122 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
COLE SHERGI
Coach: Mark Druga
2019 record: 9-1, 7-0
All-time record: 440-485-39
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Fort Cherry* 7
9.18 at OLSH* 7
9.25 Rochester* 7
10.2 at Shenango* 7
10.9 at Cornell* 7
10.17 Northgate* 1:30
10.23 at Union* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Jake Lounder*
32-76, 545 yards, 9 TDs
Receiving Jake Lounder*
95-603 yards, 13 TDs
Rushing Seth Phillis*
11-215 yards, 9 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• Burgettstown has qualified
for the WPIAL playoffs five
straight years. In the 13 previous
years, the Blue Devils only
made the postseason twice.
• Mark Druga is in his sixth
year as coach of the Blue
Devils. His older brother Rich
was the Burgettstown coach
from 1998-2000.
• Burgettstown has won
back-to-back 2A-Three Rivers
Conference titles and the Blue
Devils have won 18 straight
regular season games.
• It has been nearly 80 years
since Burgettstown captured a
district title. Burgettstown beat
Crafton, 34-7, to win the 1941
WPIAL Class AA crown.
BURGETTSTOWN RETOOLS
AFTER REALIGNMENT
JONATHAN BARONICK
by DON REBEL
For nine weeks in the 2019 football season,
Burgettstown was the class of 2A.
The Blue Devils ended the regular season
with a perfect 9-0 record and a Three Rivers
Conference championship after a Week 8
showdown victory over Brentwood.
However, the Burgettstown dream season
ended with a nightmare on the opening night
of the WPIAL playoffs as the third-seeded
Blue Devils were stunned at home by Riverside
in overtime, 42-35.
“At the time, the loss stung a great deal,
but once removed from the immediate situation,
you look back and evaluate the entirety
of the season,” Burgettstown coach Mark
Druga said.
Over the last two years, the Blue Devils
program has gone 19-2 with back-to-back
conference championships as the smallest
school in the conference. It was the most
successful two-year run by Burgettstown in
nearly a half-century.
“The season was very successful. I cannot
ask any more from my staff and the effort
given by those young men on the field,”
Druga said.
Now the focus switches to a new year, a new
decade, a new classification and a new conference
for Burgettstown with six starters back
on offense and five on defense.
“To continue to win and remain a very competitive
program, we must overcome the new
challenges faced due to the covid crisis,” Druga
said. “We have lost a great deal of time in the
weight room, skill and line sessions during
the spring and spring ball. We must maximize
our time together, with weight lifting outside,
speed drills, conditioning, and most importantly,
continuing to grow as a unit. I have had
many great senior classes, and this group will
continue to be a strong senior led team.”
The 2019 senior class included the team’s
leading passer and rusher in Jake Lounder
and the team’s top receiver and scorer in
Seth Phillis.
Some of the skilled players set to help fill
those large voids include senior running
back and linebacker Shane Kemper, senior
running back and linebacker Alex Mitko and
senior wide receiver and safety Cole Shergi.
“Yes, we did lose some key players from
last year, but I’m not worried,” Shergi said.
“We have younger guys with great talent
that are ready to play. I have confidence in
the young guys.”
Up front, the line will be anchored by senior
Jonathan Baronick, who Druga called
one of the top linemen in the classification,
and senior offensive lineman and linebacker
Turner Lehman.
Druga realizes that staying healthy and
getting the inexperienced players up to speed
are the keys to another successful season.
“My biggest concern is experienced depth,”
he said. “It is imperative our core starters remain
healthy and our younger guys learn our
system quickly. I am confident my coaching
staff will have our younger guys prepared
BIG 7 • BURGETTSTOWN
when they will be called upon.”
In what has been a crazy offseason to say
the least, Druga keeps it simple when looking
forward to this season.
“During this very chaotic time due to the
coronavirus, the most exciting thing heading
into camp is the ability to have a chance to
play football on Friday nights,” he said. “To be
able to play is crucial not only for all the participants
including players, cheerleaders, the
band and referees, but the entire community.”
Burgettstown moves down to Class A this
season, entering the Big Seven Conference.
“I think the Big Seven is the most competitive
Class A conference,” Druga said. “Clairton and
Jeannette are the traditional top two teams in
A, but OLSH was the WPIAL champs two years
ago and Rochester played them in the finals
two years ago.
“Shenango has a very strong team returning,
Cornell had an unbelievable season last year,
Union has one of the best linemen in all of the
WPIAL, and Northgate and Fort Cherry have
incredible traditions.”
In an offseason of uncertainty, Shergi shares
a popular sentiment about the upcoming
campaign.
“I’m looking forward to just being out underneath
the lights again,” he said. “There is no
better feeling.”