Crown Point junior Max Gurnic simply wants to contribute.
Offense, defense, special teams, it doesn’t really matter all that much to the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Gurnic, who was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher last season.
“It’s been different this year, but I just want to make plays,” he said. “There’s been some rocky parts, especially at the start. But it’s all about how you finish, not how you start. So I’m trying to finish strong.
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“I’m just trying to help my team win and get as far as we can.”
Gurnic particularly helped on special teams and offense against visiting Chesterton on Friday after spending most of his time on defense this season. The highlight was his 74-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ dominating 47-6 victory, which clinched a share of their fifth straight Duneland Athletic Conference title.
“I knew I had to make a play,” Gurnic said. “I just got the ball and saw the hole. It was great blocking. I just wanted to make a play for my team.”
Crown Point coach Craig Buzea wasn’t surprised.
“We’ve been waiting for that because he has the ability to do that, both on kickoffs and punts,” Buzea said. “I was waiting for that, and it was really good to see. Our special teams have been solid all year.”
Gurnic also caught three passes for 60 yards and ran for 31 yards on five carries for the Bulldogs (8-0, 6-0), who are ranked No. 5 in the Class 6A state coaches poll. Senior running back Brayden Schutt ran for 150 yards and two TDs on nine carries, and sophomore quarterback AJ Summers ran for two TDs and threw a 10-yard TD pass to senior quarterback Tyce Custy.
Gurnic entered the game with 117 yards and two TDs on 25 carries, 10 catches for 101 yards, and 10 tackles. As a sophomore last season, he had team highs of 930 rushing yards and 118 carries and scored 12 TDs, which tied Schutt for the team lead.
Gurnic then spent the offseason getting reps on both sides of the ball and landed primarily on defense when this season opened.
“It’s been a little different for him because last year he toted the ball a lot for us, and he still does, but this year we needed some help on defense,” Buzea said. “So we brought him over there, and he’s been playing defense for the most part.
“Then this last week, I said, ‘Hey, you’re coming over on offense.’ So offense, special teams, if we need him on defense, fine. But he’s a weapon that we need to get on the field.”
Gurnic was on board with that plan.
“I’ve been exclusively offense this past week,” he said. “Coach Buz just wanted to get me some more touches, and I’m just learning the playbook more. It’s been really good.”
Custy welcomed having a player like Gurnic at his disposal more fully against the Trojans (4-4, 3-3).
“He’s a huge spark for us,” Custy said. “He’s a very explosive runner. He’s been playing great all season on both sides of the ball, which at this level speaks volumes about how good a player he is.
“I’m excited to see what he’s going to be able to do for us as we get into the postseason here.”
The Bulldogs will close the regular season at Michigan City, where they will try to wrap up their fifth straight outright DAC title.
“It never gets old,” Buzea said. “Obviously, we have one more game, but at least to get half of it for the fifth consecutive year is something you really don’t even dream about. It’s sort of crazy.”
The Bulldogs, who have won six straight games against Chesterton since Buzea became the coach, extended their regular-season winning streak to 44 games.
“It feels great to get five in a row,” Gurnic said of the conference titles. “Coming into this game, we had it on our minds we had to get it done. It was great.”
This story will be updated.