HS football preview: Beth-Center
Beth-Center trying to piece together a winner
Any high school football coach will tell you that putting together a team is like finding the pieces to a puzzle, especially when it comes to smaller classifications.
Just ask Tim Trump, the first-year head coach at Beth-Center High School which went 1-8 overall last year.
The biggest piece to find is at quarterback, where Jonah Sussan graduated. Sussan led the Bulldogs in passing yardage and was a capable runner, and that鈥檚 the first piece to the offensive puzzle Trump must find during camp.
鈥淲e have a lot of youth and lack depth,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淎 lot of the guys got playing time so I鈥檓 banking on that this year. Some of them have to mature. Once they mature, I鈥檓 really looking forward to that because they are going to be really good. I hope it happens this year. I do think we鈥檙e going to surprise some people.鈥�
Chase Bebout, who played sparingly last year, will get first shot at replacing Sussan. Bebout passed for 80 yards last year.
鈥淏ebout is pretty accurate,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淗e throws a nice tight spiral. When he鈥檚 on, he鈥檚 on. In some 7-on-7s, he threw some nice passes.鈥�
Bebout, who will run multiple sets, will have Danny Duncan, Cincere Cruse and Deasean Whipkey to throw to when he drops back.
In the backfield, Trump has Whipkey, a sophomore who led the team with 612 yards rushing and nine touchdowns last year. He will be joined by Teagan Veatch, who is the only senior in the backfield, and Homer Headlee, who will play fullback. Cruse has a chance to be an effective runner and receiver if he can stay healthy.
Sophomore Enzo Brown is another option at running back, a returning letterman with good football bloodlines. Brown is the great nephew of former Brownsville great and NFL player Fred Pagac, who was a longtime member of the Ohio State coaching staff before serving as an assistant coach in the NFL from 2001 to 2017.
Trump said he won鈥檛 deviate from what has long been a Beth-Center offensive tradition.
鈥淩ight now, we are trying to split the carries up evenly,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hoever has the hot hand will carry the load. We tell the kids we want to win. We don鈥檛 have selfish players. These kids don鈥檛 go around saying, 鈥業鈥檓 the man.鈥� They are going to do whatever it takes.鈥�
Brody Bebout will handle left guard and Blake Stopko will play left tackle. Luciano Ruscitto, whose grandfather is former Bulldogs head coach Tony Ruscitto, will center the line. Bradley Detrick will be at right guard and Dominick Minucci will be at right tackle. Jax Taylor and Evan Miller will be the tight ends.
On defense, Brody Bebout, Stopko, Ruscitto, Detrick and Minucci should grab spots on the line. Cruse, Whipkey and Veatch will play either linebacker or defensive back. Brown also is an inside linebacker.
Trump sees California and Jefferson-Morgan 鈥� the top two teams a year ago 鈥� as the ones to beat again in the Tri-County South Conference.
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to get this show on the road,鈥� said Trump, who played at Beth-Center and Waynesburg University. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 really excited about, to work with the kids.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get kids to come out but it鈥檚 difficult. I talked to everybody and they are struggling with numbers. (California head coach) Ed Woods told me he only has 28 kids out. Right now, I have 26. But I had 37 kids sign up. I think the cellphone is messing up these kids. You don鈥檛 see them out in the neighborhood like you used to. I learned a lot (of football) on the street. I learned to tackle, to run. I think technology is screwing things up.鈥�