Winning conference not enough for B-C
Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh had more than 1,200 rushing yards last season.
Photo Courtesy of Randy Miller Beth Center's quarterback Trent Cunko looks to pass during football training camp.
Jason Stay leads the team agility drills.
Numbers rarely lie and for Beth-Center football, they reveal a pair of telling stories.
Since moving to the Tri-County South Conference in 2008, the Bulldogs have won an impressive 49 games with only three losses to conference opponents. Few WPIAL teams can claim such a lengthy run of dominant play.
But all the regular-season success hasn’t translated to extended postseason play.
Beth-Center’s last playoff victory came in 2010, a 34-12 first-round victory over Cornell, and the Bulldogs have won only two playoff games since joining the Tri-County South.
A 2-6 postseason record since 2008 is something Beth-Center wants to change.
“We’ve got so start winning some playoff games, not just make the playoffs. This one-and-done doesn’t cut it,” Beth-Center head coach Ed Woods said. “This program, from the coaches to the players, is working hard to achieve that goal. It’s time to get it done.”
Beth-Center enters this season as the favorite to win the Tri-County South, again.
It’s little wonder, considering the Bulldogs boast a game-breaking running back in junior Anthony Welsh, who rushed for 1,202 yards, averaged 11.3 yards per carry and scored 128 points in 10 games. Nico Brown, who scored 13 touchdowns a year ago, also is back and the duo give Beth-Center yet another versatile backfield – a trademark of all potent Bulldogs’ postseason teams.
What could separate this Beth-Center team from recent outfits is a solid, deep group of linebackers. And if the last names sound familiar, they should. Some come from a long line of brothers who previously played linebacker at Beth-Center, some at an all-state level.
The group is led by senior Jason Stay, a key contributor since his freshman year. Stay is the younger brother of Chris and Matt Stay, both standout linebackers during their time.
“He’s the captain of our defense,” Woods said. “He receives all the signals from our defensive coordinator (Scott Faieta), makes the call and the adjustments. He is a coach on the field, and he helps the varsity guys as well as the younger kids. He’s a good role model.”
Woods is quick to mention Stay’s work ethic, which he likened to a 2011 senior class that included Sal Faieta and Jake Sofran.
“I think Jason realizes this is his senior year, and he’s giving it everything he’s got,” Woods added. “He’s more mature. He’s a young adult. He knows the game.”
Joining Stay at linebacker is Frank Dreucci, Jake Mowl, Edward Zellie and Johnny Sofran, the younger brother of Jake Sofran.
Johnny Sofran suffered a concussion in Week 1 last season and did not return. Woods called it, “the worst concussion I’ve ever seen.” If Sofran progresses, his presence could make the Bulldogs defense imposing outside the boundaries of the Tri-County South.
And Beth-Center will find out in Week 2, when it plays Greensburg Central Catholic, a perennial Class AA power that dropped in classification for the current two-year cycle.
The game is at Beth-Center.
“We’re excited they’re coming down here, and that doesn’t mean we’re looking past Mapletown (in Week 1),” Woods said.” But it’s a team we haven’t played in a long time and one of the best small-school programs around. The kids are excited for the test.”