AK Valley football notebook: Running game powers Burrell to opening win

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 27, 2022 | 5:55 PM

Physical play on both sides of the ball is the calling card for Shawn Liotta-coached teams, and he said he was pleased with what he saw on film from Burrell’s 31-10 victory at Jeannette on Friday.

Before the season, Liotta said the Bucs would rely a lot on a power run game with senior Antonio Cook, junior Devin Beattie and sophomore Mason Jones leading the way. The trio paced an offense that ran 50 times versus just one pass. The three combined to total 266 yards on the ground.

“Its no secret what we do,” Liotta said. “We’re going to try to be physical. I think we have four or five guys total who can run the ball with power. We’ve got a really strong line up front.

“And our defense held Jeannette without a first down until late in the first half. The guys were flying to the football and making plays. It was a great all-around effort. But we’re not satisfied.”

Burrell now turns its attention to a Deer Lakes team hoping to bounce back after a 19-7 loss to Keystone Oaks. Derek Burk scored the Lancers’ lone touchdown on a 32-yard run.

The Bucs have won three straight in the series, including last year’s close 28-24 result that helped lift them into the WPIAL playoffs while denying Deer Lakes the same opportunity.

“Were happy to be 1-0,” Liotta said. “We’re looking forward to cleaning up some mistakes, which are easily correctable, and having a great week of practice. We have to get better for this week against Deer Lakes. They have a pretty good team. We’ve dealt them some heartbreaking losses. I know they will be hungry, and they have this one marked on their calendar.”

Friday’s game at Burrell is set for 7 p.m.

Debut victory

Matt Bonislawski was a part of many Highlands football victories as a standout quarterback.

Friday, he got to experience a Golden Rams triumph from a different perspective.

Bonislawski, in his first year as head coach at Highlands, helped guide his alma mater to a 34-12 win over University Prep in his debut at Golden Rams Stadium.

“Any time you have a first game, the anticipation is there,” said Bonislawski, who previously coached two years at Riverview (2016 and 2017).

“It wasn’t my first game as a head coach, but we had a lot of kids playing in their first (varsity) game, and it was some of the coaches’ first game, too.

“For the most part, we did pretty well. We limited mistakes. The kids might have been a little overanxious at the start, but once we settled in and made some adjustments, we were fine.”

Highlands got scoring contributions from the running and passing games. Bruising junior Luke Bombalski rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, and senior Chandler Thimons tossed TDs to Brayden White and Landan Signorella.

Odom gets it done

Many in the WPIAL know about the running prowess of Plum senior Eryck Moore, who has garnered Division I interest and has visited Pitt and Penn State.

There will be more taking notice of sophomore Nick Odom if he keeps up the performances like the one he had Friday.

He scored three touchdowns to help the Mustangs defeat Kiski Area, 35-14. He had just nine carries, but he made them count for 201 yards.

Odom scored just one rushing TD last year and had 305 total yards on 46 carries. Flashes shown last season and work in the offseason were sparks, coach Matt Morgan said, which showed Odom has the potential for a breakout season in 2022.

Floyd steps up in debut

It wasn’t the result Leechburg sophomore Jayden Floyd was hoping for Friday evening at rival Apollo-Ridge, but the quarterback making his varsity debut under center was able to provide his team the chance to win with his arm and legs.

He finished the game 13 of 18 for 151 yards and touchdown passes of 55 yards to senior Tyler Foley and 25 yards to senior Braylan Lovelace.

With Leechburg railing by two scores in the fourth quarter and starting from his own 2 after a big punt from Apollo-Ridge’s Jake Mull, Floyd led his team on a 12-play, 98-yard drive capped by the aforementioned TD toss to Lovelace with 3:19 left on the clock.

He was 7 of 9 on the drive for 66 yards. Apollo-Ridge held on for a 34-28 victory.

Floyd won the starting job, taking over in the offseason and preseason camp from the graduated Thomas Burke III, who threw for 2,213 yards and 18 touchdowns last year and was named the Valley News Dispatch Offensive Player of the Year.

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.