A-K Valley football players to watch in 2023 Week 4

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 | 6:24 PM

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Player of the week

Derek Burk

Deer Lakes, Sr., QB

Deer Lakes won its third in a row with a 48-14 nonconference win over Greensburg Salem last Friday, and Lancers senior Derek Burk’s influence was all over the victory. Burk completed 11 of 12 passes for 251 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 78 yards and a TD. Burk, for the season, has thrown 11 touchdowns with just one interception and has collected an additional four rushing scores. He will hope to be effective Friday as he leads the 3-1 Lancers into their final nonconference battle against 3-1 Southmoreland.

Players to watch

Dom Beyer

Plum, Sr., RB/LB

A heart-and-soul player at the center of the Mustangs defense, Beyer is a leading tackler who owns four sacks this season to front the team. He hopes to be at the top of his game Friday as Plum hosts a suddenly potent Gateway attack with the return to the lineup of senior quarterback Brad Birch.

Andrew Finney

Kiski Area, So., RB/WR/DB

Through the first three weeks of the season, Finney had just six catches for 31 yards. His number was called several times last Friday in a tough 35-26 loss to Hampton, and Finney responded. He caught seven passes from Carson Heinle for 162 yards. Three of them went for touchdowns of 13, 76 and 41 yards.

Tyler Maglisco

Burrell, Sr., RB/DB

Last year against Apollo-Ridge, Maglisco stepped up when the Bucs were facing injury woes and caught a touchdown pass and ran for another in the conference setback. Maglisco has been a dependable veteran player for Burrell this season. On Friday, he scored from 5 yards late in the fourth quarter to help give the Bucs an 8-7 victory. Maglisco finished with six carries for 17 yards and two catches for 17 yards.

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, Kiski Area, Plum