Deer Lakes, Highlands renew rivalry in Allegheny 7 Conference clash

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 | 7:45 PM

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The Deer Lakes and Highlands football teams have met four times, with the most recent matchup coming in 2015 when the Lancers and Golden Rams competed in the Class 2A Allegheny Conference.

Highlands got the better of Deer Lakes in 2014 and 2015 as well as the games in 2000 and 2001.

Lancers coach Tim Burk said he hopes that will change Friday when the teams get together for an Allegheny 7 Conference clash at Lancers Stadium.

The game will have a special 7:30 p.m. kickoff because of Deer Lakes’ homecoming activities.

“When you have the local schools, and the games are close in terms of destination, that is exactly what you want,” said Burk, who expects an excited, overflow crowd to witness the first meeting between the Lancers and Golden Rams in nearly a decade. “The WPIAL loves the local rivalries. This is another opportunity to have that. Seeing Highlands come down from 4A, it is a great opportunity to size up where we’re at and see how good we really are.

“Highlands is a quality program. They always are year-in and year-out. It is a challenge that we are looking forward to. We don’t get the chance to play them very often, but I know we do at the youth level, so the guys on both teams kind of know each other. I know both sides love this opportunity to play what should be a pretty good football game.”

Highlands won the 2014 contest, 35-13, en route to a 9-0 regular season and a trip to the WPIAL quarterfinals.

The next season, Deer Lakes started 4-0 but ran into a Golden Rams buzzsaw that resulted in a 33-7 Highlands win.

Added Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski: “With it being their homecoming, I am sure it’s going to be packed. It should be a great atmosphere. This is the first local team from the conference we’ve faced. This is great for the communities all around to be able to be a part of this again. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Highlands (2-2, 1-1) comes into the game averaging 41 points through its first four games but was held to 10 in a two-point loss to Imani Christian last Friday.

Quarterback Menage Lucas rushed nine times for 84 yards and the Golden Rams’ lone touchdown before leaving the game because of injury. He leads the team with 10 touchdowns rushing and six more throwing and has accounted for more than 1,000 yards of total offense in four games.

Bonislawski said Tuesday evening that Lucas’ status for Friday’s game was undetermined.

Senior Darius Cherry is the second-leading rusher for the Golden Rams with 343 yards and four touchdowns on 58 carries.

“It was just a lot of athletes for both teams (Imani and Highlands) making plays,” Bonislawski said. “There was a lot of speed. The game plan kind of changed as the game went on. The way the defense was playing and the way the game was going, we didn’t want to take too many chances on offense. Obviously, we wanted to win it, but it was an exciting game. Our guys gave a great effort, and for the most part, we played a really good defensive game.”

Despite last Friday’s outcome for Highlands, Burk credited the Golden Rams for being able to score points in bunches.

“They have a ton of great athletes on both sides of the ball who make play after play,” Burk said. “I think last week for them was more of a fluke than anything, although Imani does have a talented defense. (Highlands) has the capability to put up points whenever they want, so we have to be prepared defensively for an active game where we have to be able to make stops. But, at the end of the day, if they score, we feel we have the ability to score as well. It might be one of those games where it’s who scores last or who makes the best stop.”

Deer Lakes hopes to add to its record-breaking start. The Lancers outlasted East Allegheny, 47-35, last week to improve to 5-0 for the first time in school history.

Senior Zier Williams was a difference maker with 247 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. He has 669 yards and 10 touchdowns on 110 carries through five games.

Senior quarterback Jake Fleischer has accounted for 13 touchdowns (nine passing, four rushing) and owns 1,013 yards of total offense.

“I think our resilience was the difference against East Allegheny,” Burk said. “We came out slower than we had hoped. We thought that would’ve been a chance to have a trap game. We were 4-0, and they were 0-4, and we had Highlands coming up. It would’ve been easy to look past that to this week. Credit to East Allegheny. They are a good football team despite their record. But we were able to get a spark and make enough good plays to get the win.”

Bonislawski said he’s impressed with the state of the Deer Lakes program and, more specifically, how the Lancers have come out and established themselves through five games.

“They are really well-coached. They know their schemes, and they are very sound and never out of position,” he said. “They move as a cohesive unit offensively and defensively. Their techniques and fundamentals are sound. That is what we strive for. That is half the battle.”

The homecoming parade will proceed down East Union Road from the Deer Lakes Middle School starting at 6, making its way to Lancers Stadium. The homecoming queen coronation will be at 7.

Because of the large crowd expected and limited parking at the stadium, Deer Lakes school officials said on social media that once the school parking lots are filled, police will direct fans to parking at No Off-Season Sports, 904 Little Deer Creek Road, Russellton, where shuttle buses will run until 30 minutes after the game.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Highlands