Burgettstown eyes another conference title
Heartbreaking defeats in the postseason, such as the one Burgettstown suffered against Freedom last year, can either make or break a team.
The Blue Devils carried a 10-0 record into last year’s WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals, and left with a seasonending 7-6 defeat after losing a costly fumble late in the game while driving down the field for what would have been a winning score.
For Burgettstown coach Mark Druga, it didn’t take long for him to figure out how his kids would respond.
“I just think that onepoint loss in the playoffs and how it ended has motivated those guys from January on, from the conditioning to everything in the weight room and how they do their workouts,” Druga said. “We don’t do a ton of 7-on-7. We install our brand of football and then continuously work on it.”
That brand of football Druga emphasizes boils down to three key points — playing great defense, running the ball successfully and limiting mistakes on offense. It’s a mindset passed down to him by his brother, Rich, who served as Burgettstown’s head coach from 1998-2000 and has been Druga’s defensive coordinator since he took over in 2015.
“Rich has always been the driving force behind me playing ball as well as coaching,” Druga said. “That was my first coaching gig when I got out of college. He became a head coach and I was one of his first assistants. Now, I reciprocated that. He was coaching at West Allegheny and whenever I became head coach here, he came aboard, and we haven’t looked back.”
Druga also credited former West Allegheny coach and current Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko for passing his knowledge along to Rich during his time with the Indians and inspiring the Blue Devils’ defensive-minded philosophy.
Burgettstown has certainly held up its end of the bargain on defense this season, allowing an average of only 6.1 points per game — by far the best mark in Class 2A. No other team in the classification is allowing less than 10 points per contest.
But it’s the Blue Devils’ offense that may be taking some people by surprise, as they’re scoring 41.4 points per game — good for third best in Class 2A. They’ve won all seven of their games by at least 20 points and are second only to Washington in terms of the largest average margin of victory in Class 2A.
For all Burgettstown has accomplished so far, though, the Blue Devils have yet to face a serious challenge on the field. That should change this week when they host Brentwood (7-1, 6-0) with the Class 2A Three Rivers Conference championship at stake.
Last year, Burgettstown went into the Spartans’ stadium and emerged as conference champion for the first time since 1977 after posting a 27-0 shutout.
Druga still has fond memories of the bus ride home after that game, surrounded by a motorcade of police officers and firefighters escorting the team home to greet its adoring fans.
This year, the Blue Devils won’t need a police escort if they pull off a win — they’ll be able to start the party right there on the field. But after what happened in the playoffs last year, Druga is making sure his players aren’t taking any opponent for granted.
“Three Rivers Conference title on the line, no doubt about it playoff seeding is at stake as well, and we know we have to rise even further than we have in past weeks,” Druga said. “We’ll see who has the best team on Friday night.”
University Prep
The Panthers (7-1, 4-0) wrapped up an impressive regular season Saturday with a 21-3 win against Sharon, a team which reached the PIAA Class 3A semifinals in 2018. Senior running back Michael Snowden ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the win, giving him 1,130 yards and 18 scores on the season.
University Prep received the No. 1 seed in the City League playoffs and will host No. 4 Perry (3-5, 1-3) in a semifinal matchup at 7 p.m. Friday.
Shenango
The Wildcats (6-2, 3-2) won their third game in a row Friday, stifling Southmoreland at home for a 42-26 victory. The win puts Shenango in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Class 2A Midwestern Conference with two crucial games remaining against conference rivals New Brighton and Neshannock.
Junior running back Reis Watkins has been the driving force behind the Wildcats’ winning streak. He has rushed for 596 yards over the past three games — including 302 in the win against the Scotties on Oct. 11 — and has gone over 100 yards on the ground in all three victories.