Numbers up, optimism growing for seasoned Beth-Center team

By: Ted Sarneso
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 | 10:30 PM

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Coach Anthony Ruscitto has been doing this a long time.

At 82, he never misses a detail. During drills on Wednesday of the first week of camp, Ruscitto was explaining to his receivers what running with a crouch does to protect them in the open field.

“You guys are out here running straight up and down,” he said to the group. “When you run like that, you’re exposing a whole lot of unprotected body. You have thigh pads and shoulder pads, but nothing in between to protect you. When you run crouched, the area becomes smaller, leading to a less chance of injury.”

Coaches are tasked with doing a lot, and caring for their players’ well-being is always at the top of the list. The Bulldogs’ well-being has been challenged in recent years with injuries, and that was no different at the start of camp.

“We’ve had some illness circulate through the team early in camp and a few minor injuries. We’re OK now,” said Ruscitto. “We had some little setbacks, but that’s a part of football. You learn to deal with adversity, you move on, and you learn from it. We try to teach the kids how to deal with such situations.”

Teaching is what coaching has always been about for Ruscitto. It was something he learned by watching how his high school coach tutored and instructed him, and Ruscitto feels a responsibility to pass his knowledge on to future generations.

“For me, I pay it forward,” he said. “My high school coach did so much to influence my life and all the success I had in business and coaching, and I just want to pass on what he gave to me to these young people because I consider myself a maker of men.”

With 48 years of coaching experience, including stops at California, South Allegheny and Sto-Rox, Ruscitto has seen it all and passed on a lot of lessons, but he still has the fire from when he first began coaching.

“It’s been a great life,” he said in the middle of his team’s heat acclimation week. “My love for the game has never wavered. It just keeps me going.”

Anyone who coaches for as long as Ruscitto has will have his ups and downs. Last year was a trying one for Ruscitto and the Bulldogs, who finished 3-7, 2-5 in the Class A Tri-County Conference.

“We had low numbers last year,” said Ruscitto. “We had kids get hurt. I dressed 15 kids for a couple games last year, and it’s hard to keep any continuity.”

But this year, Beth-Center has doubled its roster size, and Ruscitto believes it can help his team be more creative and competitive.

“We have 33 kids this year, which will make a big difference,” he said. “When you have the numbers and the depth, it makes it a lot easier. We’re looking for success this year.”

Success will begin with the Bulldogs’ replacing a talented quarterback.

In 2022, Dominik Revi threw for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, and Ruscitto believes junior Jonah Sussan is capable of filling Revi’s shoes.

“This year, we’re happy to have Jonah as our quarterback,” Ruscitto said. “He was my backup quarterback last year as well as a starting fullback. This kid has worked hard.”

Making the switch to quarterback is not easy, but Ruscitto spoke highly of Sussan’s determination to learn the position and how he had developed his skills in the offseason.

“Jonah came to quarterback school from January to July,” he said. “Every Sunday night, we did an hour of skill training and an hour of classroom sessions, and it’s really paying off for him now. He is seeing the whole field and his arm’s gotten stronger.”

Sussan impressed his coach with his determination to learn and develop, and Ruscitto felt the circumstances warranted Sussan be rewarded.

“He’ s a leader amongst these kids. They respect him,” he said. “He is only a junior, but I made him a captain. That’s how much I think of him.”

Having been the backup, Sussan will be familiar with the offense the Bulldogs implemented last year, when the team looked to pass a bit more than run.

“Dominik was a good leader, helped me out, showed me the ropes,” said Sussan. “Offensively, we have added few wrinkles and we have a lot of experience all the way around, especially on the O-line.”

Both Sussan and Ruscitto are excited that the improved roster numbers afford them opportunities the Bulldogs really didn’t have in the past with a lower turnout.

“Offensively, we’re going to do the same things we did last year, but we’ve added some motion and different packages,” said Ruscitto. “We’re going to have a little more variety, and we’ll look to expand upon it throughout the season.”

“First time in three years we have the numbers to help us be successful,” said Sussan. “I think we have about 30 kids. With the added depth, we’re shooting for above .500, and I think we could be better than that.”

The newly added sub-packages will no doubt include returning senior running back Ethan Varesko. However, due to an ejection in last year’s final game, Varesko will be sidelined for the first two games of the year.

“At running back, Varesko, our best back last year, is out for the first two games this year, but we have kids who played a lot last year also returning,” said Ruscitto.

“I’ll be ready for the third game, even fresher than I would be,” said Varesko. “Right now, I’m just getting myself ready and showing the other guys the right steps, where to be during plays, running with them and hitting them harder to make them tougher.”

Sophomores Cyncere Cruse and Teagan Veatch will be the backups tasked to cover for Varesko in his absence, and with a veteran offensive line, the Bulldogs, who averaged 176.4 rushing yards a game in 2022, will be hard to stop on the ground once again.

Senior Jayce Hundertmark and junior Chris Erickson are pegged to start at guard, while seniors Josh Howes and Jon Esmond will man the tackle positions for a line looking for a bounce-back year.

“Our offensive line should be improved this year,” said Ruscitto. “The kids have worked hard in the offseason. Injuries hurt us last year.”

Defensively, Beth-Center will be looking to switch things up to try and be more tough to deal with.

“We’re coming up with a whole new defense,” said Ruscitto. “It’s a little different from last year’s philosophy. We’ve been working on it in the offseason. Our kids have bought into the change and are looking forward to giving it a try.”

Ruscitto and his Bulldogs will look to try anything that brings a markedly different result than what they had last year and believes his team will achieve a lot in 2023.

“We didn’t accomplish what we set out to do last year,” he said. “This year, I feel very confident we should have some triumphs this year.”

Varesko sees the team being even better.

“I think we could do a lot,” he said. “We look sharp. We could definitely win the conference.”

Editor’s note: Due to production scheduling conflicts, previews for Tri County South teams Bentworth and California will appear later this week.

Beth-Center

Coach: Tony Ruscitto

2022 record: 3-7, 2-5 in Class A Tri-County South

All-time record: 369-253-16

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 Riverview, 7

9.1 at Burgettstown, 7

9.8 Fort Cherry, 7

9.15 at Mapletown*, 7

9.22 Jefferson-Morgan*, 7

9.29 at Carmichaels*, 7

10.6 Bentworth*, 7

10.13 West Greene*, 7

10.20 at California*, 7

10.27 Monessen*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Dominik Revi*

53-93, 1,023 yards, 8 TDs

Rushing: Tyler Debnar*

90-526, 6 TDs

Receiving: Ethan Varesko

12-257, 3 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Bulldogs are looking for their first winning season since 2018.

• Prior to 2018, Beth-Center had made the playoffs 16 straight years. The Bulldogs last made the playoffs in the 2021-2022 season and lost in the first round 48-12 to Steel Valley.

• The Bulldogs offense fumbled the ball eight times last year and lost every single one, while the defense caused one fumble but could not recover it.

Tags: Beth-Center