Bishop Canevin gets physical in nonconference victory over Springdale

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 15, 2018 | 12:18 AM

Bishop Canevin coach Chris Lucas felt his team’s game in Springdale could be a turning point in the season, so he challenged his players to be as physical as possible.

The Crusaders responded with a ground game that accumulated more than 300 yards.

Bishop Canevin’s backfield duo of quarterback Jonathan Ruffing and running back Keshawn Harris combined for 262 yards. Each scored a pair of touchdowns for Bishop Canevin in a 34-14 win over Springdale (0-3, 0-1) in a Class A nonconference contest.

“We haven’t played as nasty as we wanted to, as my coach has been saying,” Ruffing said. “We played nastier and hit harder in this game than the rest of our season. We feel good going into conference (play), and we have to keep it going.”

Springdale’s offensive spark came from running back Christian Vokes, who scored on the Dynamos’ first play from scrimmage on a 22-yard run. He also scored a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and had 125 yards on seven carries.

“We increase Christian’s load every week,” Springdale coach Seth Napierkowski. “He’s a dynamic playmaker. He has good top-end speed, and we’ll continue to find ways to get him the ball.”

Bishop Canevin (2-2, 0-1) responded to Vokes’ first touchdown with an eight-play, 85-yard scoring drive. Ruffing scored on a quarterback sneak, set-up by running back Keshawn Harris’ 40-yard run. The Crusaders took the lead with 1:56 remaining in the second quarter when Ruffing scored on another sneak.

Harris, who Ruffing called the best freshman he has played with, ran the ball 15 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Harris’ 1-yard and 16-yard scores extended Bishop Canevin’s lead to 27-7 in the third quarter.

“This feels great, and this is exactly what we wanted for our young team,” Lucas said. “We have a small group of seniors who are leaders here and have worked their butts off to find our identity. This was a big step for us, because we have a very physical conference.”

Bishop Canevin’s defense smothered Springdale’s offense, which often stalled its drives with pre-snap penalties. Springdale attempted to convert consecutive fourth downs at midfield to start the second half, but failed to complete short passes.

“We can live with physical mistakes like holding, but the smaller things like getting the snap, getting the handoff, being lined up, just those little things need to be automatic,” Napierkowski said. “We are an extremely young team, and that’s not to make any excuses. We improved against Imani, last week against Monessen and continued improving here. These games will benefit us down the road.”

Shawn Annarelli is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Springdale