Defensive adjustment, Cole Chatfield’s big run lead Mt. Pleasant past Burrell

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, September 6, 2024 | 10:13 PM

Mt. Pleasant quarterback Cole Chatfield feels like 42 seconds is an eternity. Even if his team had less time, the Vikings quarterback believes it could operate efficiently.

Mt. Pleasant needed that confidence during its 23-13 nonconference win over Burrell on Friday night at Vikings Stadium. The Buccaneers bullied the Vikings on a 15-play, 76-yard touchdown drive to take the lead.

But there were still 42 seconds remaining, and the Vikings wanted to regain control. Chatfield said the offense could operate in the short window.

“We did,” Chatfield said. “We can score with 2 seconds. I think our offense is good enough to do that.”

Chatfield saw a Burrell linebacker blitzing when he dropped back to pass. He ran through the empty space and maneuvered for a 42-yard score, which put Mt. Pleasant ahead 17-13 at halftime.

“The goal was to move the ball,” Chatfield said. “I didn’t think that would happen.”

Burrell’s long touchdown drive before halftime was the highlight of a surprising offensive effort. The Buccaneers (0-3) scored only 14 points combined during their first two games.

Bucs coach Shawn Liotta credited quarterback Stephon Hasson and running back with Trey Coury with putting the offense in good spots.

“Listen, we came in here, and the kids fought their butts off,” said Liotta, who was coaching for the first time this season after serving a two-game suspension. “We had a great week of practice and a great week of preparation. If we do that again this coming week getting ready for this week against Derry, we are going to flip that score.”

Parker Logut intercepted Chatfield early in the second quarter to give Burrell momentum. The Buccaneers then went on a drive that sucked up more than 8 minutes from the game clock.

Burrell had to take risks, converting twice on fourth down to keep the drive moving.

Hasson capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Talan Newcomer on fourth-and-4 and gave Burrell its lone lead at 13-10.

“They are good at doing that,” Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “They have the ability to drive it and move it 10 plays and eat up minutes like that.”

Fazekas said Mt. Pleasant had worked on the two-minute drive this week and was eager to try to grab the lead back. Chatfield’s run came after Burrell squibbed the kickoff following their score. A 15-yard run by Stephen Predajna moved the Vikings into Burrell territory before Chatfield’s touchdown run.

“We called a timeout before that,” Liotta said. “Their kid made a play. You have to give him credit. He made four kids miss tackles in the open field.”

After halftime, the Vikings defense ensured Burrell didn’t get any closer. Mt. Pleasant (2-1) forced Burrell into a turnover on downs during the Buccaneers’ second drive after the half and killed two other drives with interceptions by Chatfield and Logan Parson.

“We made a couple of little adjustments with how we were aligning and moving a few kids around,” Fazekas said. “We made little changes where we thought they were running the ball.”

Mt. Pleasant didn’t look like it would struggle much against the Bucs. The Vikings scored on the first play from scrimmage: a 41-yard jet sweep by Jarett Garn. After a Burrell punt, Mt. Pleasant built its lead to 10-0 on a 39-yard field goal by Garn.

Garn finished the game with 134 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.

Hasson scored Burrell’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run.

Chatfield was proud of the defense’s performance in the second half. He said the Vikings will have a different attitude moving forward.

“We had to get tougher,” Chatfield said. “They were bullying us on the line. Thank God our lineman stepped up. They won us that game because they stopped their offense.”

Tags: Burrell, Mt. Pleasant