Star power

By DEREK PYDA Eagle Staff Writer

November 11, 2006 Last Updated: November 11, 2006 12:49 PM High School

Mars' Josh Keil pushes for yardage before being brought down by Greensburg Central Catholic's Dane Corbett Friday in their WPIAL Class AA playoff game. Keil recorded two touchdowns, but the Planets ended their season with a 38-19 loss.

Centurions trio stings Planets in playoff loss

HARRISON CITY — Star players shine the brightest in big games.

And the Greensburg Central Catholic football team is glad they did Friday night.

Syracuse University recruit Max Suter rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Cody Catalina and wideout Nick Sukay connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass to lead the Centurions to a 38-19 WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal playoff win over Mars at Penn-Trafford's Warrior Stadium.

Suter's 3-yard touchdown run opened the scoring with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter.

With the game tied at 7-all, Catalina took a three-step drop and lofted the ball down the right sideline for Sukay, who had beaten Mars cornerback Josh Keil. The Penn State recruit hauled in the pass near midfield and was gone to give the Centurions a 14-7 lead with 3:38 left in the first half.

"Josh thought we were in a different coverage," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer of the long scoring play.

Suter scored two more times in the second half on runs of 36 and 47 yards to help the Centurions (10-1) cap the victory.

GCC led 38-7 with two minutes left in the game before Mars added a pair of late scores.

Catalina, who also has signed to play at Syracuse, completed six of eight passes for 131 yards.

"This was the first time all season that we used the shotgun, and I think it really opened things up for Cody," said Centurions coach Bill "Muzzy" Colosimo.

"You couldn't ask for any more out of our big three tonight," he added.

But the team's defense also played a big role in the win.

Catalina recovered Keil's fumble on a punt return late in the first quarter to set up Suter's first scoring run.

Leading 21-7 early in the third quarter, the Centurions watched Mars drive 49 yards in 15 plays before defensive lineman Jake Free sacked Mars quarterback D.J. Cannon, forcing a fumble that T.J. Valore recovered for GCC at its own 35-yard line.

If Mars had any hope remaining, Valore snuffed it out on the Planets' next drive.

Trailing 24-7 early in the fourth quarter, Cannon dropped back to set up a screen pass.

But with several GCC linemen closing in, Cannon was forced to throw off his back foot. Valore was waiting near the line of scrimmage. He picked off the pass — Mars' third turnover of the game — and returned it 19 yards for a 31-7 lead with 9:54 left in the game.

"(Three) turnovers, you can't have that and expect to beat a team of this caliber," said Heinauer. "(GCC) creates turnovers and then they take it in and score. That's what they do."

Mars was without the services of star fullback Bill Bair, who suffered a concussion in the first-round playoff win over Kittanning. He dressed Friday but did not play.

"(Friday) morning, he was fine, then our team doctors told us at 6 p.m. that he was not cleared to play," Heinauer said. "There was nothing we could do."

Keil, normally the team's wingback, stepped in for Bair and rushed 21 times for 200 yards.

His 48-yard scoring run late in the first quarter tied the game at 7-all.

Keil also caught two passes for 37 yards and also attempted one pass.

"We gave him the ball in every way we could," said Heinauer. "He was our best player out there tonight."

Keil had totaled 86 yards rushing on eight carries by halftime.

"He's a great player," Colosimo said. "He's fast, strong and he broke a lot of tackles."

The Planets certainly hoped they'd be playing for more than pride in the closing minutes of the game, but the team did not quit.Mars drove 71 yards in nine plays before Shane Kaclik scored on a 10-yard run with a minute left to play.The Planets (9-2) then recovered an onside kick off the foot of Ryan Schroth before Cannon hit Keil with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining."I'm proud of the way this football team played," said Heinauer. "And I'm proud of our seniors."Greensburg Central Catholic will face Ford City, a 42-3 winner over Center, next week in the WPIAL semifinals.The other semifinal has Brentwood facing Jeannette.Greensburg C.C. 38 Mars 19Mars 7 0 0 12—19Greensburg C.C. 7 7 7 17—38M GCC16 First Downs 1338-246 Rushes-Yards 38-27971 Passing Yards 1315-19-1 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 6-8-0317 Total Yards 4103-2 Fumbles/Lost 0-03-26 Penalties-Yards 5-45First QuarterGCC — Max Suter 3 run (Dan Dugan kick), 1:51M — Josh Keil 48 run (Ryan Schroth kick), 1:07Second QuarterGCC — Nick Sukay 80 pass from Cody Catalina (Dugan kick), 3:38Third QuarterGCC — Suter 36 run (Dugan kick), 10:53Fourth QuarterGCC — Dugan 23 field goal, 10:09GCC — T.J. Valore 19 interception return (Dugan kick), 9:54GCC — Suter 47 run (Dugan kick), 4:50M — Shane Kaclik 10 run (kick failed), 1:00M — Keil 17 pass from D.J. Cannon (kick blocked), :13Individual StatisticsPassing: Mars, D.J. Cannon 5-18-71-1, Josh Keil 0-1-0-0. Greensburg Central Catholic, Cody Catalina 6-8-131-0.Rushing: Mars, Dan King 1-3, Shane Kaclik 5-22, Josh Keil 21-200, D.J. Cannon 11-21. Greensburg Central Catholic, Max Suter 19-199, Cody Catalina 14-63, Jared Pleskovitch 4-10, Dane Corbett 1-7.Receiving: Mars, Josh Keil 2-37, Shane Kaclik 1-20, Carroll Smith 1-14, Matt Kennedy 1-0. Greensburg Central Catholic, Max Suter 1-3, Nick Sukay 3-101, Mike Verdun 1-31, Akeile Day 1-(-4).

Ed Gaw of Mars (60) sacks Greensburg Central Catholic quarterback Cody Catalina for a big loss during Friday's WPIAL Class AA playoff game. The Planets suffered an even bigger loss when the Centurions captured a 38-19 victory.