It is tough to imagine more pressure on a first-year coach than what was on the shoulders of Dale Checketts at Bishop Canevin this year.

Not only was Checketts taking over for a veritable legend, Red Locke, who coached the Crusaders for more than three decades, but he also had a streak of 19 consecutive trips to the playoffs to keep intact.

The streak is now 20 after Bishop Canevin went 10-4 in Section 6-AA to finish second behind undefeated Seton-LaSalle. The Crusaders were scheduled to play Neshannock in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs yesterday at Chippewa Park Field near Beaver Falls.

They return to Chippewa Park after defeating Center there last year, 5-4, in the first round en route to the WPIAL semifinals, when they lost to eventual champion North Catholic, 9-3.

Checketts was accustomed to the tradition and the streak at Canevin. A former catcher, he played for Locke and the Crusaders. He graduated in 1999 and was an assistant the past two seasons.

"Coming in, I knew the tradition we had and I looked to continue the tradition," Checketts said. "Prior to me coming in we had made the playoffs 19 years in a row and our goal was to make the playoffs for the 20th straight year.

"The one thing I looked at in taking the job was the expectation level. I didn't want to take the position and back down from the challenge. The tradition was something to drive and uphold instead of something that could be overbearing. We knew what we wanted to accomplish as a program."

Senior center fielder Brian Billigen has been the offensive catalyst for the team from the leadoff spot. He hit .468 in the regular season and scored 27 runs. Billigen also compiled a 6-0 pitching record. He is going to Cornell University next season to play baseball.

Junior Eric Jutca plays second base and is second on the team with a .467 batting average. He has battled through injuries through the season, starting with a nagging ankle injury early in the season. Sophomore Steve Frost stepped up to fill in for Jutca when he was down with injuries and hit .342.

Senior Josh Tarnow, a left-hander, has been counted on for innings along with the number two starter, junior John Koziel who is 3-0. Junior Sean Cardello has picked up innings in relief roles along with another junior Jake Presken. Sophomore Zach Washinski pitched a few section games early on in the season.

"Zach really stepped up for us this year on the mound. He is only a sophomore and that's big for us. He and John [Koziel] both came through and helped solidify our pitching staff," Checketts said.

Junior first basemen Dan Hrapla has two home runs and is batting .358. Sophomore Patrick Leyland, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland son, also has two home runs and he has been starting at catcher.

Tarnow, Koziel and Frost have all been rotated at designated hitter. Tarnow is batting .308 and Koziel .379.

After a slow start, senior shortstop Steve Mackin went on a late season tear and got his average up to .423 and tied for the team lead with 17 RBIs.

Junior third baseman Matt Klein hit .311. In the outfield along with Billigen, senior Greg Jones plays in left field and senior Nick Bayer is in right. Bayer is hitting .300 this year.

The inclement weather early in the season especially hurt Canevin. Its young team was unable to get outdoors for practice. The Crusaders dropped their first four games of the season and opened up section play 2-3.

They finished on an 8-1 run in section play with the only loss coming against Seton LaSalle.

"We finally got outside and started to get some consistency," Checketts said. "For us, it was a matter of getting outside and getting some experience for our guys who were first time starters.

"After the slow start, we really tried to break it down and said to our guys to take it one game at a time. It's a tough section but we can still make this season what we want to make it. We just had to bear down and from there on out we took it one game a time."