After an 0-4 start to his first year as football coach in 2019 at Saint Vincent, Aaron Smetanka since has guided the Bearcats to a combined 8-6 mark while his third season marches on. They are 3-2 this year and angling for just their second winning record since the school revived the sport in 2007.
In the 14-plus seasons that followed, the Bearcats, despite their recent success, have stumbled to a combined 34-106 (.324) after falling Saturday to No. 12 Washington & Jefferson, 63-22.
A week earlier, in a wild 42-40 victory on Oct. 1 against Case Western Reserve, Saint Vincent freshman running back Billy Beck was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week after gaining 88 yards rushing and scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
It marked the second consecutive week that a Bearcat was chosen for the weekly honor. Freshman linebacker Joanes Polynice earned the award after making 12 tackles on Sept. 25 in the Bearcats’ 41-7 victory at Thiel.
“We had a good recruiting class that’s already paying off for us,” Smetanka said.
Should it come as a surprise that Smetanka’s name appears in a sentence about Saint Vincent and winning? After all, he was the quarterback for the 2011 team that went 6-5, the first and only time the school has enjoyed a winning football season since the 1960 team went 4-3-1 in a previous era.
The Bearcats were 5-5 in 2016.
But with Smetanka guiding them to a 2-2 record in an abbreviated 2020 schedule delayed until this spring because of the covid-19 pandemic means, there’s hope for consecutive nonlosing seasons.
After winding up 3-7 in 2019 after that 0-4 start, Saint Vincent remained above .500 heading into Saturday’s PAC home game against Grove City at Chuck Noll Field.
“What we say is, ‘Rep-by-rep, week-by-week,’” Smetanka said. “I tell our guys, ‘Don’t focus on the record.’”
But that’s a tall order, considering wins have been hard to come by.
“I felt much the same way when I became coach at Saint Vincent as I did when I came here as a player,” said Smetanka, a North Catholic product who began his college career at Robert Morris. “I’m definitely blessed with the opportunity. I like a challenge and that’s why I transferred here.”
He paused to reflect for a moment.
“I guess that’s why I’m here now,” he added.
Following his college playing days, Smetanka played professionally in the now-defunct Continental Indoor Football League, leading the Erie Explosion to two league championships.
As a rookie in 2013, he guided the team to a 10-0 record. A year later, he was named the CIFL Offensive Player of the Year as Erie finished 9-2. And, he did it while serving as quarterbacks coach at Saint Vincent, a post he held for three seasons from 2013-15.
His coaching resume also includes stops at several WPIAL high schools, most notably for two seasons as head coach at Greensburg Central Catholic in 2017 and ’18.
He also serves as a coach and speaker for the Coaching Boys into Men program, an initiative aimed at promoting healthy relationships, building leadership skills and decreasing violence among high school boys.
“Keeping the faith. That’s our core value,” Smetanka said. “Faith in your teammates, faith in your coaches and faith in God. We’ve got to stick to the process.”
It seems to be working. Smetanka’s coaching record at Saint Vincent was inching toward the .500 mark but was derailed Saturday and dropped to 8-11. Considering his success as a player and coach — so far — perhaps Smetanka and Saint Vincent are a compatible team.
“We’re always teaching the concept of team and family on and off the field,” he said. “We’re striving to be consistent in our classes and on the field.”
After restarting the program, Saint Vincent combined to win just one of its first 32 games during a three-plus year span. The Bearcats finished 3-7 in 2010, when Smetanka split time at quarterback with Jake Smith before winning the job outright by season’s end.
The Bearcats in Smetanka’s senior season earned a bid to the Division III ECAC Southwest Bowl, where they dropped a 23-15 decision to Lebanon Valley.
Saint Vincent took a 15-10 lead on Smetanka’s 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter before Lebanon Valley scored twice to secure the victory.
Smetanka finished the game 17 for 26 for 221 yards. For the season, he threw for 2,150 yards, giving him a two-year total of 4,116, which is one of four modern-day school records. The others are completions (331), attempts (536) and touchdown passes (31).
“You just want to keep the faith,” he said. “Saint Vincent wants football to be right there with our marquee sports. They want it to be in the forefront with the others, and they’ve made sure we have the facilities and the resources to be successful.
“Hey, that’s all I can ask for.”