A first-year head coach, a new scheme with lots of newcomers and a quarterback battle headlines this year’s Greensburg Central Catholic team as they look for a bounce-back season.

After a down 2020 season that saw the Centurions go 2-5, they are looking to change their approach on offense and defense as they look for more wins.

“Just being that it’s new, execution on offense and defense. New offense and defense schemes, just picking up and catching on,” first-year coach Marko Thomas said.

The team is looking to run more of a spread offense and an odd-front defense. On offense, it will be a quarterback battle between senior Nate Dlugos and sophomore Tyree Turner, the winner of that competition replacing the graduated David Altimore, a former all-conference quarterback. Another key part of the offense is senior running back Danny Dlugos, one of four Dlugos’ on the roster for 2021. Senior wide receiver Joe Blahovec also figures to be a key part of the offense.

On defense, tackling will be a key part of how the team is looking to improve. Thomas said that it was something he noticed while watching film during the offseason to learn about the team.

“Last year, when I was watching tape, they missed a lot of tackles. They just weren’t in the right position or in the right spots, so tackling would be a huge thing,” Thomas said.

Off the field for Thomas, who was previously the coach at Connellsville, this job is an opportunity that he has been looking at for a long time. Former coach Bret Colbert stepped down after the season in November and after an interview process, Thomas was named the new coach in January. The school interviewed about five candidates in total.

Thomas’ mother is a 1968 graduate of the school, so he has followed the Greensburg program for years.

“We’d always be keeping up with how they did with their football program and it’s always something I’ve kind of done ever since then. I’ve always looked at their program and in the back of my mind I always told myself that if it opened up, I was going to apply for it,” Thomas said. “They let me know in the end of January they were going to hire me and I started as soon as I could.”

After the program struggled last year, Thomas is looking to build a positive and winning culture with players he has never coached before and so far, they have been successful at that. On top of the official team workouts, which happen three or four times a week, players have been setting up their own side workouts to get additional work in as a form of team bonding and allowing the players to get to know each other better. This is just part of the atmosphere that Thomas is looking to build at Greensburg.

“We’re just focused on letting the kids get to know each other and doing different activities where they’re going to learn to hopefully fight for one another,” Thomas said.

The coaching staff is hoping that this positive mindset will lead to success on the field this fall.

“I expect a lot, I really do. The kids that are showing up, they have great attitudes,” Thomas said. “They have a great work ethic, a great attitude and I’m expecting a lot out of them. I’ve told them from the beginning, if they don’t expect to be the section champs, they won’t. That’s the number one thing for us right now.”

Aidan Joly: ajoly@post-gazette.com and Twitter @ByAidanJoly

Coach: Marko Thomas

Years at school: 1

2020 record: 2-5

Returning starters: Offense 4, Defense 4

Key returners: Danny Dlugos (6-1, 220, Sr., RB-LB), Joe Blahovec (6-2, 185, Sr., WR-S-LB), Cole Spivak (6-3, 260, Sr., OL-DL)

Keys to success: Learn and execute new systems on offense and defense. Improve tackling.

Schedule

*Non-conference game

Aidan Joly: ajoly@post-gazette.com and Twitter @ByAidanJoly

First Published: August 14, 2021, 10:00 a.m.