Burrell’s Steve Hasson battling back from injury to lead Bucs offense

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, August 11, 2024 | 2:24 PM

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As the quarterback in Burrell’s Slot-T offense, Steve Hasson is the conductor.

He isn’t asked to throw the ball as much as most high school quarterbacks, having only 69 pass attempts last season, but he orchestrates the play calls, making reads to get the handoff to the right ball carrier.

“Learning this unique offense is hard at first, but once you get it, it’s second nature,” Hasson said. “We just have to get these guys dialed in and ready to go. It really starts with our line being aggressive, getting off the ball and getting the pad level low. Once they move guys, that lets the ball carriers run through the holes.”

Hasson is working his way back from a broken hand, but once he’s cleared to return, which should be early in the season, he’ll have a brand-new set of running backs around him.

Burrell’s top three rushers from last season — Devin Beattie, Cooper Hornack and Tyler Maglisco — all graduated.

Underclassmen such as Trey Coury, Brayden Mell and Liam Kasavage are among a group poised to step in.

Hasson is one of only eight seniors on the team, which boasts a roster of 60.

“We’ve got a big squad,” Hasson said. “We’ve come a long way since my freshman year with numbers. It’s good to see a lot of guys coming out and playing football. We have a lot of young guys, so us seniors have to step up and show a little bit of leadership. We need to take these guys under our wings. It’s a lot of these guys playing under the Friday night lights. It’s not too big of a change compared to Saturdays, but when those lights come on, it’s a different feeling. You can’t get nervous and just go do your thing.”

Hasson is a standout left-handed pitcher on the Bucs baseball team, which qualified for the state playoffs last spring, so he’s plenty capable of throwing a deep ball.

It may be sporadic, but the option is there if needed.

“We run the ball a lot, so teams are going to stack the box,” Hasson said. “We know it’s coming, so we just have to hit those big shots to let teams know we can still pass, too.”

There’s a couple of team goals on the list for Hasson as he prepares for his final season of high school football.

The first is to extend the Bucs’ winning streak against neighboring rival Valley, which is currently at four games. If the Bucs beat the Vikings, he can say they never lost to him in his high school career.

The teams square off Oct. 4 at Valley.

“The Battle of the Bypass has been a thing since before I was born, so I know it means a lot to the older guys,” Hasson said. “I’d like to keep the streak going. Beating Valley always feels nice.”

Continuing another streak is also on the list.

The Bucs’ playoff streak.

Burrell has qualified for the playoffs three consecutive seasons. Before that, the Bucs had gone nearly a decade without a postseason game.

“Before my freshman year, we hadn’t made the playoffs since 2012, so it was nice to see us make our way back in and then keep the streak going,” Hasson said. “I hope we can keep it rolling.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Burrell