Burrell leans on running game to break into win column vs. East Allegheny

By: Michael Love
Friday, September 27, 2024 | 10:31 PM

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Something had to give as the Burrell and East Allegheny football teams met Friday in an Allegheny 7 Conference matchup at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium.

The Bucs and Wildcats struggled through the first five weeks without a win. But that changed for Burrell as it used a big game from sophomore tailback Trey Coury and the run game to break into the win column with a 22-14 triumph.

Coury finished with 51 carries for 239 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs ran the ball 63 times.

“The line was great tonight,” Coury said. “They worked so hard all week. They were awesome.”

Burrell rebounded from last week’s 42-0 conference-opening loss at Freeport.

“A lot of people were losing faith in us, but we didn’t lose faith in each other,” Coury said. “We all stayed together throughout the week, and we came out and played with confidence on both sides of the ball. The hard work and preparation paid off tonight.”

The Burrell defense turned East Allegheny over on downs three times in the game, including at its own 14 with 6 minutes, 6 seconds left.

The Bucs offense took over, made the Wildcats use its remaining timeouts, and ran out the final six minutes to preserve the win and go to 1-1 in conference play with a game at rival Valley next week.

“We now have a ton of confidence going into Valley,” Coury said. “We just have to keep working and be ready to go next week.”

The 22 points is the most Burrell has scored this season.

“I give our kids credit for coming out strong,” Bucs coach Shawn Liotta said. “At 0-5, a lot of teams wouldn’t come out and practice hard or prepare and do all the things you need to do to be successful. But you never have to worry about that with our kids. They worked their butts off all week and played so well as a team tonight. I am so proud of each and every one of them.

“Nobody gave us a chance to win this game. (East Allegheny) is a good football team. They have a lot of weapons over there and kids with D-I offers. But we executed our game plan. The offensive line dominated, and Trey Coury ran the ball like a grown man. We ran a different set we hadn’t shown, and I think that caused them some problems.”

Ahead by a touchdown at halftime, Burrell went on offense first in the third quarter and marched 55 yards in nine plays. Coury carried it eight times for all but two of the yards and capped the drive with a 9-yard TD run.

Brayden Vickers added the extra point to give the Bucs a 22-8 lead.

East Allegheny came right back and closed the deficit to one score as Cedric Mack tossed a 4-yard pass to Damarjae Warren. The conversion pass failed, and Burrell led by 8.

Burrell turned the ball over on downs at the the 50 early in the fourth quarter and gave the Wildcats the chance to tie the score.

The arm of Mack and the running of Kameron Marshall carried EA to a first-and-10 at the Burrell 18.

False start and illegal shift penalties pushed the Wildcats back to a fourth-and-6 from the 14. Warren caught a pass from Mack in the end zone, but he landed just out of bounds before gaining possession of the ball.

“Burrell is a well-coached and well-prepared team,” East Allegheny coach Frank Cortazzo said. “When they get that running game going, its tough to stop. They have some tough kids.”

East Allegheny committed 13 penalties for 85 yards. Six of them were offsides infractions.

“A lot of times we had something going on offense or we were confident we could make a stop, and we would shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Cortazzo, whose Wildcats host Imani Christian next week.

“Those offsides penalties killed us. They are all packed in there running the ball, and any little movement…. It hurts the momentum.

“We have to keep working. We’re building with a young team. We have a lot of young kids who are playing a lot of ball. We’re not going to go away. We’re going to keep our heads up and get back to the drawing board.”

Burrell turned East Allegheny over in its own territory twice in the first quarter, and the Bucs turned both defensive stops into touchdowns.

A 14-play, 77-yard drive that took seven minutes off the first-quarter clock ended when Stevie Hasson scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper. Hasson finished with 12 carries for 25 yards.

Coury ran in the 2-point conversion, and the Bucs led 8-0 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

Burrell’s second drive also started on its 23 late in the first quarter. This time, the Bucs used 12 plays to go 77 yards. Coury finished off the march with a 1-yard plunge.

Vickers added the extra point to make it 15-0 with 5:02 left until halftime.

East Allegheny, undaunted, got back into the game on the ensuing drive. Mack found an open Warren in the end zone from 22-yards out with 3:26 on the clock.

Mack and Warren also hooked up for the conversion to cut Burrell’s lead to 15-8.

Mack finished 12 of 18 for 172 yards and the two passing scores, while Warren caught five passes for 82 yards.

Burrell tried to add on late in the half, but a Vickers 36-yard field goal attempt was no good as time expired.

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: Burrell, East Allegheny