Burrell’s Phillips provides leadership and versatility

By: Greg Macafee
Sunday, August 11, 2019 | 4:45 PM

Quarterback is the most important position on the field.

He commands the offense, organizes linemen, calls out plays, and if need be changes the play at the line of scrimmage. Basically, he represents a coach on the field and last year, coach Shawn Liotta and the Burrell Bucs were without a quarterback.

“I came here and they told me we didn’t have a quarterback,” Liotta said. “And I was like, well who was the quarterback last year and they said they ran a wildcat type of offense, so there was no quarterback that had gotten work or anything like that.”

Then, Logan Phillips stepped up.

“No one else wanted to do it,” Phillips said. “I wouldn’t say I had to do it, but it was a good experience for me.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound Phillips ended up producing 1,061 yards of total offense and scored eight touchdowns. He took over a position that no one else on the team wanted to fill, and Liotta thought that was the perfect example of the type of person that Phillips is.

“He did that to help the football team, and I think he did an excellent job in doing that,” Liotta said. “He stepped up. We literally had no one. He’s just a great player, a tremendous person, and a great leader.”

Now, Phillips will have the opportunity to move back to his original position at wide receiver and running back, giving Alex Arledge, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound transfer from Central Catholic another weapon.

Phillips, a senior, will join senior wide receiver Seth Fischbach, who had 30 receptions for 484 yards and five touchdowns, and running back Mikey Scherer, who had 51 carries for 404 yards and two touchdowns last season. He also adds a lot of versatility to the Burrell offense.

“Logan is a ballplayer. He is a football player,” Liotta said. “I wouldn’t even use a position to categorize him. He is going to play everywhere for us. He is a great kid and we want the ball in his hands as much as we can get it to him.”

The list of benefits that Phillips can provide for Burrell is almost endless. He’s a senior who has displayed excellent leadership qualities and also provides versatility to a loaded offense. To add to all of that, he also has the ability to help Arledge as he picks up Liotta’s complicated offense.

“He’s seemed to take a hold of it pretty well, but there might be a thing here or there where I’ll be able to help him out,” Phillips said.

Burrell hasn’t had a winning season since they went 8-2 in 2012. But with a new quarterback, a high-octane offense, and Phillips leading the way for a talented group of seniors, the Bucs are excited for this season.

“I’m very confident about this season,” Phillips said. “I think we are going to do a lot of things that no one expects us to do. I think we are going to take a lot of teams by surprise.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Burrell