Pete Winovich

Player of the Week: Pete Winovich

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

SCHOOL: Thomas Jefferson.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior quarterback-linebacker.

THE PAST WEEK: Peter John Winovich III completed 11 of 19 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns Friday in a 35-0 non-conference victory at Kittanning. He also scored on a 49-yard run. Playing in a talented offense, Winovich is 23 for 36 for 408 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions for the Jaguars (2-0), who are No. 1 in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class AAA rankings and No. 2 in the PIAA.

CAREER: As a sophomore, Winovich took over a foundering offense in the fourth week of the regular season. The Jaguars lost the first two games he started at quarterback but have won 19 of 21 since. "We win when he plays," coach Bill Cherpak said. Winovich has passed for 2,604 yards.

TWO-WAY GUY: Winovich is a rarity, a big-school quarterback who also is a full-time defensive player. He has been a starting linebacker since the opening game of 2001. "I don't mind playing both ways," he said. "When things are going well on offense, I prefer that, and vice versa with the defense."

SEMI-SWEET: The Jaguars have been an elite team in recent times, going 70-22 and making the playoffs each year since Cherpak became coach in 1995. Yet they have not reached the WPIAL title game during that run, losing in the semifinals the past five seasons and six of the past seven. "That has been extremely frustrating," Winovich said. "It seems like we break down [in the semifinals] for some reason. It seems like our biggest weakness shows through at that time."

NICKNAME: "Since I was a little kid playing hockey, my dad has yelled 'Geronimo,' " Winovich said. "My relatives yell that in a game, and if I hear them, I tap my helmet."

FUTURE: Winovich will be a third-year starter in basketball and plans to play baseball for the first time since he was a freshman. Football will be his college sport, though. No one has offered a scholarship, but Winovich said some Division I-A and I-AA schools are interested. He has a 3.42 grade point average and scored 1,010 on the SAT.

By Rick Shrum