Bishop Canevin football coach Schoppe resigns

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 8, 2018 | 7:09 PM

When Darren Schoppe became a football coach, he told himself he should give back as much time as he received as a player.

“I passed that up about seven years ago,” he said with a laugh. “I figure I've done my time.”

Schoppe, who coached for more than two decades, has resigned after five seasons as Bishop Canevin's head coach. He previously was an assistant for 13 years at his alma mater, and also coached stints at Peters Township and South Fayette.

“It was time for me after 24 years of coaching,” Schoppe said. “The business was just getting to be too much — football year round — and the kids are getting to the age where I want to spend some time with my daughters, who are 16 and 13.

“I don't know if that will be it for me or not,” he added. “I definitely want to take a year off and regroup.”

Bishop Canevin went 23-28 and reached the playoffs three times in five seasons under Schoppe. After consecutive winning seasons, Canevin finished 3-7 last season while short-handed, but the Crusaders still qualified for the WPIAL Class A playoffs with a 3-4 conference mark.

“It was a challenge,” Schoppe said. “We played the year with 24 kids, and one was a kicker. Of those, I think over half the kids had never played football before. But that's when you know you're doing some good coaching, when you're able to bring kids like that on board and still win games. If there was ever a year I was most proud about, it's probably this last year because of the challenges.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Bishop Canevin