Some high school football teams are able to succeed without much star power.

Don't count Greensburg Central Catholic among them.

The Centurions have three starters on offense who have signed to play at Division I-A schools.

Running back Max Suter and quarterback Cody Catalina are headed to the Syracuse University while wideout Nick Sukay will play at Penn State.

The three players will be focal points when Greensburg Central Catholic takes on Mars at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal playoff matchup at Penn-Trafford High School.

Catalina has thrown for 579 yards and six touchdowns, five of which have ended up in the arms of Sukay, who has caught 27 passes for 476 yards.

But the breadwinner for Greensburg is Suter, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior who enters Friday's game with 1,545 yards and 21 touchdowns out of the Centurions' I-formation offense.

"He's a power and speed guy," said Centurions coach Bill "Muzzy" Colosimo. "He breaks a lot of tackles, but he also runs the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds."

Suter, Catalina and Sukay have led their team to a 9-1 record, the latest victory a 50-16, first-round playoff win over Shenango last Friday.

The Centurions completely dominated the Wildcats, as Suter rushed for 174 yards on only 13 carries, three of which ended in touchdowns.

Greensburg's defense sacked Shenango quarterback Rocco Colavecchia nine times.

"We don't play against many passing teams," said Colosimo. "We're more of a physical team. But we changed things up a bit, going from a 3-4 defense to a 3-5."

Greensburg also made several back-breaking plays with its special teams.

The team blocked three punts, two resulting in touchdowns and the other one in a safety.

Suter added an 83-yard kickoff return for another score.

Facing a Mars team that is dangerous running and passing the football, Colosimo has faith in his defense.

The Centurions, whose only loss was a 7-2 decision to Jeannette in the regular season finale, have given up more than 10 points just twice all season.

The team's second string defense surrendered the 16 points to Shenango last week, and Greensburg defeated McGuffey, 31-14, on Oct. 13.

In the team's other eight games, the Centurions gave up an average of just over four points per contest.

In short, Greensburg is running on all cylinders as it attempts to make the WPIAL title game for the second straight season.

The squad lost in the finals last year, 24-20, to eventual state champion South Park.

Greensburg made it to the district semifinals in 2004. The team has compiled a regular season record of 25-1 over the last three years.

"We wanted to win our conference," said Colosimo, a goal his team reached by finishing in a three-way tie for the Interstate Conference crown with Jeannette and Yough. "And now we're going for a WPIAL title and state title.

"From the little bit of film I've seen on Mars, they're a good team," said Colosimo. "They have a lot of kids who can run the ball, a good quarterback and some decent receivers. And they play well on defense."

GREENBURGH C.C. FILE

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Greensburg Central Catholic suffered its first regular season loss since 2003 this season. The Centurions' schedule and results appear below:

Date....Opponent....Final9/2....East Allegheny....57-09/8....Reynolds....42-09/15....Brownsville....69-79/22....Washington....34-79/29....Yough....14-310/6....Southmoreland....47-1010/13....McGuffey....31-1410/20....Waynesburg....41-010/27....Jeannette....2-7

WPIAL Playoffs11/3....Shenango....50-16