Seniors Cochran, Love lead Deer Lakes receiving corps

By: Michael Love
Monday, August 14, 2023 | 9:05 PM

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Ryan Cochran caught 31 passes last year in a Deer Lakes uniform.

Wayne Love added 19 grabs in what turned out to be a balanced Lancers offense.

The duo, both seniors coming into the 2023 season, combined for more than 850 yards and seven receiving touchdowns last year to help Deer Lakes produce points and put itself in position to earn a spot in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

Senior quarterback Derek Burk described the receiving corps, led by his classmates Cochran and Love, as talented and versatile, a key component in the Lancers’ hopes for another run to the postseason.

“For me, it’s like being a kid in a candy store,” said Burk, who threw for more than 1,400 yards and recorded nine touchdowns a year ago.

“There is so much to choose from. It’s a really nice mix of size, skill and speed that can do so many different things to shake up defenses. We saw that all summer and in our seven-on-sevens. It’s going to be hard for teams to game plan to stop us. I am confident in that. We can be pretty dynamic.”

Cochran (6-foot-3) and Love (6-3), along with sophomore Dom Sciubba (6-4) and junior Nathaniel Moore (6-4), have the height and the ability to stretch the field.

Guys like junior Zach Grant (5-10), sophomore Brayden McCoy (5-11) and freshman Charlie Cook bring the speed.

“I feel this receiving group can go pretty deep,” Cochran said.

“After Wayne and me, we’re pretty young. But we have guys who compete every day. We’ve had more and more show up and put in the work over the summer. It’s been fun.

“If you put Wayne and me on one side, that can split the double coverage. If one of us is not open, the other one will be. There’s just a lot of really nice options and packages we can go to.”

Cochran earned all-conference second-team honors at receiver last year. He collected 404 receiving yards and three scores.

At the beginning of June, Cochran received a Division II offer from Wheeling University.

“It’s nice to see hard work paying off with opportunities like these,” he said.

Love, who finished with 469 yards in 2022, an average of 24.4 yards per catch, also garnered an offseason Division II offer from Lock Haven.

Head coach Tim Burk said Cochran and Love should expect more interest from schools close to home, throughout the region and beyond.

Love said that while it’s nice to think about what the future beyond high school holds, team goals are immediate and he likes how the receivers can help fuel the machine.

“At the start of the summer, we weren’t sure how it was going to go,” Love said. “But everyone was showing up and producing.

“Having depth there helps because guys like Ryan and me, we play both sides of the ball (Cochran at safety, Love at defensive end). There are a number of guys the coaches have confidence in who can go out and catch the ball. Even guys like (junior) Zier (Williams) out of the backfield, they can make plays. Derek can throw it wherever we are. There will be a whole lot for a defense to game plan for.”

Familiarity breeds success, and coach Burk said that is evident with Derek Burk, Cochran and Love, as well as the others in the eight-member senior class.

“They have been childhood friends, and a number of them played Little League baseball together and have grown up in basketball, too,” coach Burk said.

“When you try to do team-bonding things, they are so close-knit that they already take the lead and get everyone else involved with them. That is what Ryan and Wayne have done as the receiving leaders. They complement each other so much and are at the center of what we want to do in the passing game. They are always encouraging and excited to think of the different things we can do. I don’t doubt that Ryan and Wayne will help create a lot of mismatches and nightmares for the defenses we face.”

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.

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