A-K Valley football notebook: Deer Lakes snaps string of Week Zero losses

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 24, 2024 | 3:13 PM

Deer Lakes defeated Apollo-Ridge, 35-14, in its first Week Zero game in 2016.

Taking the 2020 covid year out of the equation, the Lancers hadn’t fared well in Week Zero contests since with six straight season-opening setbacks.

That changed Friday as Deer Lakes took control in the first half and led 21-0 at the break before finishing off a 28-7 victory against Keystone Oaks.

“It’s always a good feeling to start the season off with a win,” Lancers coach Tim Burk said.

“It gets the ball rolling and gets everyone feeling good about the season. That being said, there were a ton of mistakes, which is expected with the first-game jitters and the inexperience of some of our young kids who went out there. That’s not all bad because it gives us something to work on this week with the hopes of getting better ahead of facing a very good South Park team.”

Senior Jake Fleischer, making his first varsity start under center, was an efficient 9 of 12 passing for 246 yards and three touchdowns. He connected on a fade pass to senior Zach Grant for a 63-yard score on the Lancers’ first play from scrimmage.

“Jake did great,” Burk said. “He did everything we asked of him. We told him since pretty much the offseason that he has the ability and mindset to do it. He’s very intelligent. That first play and first score really took away a lot of the tension he might have had going in. He just has to live within his strengths, and he will be successful.”

Grant finished the game with six catches for 163 yards and two scores, and senior tailback Zier Williams caught a TD pass from Fleischer and ran for another.

Simmons out for Valley

Valley senior quarterback Mason Simmons was looking forward to his team’s Week Zero opener against Southmoreland, but a knee injury suffered in last week’s scrimmage against Jeannette kept the standout signal caller on the sidelines.

“We made the decision to sit him,” Valley coach Mark Adams said. “It was tough not having him in there, but the kid who came in (freshman Antonio Perkins) did a phenomenal job. He’s a really good ball player and athlete.”

Adams said he and his coaching staff could know as early as Monday if Simmons will be able to return to the lineup for Friday’s home game against Riverview.

Valley took a 20-17 lead over Southmoreland in the third quarter on a 16-yard run from Perkins.

But Cam Phillips returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards to give the Scotties back the lead. They never trailed after that and added four additional TDs, capped by a 39-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

“The kids battled,” Adams said. “We played well. The end of the third quarter, we cramped up and lost three linemen. That hurt us. It was just four plays in the second half where the game rested. If you take those four touchdowns off the board, we have a different ball game. The final score doesn’t show the whole story. The guys played hard. I am confident we have some good football ahead of us.”

Strong start for Yellowjackets

Freeport has had a mixed bag of Week Zero results since the first such game in 2016.

The Yellowjackets came into Friday’s opener at Indiana 4-4 in Week Zero contests. They hoped to avenge last year’s 28-14 loss to the Indians.

Freeport did just that as a mix of returning talent and others new to the varsity game showed out and produced a 30-7 victory.

Indiana led 7-2 after the first quarter, but the Yellowjackets erupted for 28 unanswered points over the second and third quarters to take control.

Junior Amos Glenn led the rushing attack with 157 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Junior quarterback Drew Ross threw a touchdown, ran for another and accounted for 97 yards of total offense.

Junior Owen Neistein scored on a 6-yard run, and fellow junior Madden Wisniewski was on the receiving end of Ross’ TD toss.

Freeport finished the game with a 15-3 advantage in first downs. The Yellowjackets racked up a total of 344 yards of offense, and the defense held Indiana to 125 total yards.

Season debuts

All but two A-K Valley teams kicked off their seasons with Week Zero games Friday.

Riverview opted for a second scrimmage Friday and traveled to Beth-Center.

The Raiders, under the direction of fifth-year coach Trevor George, begin their season Friday at Valley (0-1).

Springdale, already suffering from low numbers, had a couple of players go down with injuries in the first week of preseason practice and in last week’s scrimmage. Dynamos coaches earlier in the week felt it was best to have a number of the young players brand new to varsity football get some additional practice before playing their first game.

As a result, Springdale pulled out of Week Zero matchup with Burrell. Dynamos coach Chad Walsh said he is optimistic the injured players will be back this week, and the team will be ready to take on Chartiers-Houston on Friday.

Golden Rams broadcasts

Highlands football will begin to live stream games starting this week on YouTube at HSD Athletics TV.

Next-day condensed replay still will be on YouTube at Highlands High Sports.

Mike Choma and Mike Pavlik will be simulcasting the games. They also can be seen at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Comcast Channel 190.

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, Valley