92 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
CENTURY • BETH-CENTER
Coach: Joe Kuhns
2019 record: 1-9, 0-7 in Class
2A Century
All-time record: 363-233-16
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Waynesburg* 7
9.18 Chartiers-Houston* 7
9.25 Elizabeth Forward 7
10.2 at Washington* 7
10.9 Charleroi* 7
10.16 at Frazier* 7
10.23 McGuffey* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Andrew Bower*
53-122, 865 yards, 7 TDs
Receiving Devyn Dingle*
42-660 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Dingle*
105-934 yards, 4 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• Beth-Center recorded backto
back seven-win seasons
before last year.
• Although the Bulldogs had
made 16 straight playoff appearances
before last season,
they haven’t made it past the
first round since 2010.
• Before getting hurt, Colby
Kuhns ran for 115 yards on 20
carries last season.
• Beth-Center’s only win last
season came Oct. 18 against
Imani Christian. BETH-CENTER LOOKS FOR
DAIJON DEVERS
COLBY KUHNS
BOUNCE-BACK SEASON
Last season wasn’t typical for the
Beth-Center Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs had made 16
straight playoff appearances, but
after being devastated by graduation,
that streak came to an abrupt
end. They went 1-9 and mustered
just 17 points per game while allowing
35.8.
“All I know is that what went
on last year was unacceptable,”
Beth-Center coach Joe Kuhns said.
“They are anxious to get that stink
off of them this year. But we just
have to stay healthy. Last year, we
didn’t stay healthy and we still
competed.”
The Bulldogs lost their starting
quarterback in the fifth quarter of
their season last year when sophomore
Colby Kuhns, the coach’s son,
went down with a torn ACL. Leading
up to that injury, Colby Kuhns
had put together an impressive
start, throwing for 287 yards and
four touchdowns against California
in the season opener.
Coach Kuhns said his son started
participating in quarterback drills
in January and has been itching to
get back on the field.
When he does, he’ll have an experienced
offensive line to protect
him.
“We didn’t use the same offensive
line twice last season, so we
have 10 or 11 guys that are going
to be coming back with varsity experience
on the line,” Kuhns said.
“We have 18 linemen this year, so
I’m sure we’ll be able to find at least
five in that group.”
With their starting quarterback
fully healthy and a line in front
of him, the Bulldogs will have to
find a way to replace wide receiver
Devin Dingle, who caught 42 passes
for 660 yards and also carried the
ball 105 times for 934 yards.
“We can’t replace him and it
might even help because when you
are a quarterback and you have
a guy out there like him, you are
looking to get it to him,” Kuhns
said.
“Now, we’re more even across
the board, so we can read the defense
and spread the ball around.”
Kuhns said one player who could
step up is Daijon Devers, who was
a first-year player as a junior last
season. He tallied one catch for
13 yards but played a big role in
Beth-Center’s secondary. Kuhns
is expecting even more from him
this year.
It wasn’t a surprise the young
Bulldogs took their lumps last
year, but they remained competitive.
Of their nine losses, four
came by less than 10 points, and
two came by just one point.
“We definitely went through
some growing pains last year, but
they are juniors this year and they
are turning into men this season,”
Kuhns said. “They are getting bigger,
quicker so we’ll just see.”
In order to get back on the right
track, the Bulldogs will have to
take another step forward on
defense.
They suffered a few big losses
throughout season, and Kuhns believes
they need to approach this
year with a better team mentality
on that side of the ball.
“We gotta get back at it and get
back to that Beth-Center mentality,”
Kuhns said. “There are not
going to be the numbers like we
saw 10 years ago, but we have to
get back to gang tackling, and
we just didn’t have that. We’re
really preaching 11 hats to the
ball and playing aggressive. The
defense definitely has to be the
improvement.”
by GREG MACAFEE