Bishop Canevin’s defense stands between Leechburg, elusive winning season

By: George Guido
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 | 6:02 PM

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Leechburg checked off another item on its to-do list last week by winning at Jeannette for the first time.

Now comes another shot at a major goal Friday night when the Class A No. 3 Blue Devils (5-1, 2-1) host No. 4 Bishop Canevin. A Leechburg victory over the Crusaders (5-1, 2-1) would secure the program’s first winning season since 1991.

Excitement continues to build in the Leechburg area as the weeks go on.

“After practicing at the baseball field all summer to finally opening up with this new field, I think we’re all very excited,” said quarterback Tom Burke. “This is the first year we’ve all trusted each other and played together. It’s the second year under coach (Randy) Walters, and we all started trusting each other and trust his process. It’s a small school, and we know each other very well.”

Walters said: “We’re doing a lot of good things. The kids are confident, and all the hard work we did in the offseason is paying off, and they’re starting to believe what we’ve been pushing at them. I think we’re going to have a huge crowd here Friday night. I keep telling them they’re playing not only for themselves, but for their parents, their grandparents, their friends and the community.

“I think this is a great town and they support the heck out of our kids, and the kids have bought into it.”

Leechburg has one of the WPIAL’s most prolific offenses, but Bishop Canevin coach Richard Johnson says “we hang our hat on our defense.”

“Our guys are starting to believe in themselves,” Johnson said. “This was the first summer even our seniors were all able to get into the weight room. It’s made us faster, quicker and stronger.”

There’s also one intangible that’s helped the Crusaders: yoga.

Said Johnson: “It’s really helped our flexibility. That was an issue. We did it when I was at Baldwin. You see we’ve stepped outside our comfort zone, and, in the end, we’re stopped seeing certain types of injuries.”

Burke has a variety of offensive weapons. With junior Braylan Lovelace in the backfield, the Blue Devils can move the ball running or passing. A variety of targets include receivers Eli Rich, Tyler Foley and Logan Kline – all potential game-breakers.

“My line’s done a great job,” Burke said. “I only need one or two seconds to get back there and get set up. I have a lot of trust in our receivers. Even our freshman, Jayden Floyd, made a great catch the other night.”

Johnson has been particularly pleased with the improvement of linebackers Keshawn Harris, a senior, and junior Braden Travis.

The only loss for both teams has been to No. 1-ranked Clairton.

All-time series

Leechburg defeated Bishop Canevin for the first time last season after seven setbacks. Here are the results of past games:

1977: Bishop Canevin 29, Leechburg 24

2002: Bishop Canevin 35, Leechburg 13

2003: Bishop Canevin 37, Leechburg 14

2010: Bishop Canevin 56, Leechburg 8

2011: Bishop Canevin 54, Leechburg 8

2016: Bishop Canevin 35, Leechburg 3

2017: Bishop Canevin 28, Leechburg 7

2020: Leechburg 35, Bishop Canevin 13

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Leechburg