight scored on an 11-yard run, both in the third quarter, and quarterback Jonathan Ruffing found the end zone on a 1-yard keeper in the fourth.

“I feel like we put together some good stretches at times this season,” said Smetanka, who is in his first season as a high school head coach after serving a year as an assistant at Chartiers Valley.

Smetanka, a North Catholic graduate, split his four seasons as a college quarterback between Robert Morris and St. Vincent before playing several seasons in the Continental Indoor Football League.

“The kids have worked hard this year,” he said. “They've put a lot of time in, and I have a lot of respect for them for doing that. We just want them to focus at all times because when you let your guard down, that's when you can give up a big play.

“We want them to focus from start to finish.”

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Greensburg C.C.