Battle of the Bypass continues to hold extra meaning for Burrell, Valley

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | 6:28 PM

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Valley assistant football coach Jason Ballard attended Burrell and graduated in 1994.

He knows exactly what the Battle of the Bypass rivalry between the schools is all about.

While he does hold an affinity for his alma mater, he said he will work to make sure his current team comes out on top Friday and puts a notch in the win column for the first time this season.

“It’s Burrell week, and we want to win bad,” Ballard said. “I still live in Burrell, and my kids live in Burrell. My son plays for the Cadets youth team. He’s a running back and a linebacker. It definitely is a big game for everyone. I think a win Friday can really turn our season around. They have been touting how they have beaten us the last five years. We want to end that streak.”

While Valley (0-6, 0-2 in Allegheny 7 Conference) hopes to end a five-game losing skid to Burrell, the Bucs (1-5, 1-1) have their sights set on extending their recent dominance in the series while also making it two wins in a row after last week’s 22-14 home victory over East Allegheny.

It is homecoming at Valley. Kickoff on Friday is set for 7 p.m.

The game also has a cross interest for the Nee family. Patrick Nee is a sophomore tight end/linebacker at Burrell, and his father, Patrick Sr., is the assistant to the superintendent in the New Kensington-Arnold School District.

“This is a game and a rivalry that means so much to a lot of people,” Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said. “I am glad it is something we’ve been able to maintain, even when both teams weren’t in the same conference or same classification. There is kind of that familiarity between the kids, the parents and the fans. It is so important to both communities.”

Burrell and Valley will be playing for the 45th consecutive season, the longest active streak among Alle-Kiski Valley schools. Leechburg and Springdale have played 54 of the last 56 seasons, with that series interrupted in 1986 and 1987.

“The schools are so close in proximity, and every one knows one another,” Valley coach Mark Adams said. “This is pretty much the game of the year. I went to Leechburg, and back then, playing Burrell was a huge part of our season. That excitement for me is still there so many years later.”

Valley leads the all-time series 25-19. Before Burrell’s current streak, the Vikings won six in a row through a 26-21 victory in 2018.

Valley first-year assistant Deonte Ross was a senior on the 2018 Vikings team, and he scored three touchdowns and finished with 158 yards on 21 carries in the five-point triumph over the Bucs.

“I’ve told the guys that they just have to come in locked in and ready to play because Burrell is going to come over here expecting to win again,” Ross said.

“We need this win desperately. We have to focus on putting it all together Friday. It is a confidence game for us. You can throw both records out. This has been a great rivalry down through the years. It’s great to know we’re going to play this game every year.”

Liotta said his Burrell players came into this week flying high after last week’s victory that evened their conference record and put them squarely in the playoff hunt with four games to play.

“A lot of people might have written us off after the first five weeks and not considered us a threat,” he said. “But the kids continued to work hard. They’ve come out and prepared hard every week. They’ve been pretty consistent with their preparation, and I am glad it paid off for them because I don’t know if many people gave us a chance to win that game.”

The Bucs ran the ball 63 times and didn’t attempt a single pass. Sophomore Trey Coury rushed 51 times for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He now has more than 700 yards on the ground to go with four rushing scores.

“This is a 1950s contest,” Adams said. “This might be 3 yards in a cloud of dust. I told our team that it’s going to come down to toughness on the inside, who wants it more, and who doesn’t make the mistakes and who doesn’t blink.

“There is so much motivation for our kids, to beat Burrell and end the streak and also get that first win.”

While Coury was racking up the carries and yards last week, Valley was witness to another strong runner in Freeport’s Amos Glenn, who carried the ball 27 times for 244 yards and a Yellowjackets team record six touchdowns as the Vikings fell 48-20.

Valley scored first as quarterback Mason Simmons connected with Patton Eason for a 62-yard touchdown. Glenn then took over and tallied the game’s next six TDs.

Sean Selinger also made an impact for Freeport with a 73-yard interception return for a score.

Nicholas Heakins capped the scoring for the Vikings with a 75-yard kickoff return in the third quarter and a 19-yard run in the fourth.

“Valley presents some unique challenges with a lot of really talented athletes,” Liotta said.

“When we looked at them on film, we saw that they can be a dangerous football team. They have some playmakers who can hit that home run, so to speak. We know it is going to be a hard-fought football 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: Burrell, Valley