Apollo-Ridge soundly defeats Burrell in conference finale

By: Michael Love
Friday, October 28, 2022 | 10:46 PM

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Apollo-Ridge controlled its own destiny for a spot in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs heading into Friday’s Allegheny Conference finale at Burrell.

Vikings senior Nick Curci carried the ball 22 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Gage Johnston and Jake Mull surpassed 100 yards passing and receiving, respectively, in a 28-14 victory over the Bucs.

“We talked a lot about what we had to do because we knew how good they were in controlling the ball with the run game,” Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba said.

“I thought our defense played outstanding all night, and we made plays in all three phases. I know they had some kids banged up, but our kids battled all night and earned that win.”

Apollo-Ridge finished the regular season 6-4 overall, and its 4-3 mark puts it in fourth place in the conference behind Steel Valley, Serra Catholic and Ligonier Valley.

“Now we’re the four and not the five, and that’s a big thing for us,” Skiba said. “That helps us out a little bit with where we might go in the first round. We’ve played some good football lately, so hopefully the committee takes a good look at that. We are really starting to get in a good rhythm.”

Burrell, which had clinched a playoff spot last week with its win over Derry, concluded the regular season at 6-4 overall and fifth in the conference at 3-4.

“I am proud of the way the kids battled, and we’ll be ready to get rolling for the playoffs next week,” Bucs coach Shawn Liotta said.

Apollo-Ridge was balanced on offense with 176 yards on the ground and 148 more from the arm of senior quarterback Johnston.

Senior wideout Mull caught seven of Johnston’s eight completions for 141 yards.

The tandem connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to put the Vikings up 28-14. The TD strike answered a Burrell 33-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Chase Fenner to junior Tyler Maglisco just two minutes earlier.

Fenner completed 5 of 8 passes for 59 yards, and Maglisco caught three for 51 yards.

Burrell junior Devin Beattie, the team’s leading rusher, left the game in the second quarter after suffering an injury. He didn’t return.

Beattie finished with 10 carries for 29 yards.

Fellow Bucs junior Tristan Brothers had left with an injury earlier in the half, and sophomore Mason Jones was under the weather and didn’t play.

Seven players carried the ball at least twice for Burrell as the run game collected 110 yards on 39 attempts.

“We played the whole game, basically, without our top two rushers, and we played much of the game without our leading tackler,” Liotta said.

“Tristan also is a strong backup running back, too. But I thought a lot of guys stepped up and did some good things. The kids picked each other up. That’s what it’s all about. We played tough. I thought the momentum swing was that kickoff return in the second quarter after we took the lead.”

Curci put Apollo-Ridge on the board with a 43-yard scamper with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter.

Burrell took the lead at 8-7 as Maglisco scored on a 6-yard run with 4:44 on the second-quarter clock. Beattie ran in the 2-point conversion.

But the lead didn’t last long as Mull took the ensuing kickoff at his 14 and raced down the left sideline 86 yards for an Apollo-Ridge score. Mull booted the PAT, and the Vikings were back in front 14-8.

Apollo-Ridge looked to add to its lead late in the first half. From midfield, the Vikings marched inside the 5.

Faced with fourth down from the 3, Apollo-Ridge elected to go for the score instead of trying a Mull field goal. The Burrell defense was up to the challenge, and it stuffed Curci 2 yards behind the line with 29 seconds on the clock.

Skiba said he gave some thought to kicking a field goal in that situation to go up two scores, but he said he decided to go for it, knowing his team would still have the lead and get the second-half kickoff.

“It would’ve been nice to put 6 on the board there, but it just didn’t work out for us,” he said.

Apollo-Ridge took advantage of getting the ball to start the second half as Curci capped a 10-play, 79-yard march with a 7-yard run to put the Vikings up 21-8. His two rushing scores in the game put him at 20 on the season.

Over the past two games, Curci owns 586 yards and seven rushing TDs on 73 carries.

“We knew what we had to do,” Johnston said. “We just had to win. Nothing else mattered. We didn’t want to leave it up to Imani Christian to lose. It was just a big win for us. It gives us a better spot and a lot of momentum going into the playoffs.”

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: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell