Big plays, Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg’s huge game help Highlands beat Burrell to clinch playoff spot

By: Michael Love
Friday, October 10, 2025 | 10:45 PM

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Big plays carried the Highlands football team to an Allegheny 7 Conference win over Burrell on Friday at Burrell’s Buccaneers Stadium.

Five of the Golden Rams’ six touchdowns totaled 52 yards or more. Highlands broke open a tie game at halftime with three straight scores and came away with a 42-21 victory to clinch its fifth straight trip to the WPIAL playoffs.

“I was nervous coming into this game,” Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski admitted.

“I was worried about our mental state and focusing early on, and it showed a little bit. Just after the emotional win against Freeport last week (28-27 in overtime), we tried as much as we could to get us prepared to come out of the gate to start. Offensively, we were fine, but defensively, we kind of sat back too much. But we were able to turn it around in the second half and finish off a nice win.”

The victory was Highlands’ third in a row. The Golden Rams improved to 5-3 overall and clinched a postseason berth by improving to 4-1 in conference play.

“Our goal early was to get to the playoffs,” Bonislawski said. “We worked through some things early in the season. Now, similar to last year, we’re gaining steam and a lot of momentum.”

Highlands closes the regular season with a nonsection game against McGuffey next week and the conference finale against Valley on Oct. 24.

Burrell’s playoff hopes took a hit with the loss, but it is still in the hunt. The Bucs saw their two-game winning streak end as they fell to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They close with conference games against Imani Christian and Deer Lakes.

The Highlands defense forced two punts and a turnover on downs on Burrell’s first three possessions of the second half.

The Golden Rams offense turned all three stops into touchdowns.

Highlands took the lead for good with 7 minutes, 40 seconds on the third-quarter clock as quarterback Jamarkus Prager found Jahmar Wright for a 67-yard touchdown completion. Wright went up with the Burrell defender at the 30, pulled the ball down, and broke free to the end zone.

Four minutes later, Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg rambled for 64 of his game-best 318 yards to extend Highlands advantage.

He capped the scoring with 8:39 left in the fourth on a 15-yard dash to the end zone. The score was his fourth of the game. He has 12 rushing TDs and 741 yards on the ground over the last three games.

“The defense came to play in the second half, and it allowed the offense to kind of stretch its legs a little bit,” Bonislawski said.

“We only ran 10 offensive plays in the first half. Burrell played keep-away with ball control, which is smart. We had a good talk at halftime, and it just came down to effort and execution. The offensive line took control of the game, and we let Tevin and the receivers do what they do. Everyone was unselfish with their roles, and it was a nice team win.”

Burrell’s 1-2 rushing punch of Antonio Perkins and Trey Coury combined for 305 rushing yards on 54 carries. Perkins carried it 29 times for 155 yards, and Coury finished with 150 yards on 25 totes.

“Highlands is just so explosive,” Bucs coach Dom Girardi said.

“It is like playing with fire. They can strike at any moment, on offense, defense or special teams. They had big plays in all three phases. We’re disappointed because we wanted to win the game, but I am really proud of our kids for the way they competed, especially in that first half when we went toe-to-toe with them.

“We have to keep building, and that’s what we’ve been doing. There’s progress here for sure. That’s what makes this loss sting so much.”

Owen-Cratsenberg and Perkins showed their lethal abilities early on as they both found the end zone within the first three minutes of the game.

Owen-Cratsenberg rambled 62 yards on the game’s first play, and Perkins capped Burrell’s opening drive with 28-yard run through the middle of the Golden Rams’ defense.

Highlands took a 14-7 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. Perkins threw a short pass into the flat to Liam Perdue. The ball deflected off of Perdue’s hands and landed in the hands of Wright who sprinted the other way 52 yards to the end zone.

The Golden Rams extended their lead to 21-7 with 4:24 to go until halftime. After a Burrell punt that pinned Highlands back to its 11, Owen-Cratsenberg darted through the Burrell defense and sprinted 89 yards on the first play of the drive.

But Burrell would not fold and rallied.

The Bucs answered the Owen-Cratsenberg TD with a passing score. Following a Perkins long kickoff return, Zack Coudreit hauled in a second-down toss from Perkins and took it 41 yards for the score.

Burrell got the ball back 15 seconds later as Logan Heakins recovered an Owen-Cratsenberg fumble at the Bucs’ 44.

They drove to inside the Highlands 10 as time was running out in the half. But Perkins found the end zone with a 2-yard run with 9 seconds left on the clock. Coury’s PAT kick tied the score at 21.

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, Highlands