Samir Crosby steals show as Greensburg Central Catholic rolls past Mt. Pleasant

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, August 29, 2025 | 11:07 PM

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Samir Crosby put on quite a show Friday night at Mt. Pleasant.

The Greensburg Central Catholic senior rushed for 121 yards and a score, caught seven passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt 50 yards to set up the game’s first score to help the Centurions run by Mt. Pleasant, 40-7, in a nonconference contest.

GCC (1-1) dominated the game from the start and bounced back from a disappointing season-opening loss to Shady Side Academy.

Mt. Pleasant (1-1) was hoping that Week Zero performance against Jeannette would carry over to Week 1, but the Vikings ended up playing short-handed in the backfield as Stephen Prejanda missed the game with a lower-body injury, teammate Mason Eicher was injured on the first play of the game and linebacker Tristan Wtorkiewicz was injured on a hit.

“Crosby is a dynamic player, and they have a great team around him,” Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “It is always hard when you lose players. But you have to give them credit.

“They played a very physical game from then beginning. That is part of the reason it was tough to move the ball on them.”

Crosby’s 50-yard punt return set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Luke Semelka from sophomore Bobby Smithnosky.

It was the start of a big game for the Mt. Pleasant resident, who completed 14 of 22 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

He hit Crosby on two scoring strikes — 23 and 51 yards – to give the Centurions a 19-0 lead at halftime.

“We had a slow practice to begin the week, but we finished strong,” GCC coach John Thompson said. “We kept things pretty simple, both sides of the ball. And this was about execution.

“We were physical and disciplined. Everyone did their own job. The players responded well.”

Mt. Pleasant got a break early in the second half when Crosby fumbled and Robert Hixson recovered.

The Vikings drove 56 yards for the score with Brady Brooks scoring on a 23-yard run.

But GCC was not going to allow what happened against Shady Side Academy repeat itself. It took the ensuing kickoff and marched 65 yards to make to 26-7 as Semelka scored on a 13-yard run.

Mt. Pleasant’s offense was bottled up by an aggressive GCC defense, and the Centurions tacked on two more scores in the fourth quarter.

Mt. Pleasant resident Blasé Bugosh, who rushed for 49 yards, scored on a 7-yard run, and Crosby closed it out with an electrifying 60-yard run.

“Samir is electric,” Thompson said. “I have been saying the for three years. He is a playmaker.

“I saw big improvement from the team in a week. Bobby made a nice jump, and the entire team played well against a good Mt. Pleasant team.”

The only thing GCC must cut down is penalties, as it was penalized 10 times for 70 yards.

“Bobby definitely had a big game and stepped up,” Crosby said. “He showed up against his boys.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Mt. Pleasant