This season is back to the future for Crown Point sophomore Max Gurnic.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had been a running back until he shifted to safety last year. But he is flourishing in his return to those roots.
“It feels really good to have a role as a young player,” Gurnic said. “Hopefully I’ll have that role for the next two, three years.”
On Friday night, Gurnic rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries as the visiting Bulldogs won 48-10 against Chesterton to clinch a share of their fourth consecutive Duneland Athletic Conference title.
“My offensive line blocked great, the H-backs, everybody, so they opened up holes for me,” he said. “I just tried to use my speed to get through there and stay on my feet.”
Gurnic has helped Crown Point’s running game stay on its feet after star Larry Ellison‘s graduation in the spring.
“He’s had a really good year,” Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said of Gurnic. “The thing about Max, in eighth grade, you could tell he was going to be a pretty good player, dominant — in eighth grade. Last year, because we had Larry, we moved Max to DB — and if you remember, Larry started at DB for us.
“We felt like last year, at this time, Max was playing all defense, and I said, ‘Hey, I have to have an idea if this kid can play running back.’ We let him play running back on the JV, and I think he scored three or four touchdowns in the last game. I said, ‘OK, I think we have a guy.’”
Gurnic and junior running back Brayden Schutt have formed a strong one-two combination for the Bulldogs (8-0, 6-0), who are ranked No. 4 in the Class 6A coaches poll and have won 35 straight regular-season games.
“He was our No. 2 back to start off this year behind Brayden Schutt,” Buzea said of Gurnic. “Now they’re alternating, and we feel like we have two good backs.”
For the Trojans (5-3, 4-2), who have lost five straight games in the series with Crown Point, sophomore quarterback Hunter Boyd threw for 202 yards and ran for their lone touchdown.
Crown Point junior quarterback Tyce Custy, who threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns, praised Gurnic.
“He’s great,” Custy said. “He’s really energetic. He’s a young guy, and it’s nice to see him go out there and make plays. He’s just a really good playmaker. He’s doing really well.”
Gurnic has aimed to make plays wherever the coaches put him.
“I started at safety on the JV last year, and I got moved to running back at the very last two weeks of the season,” he said. “I’ve stuck there ever since.
“I was always a running back, and I played linebacker. When I got to high school, they asked me to play safety, so I played safety. I’m back to running back now, and I love it.”
As part of a performance in which various players contributed for Crown Point, senior Griffin Van Tichelt had a long kickoff return to set up a touchdown and made an interception that led to his 4-yard touchdown run.
Gurnic opened the scoring with a 31-yard run just 2:28 into the game, and his second touchdown was an 8-yarder on which he broke a tackle inside and bounced to the outside in space.
“We executed on offense right away,” he said. “Our defense looked good too. We can still improve, but they’re a good team, and it was a good all-around game for us.”