Deer Lakes dominates rival Burrell in shutout
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Friday, September 1, 2023 | 10:44 PM
The Deer Lakes defense smothers Burrell’s Devin Beattie on Friday.
Deer Lakes celebrates with Aiden Fletcher (12) after he pulled in a one-handed touchdown pass against Burrell on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Nick Rosse pressures Burrell quarterback Stephen Hasson on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Noah Shurina makes a tackle on a punt return by Burrell’s Devin Beattie on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Aiden Fletcher pulls in a one-handed touchdown pass against Burrell on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Wayne Love drops Burrell’s Devin Beattie for a loss on Friday.
Burrell’s Devin Beatie gets past Deer Lakes defenders on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Zach Grant intercepts a ball intended for Burrell’s Esau King-Buchak on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Wayne Love gets past Burrell’s Stephen Hasson for a first-quarter touchdown Friday.
Deer Lakes quarterback Derek Burk beats Burrell’s Maliq Buchak to the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Ryan Cochran leaps over Burrell’s Stephen Hasson on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Zach Grant reaches for a pass in the end zone against Burrell for a second-quarter touchdown Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Aiden Fletcher pulls in a one-handed touchdown pass against Burrell on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Zach Grant (3) celebrates with Wayne Love after Love’s touchdown catch against Burrell on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Zier Williams takes off on a first-quarter run against Burrell on Friday.
Deer Lakes’ Aiden Flectcher and Lee Hengelsberg drop Burrell’s Esau King-Buchak for a loss on Friday.
Last year’s matchup between Burrell and Deer Lakes went to overtime before the Bucs pulled out a six-point victory.
An extra session wasn’t needed Friday in the latest edition of the series between the area rivals.
Deer Lakes scored three times in the first half, added two TDs in the fourth quarter, and cruised to a 33-0 nonconference victory at Lancers Stadium.
The Lancers bounced back from last week’s 7-6 loss to Keystone Oaks. Deer Lakes, which also snapped a four-game losing streak in the series, will attempt to move over .500 next Friday at Apollo-Ridge.
“Burrell had gotten us the last couple of years, but we just came out and did what we needed to do,” said senior Aiden Fletcher, who caught one of senior quarterback Derek Burk’s three touchdown passes, a 15-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
“The coaches put us in a great position. Getting those big plays on first and second downs and controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides. We had a nice blend of the run and the pass. We just played physical, and we dominated. It was a great win. We just have to keep going with another great week of practice.”
Burrell, which fell to 0-2, will try to get into the win column next week against rival Valley in the latest edition of the “Battle of the Bypass.”
Burk finished an efficient 7 of 9 passing for 111 yards and three TDs. Three of his completions went to Wayne Love for 52 yards.
Junior Zier Williams complemented the passing game with 11 carries for 121 yards. He capped the scoring with a 19-yard TD run with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the fourth.
The Deer Lakes rushing attack fell just 2 yards shy of 200 on 22 attempts. Fletcher carried the ball six times for 27 yards, Ryan Cochran had two attempts for 17 and Burk added three carries for 33 and a score.
Cochran caught two passes for 32 yards.
Burrell had hoped to avoid the shutout, and the Bucs offense moved the ball with a time-consuming drive starting at the 8:32 mark of the third quarter.
They went from their 14 to Deer Lakes’ 38 in 13 plays, all runs, but the drive stalled and they turned it over on downs.
Burrell finished with 104 yards of total offense, all on the ground. Senior Devin Beattie led the Bucs with 67 yards on 22 carries.
The Bucs were without senior running back and linebacker Tristan Brothers, the team’s leading tackler, for almost the entire game. He was injured on a carry early in the first quarter and didn’t return.
“We had a couple bad breaks, and it was tough early to lose (Brothers),” Bucs coach Shawn Liotta said.
“He means so much to this team. Things didn’t go our way. But credit Deer Lakes. They did a nice job moving the ball and making plays offensively and defensively. We just have to work hard to get better, and that starts this week. We have a big game with Valley, and our focus is moving forward.”
Burrell took the opening kickoff but was not able to move the ball, losing yardage back to the 10. Deer Lakes took a punt and started at the Bucs 39.
On fourth-and-5, Burk dropped back and found Love over the middle in stride. Love caught the ball at the 25 and took it the rest of the way for the touchdown. Noah Shurina added the point-after, and it was 7-0 just 2:37 into the game.
“We preached all week that we had to stay disciplined, and each guy had to just do their job,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said.
“I couldn’t have been more proud of our players. They bought in throughout the week, and they came out and executed. We knew what was coming. We knew that if we were able to get up early, we would be OK, and it ended up working out for us.”
Deer Lakes outgained Burrell, 106-8, in the first quarter and added to its lead early in the second. Burk found an open Zach Grant in the back-right part of the end zone from 10 yards with 11:03 to play in the first half. The point-after kick was no good, but the Lancers led 13-0.
After forcing another Bucs punt, Deer Lakes took over at midfield. A handoff to Ryan Cochran on first down gained 22 yards. On the next play, Burk, on an option keeper, scampered the final 28 to extend the lead.
Burk was tackled short of the end zone on a 2-point conversion run, and the score remained 19-0.
Burrell started to move the ball on its final drive of the first half. Several short- to medium-range runs, including seven from Beattie, lifted the Bucs from its 10 out to near midfield.
But without any timeouts, the runs chewed up the final six minutes of the first half. A fourth-and-2 pass attempt from junior Stephen Hasson from the Deer Lakes 47 fell incomplete as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
“We’ll enjoy this for about 12 hours and then it’s on to preparing for next week,” Tim Burk said.
“It’s a much better feeling walking off the field this week, that’s for sure.”
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, Deer Lakes
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