With similar goals of reaching the playoffs, Burrell, Deer Lakes set to face off in Big East contest

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 | 4:48 PM

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Shawn Liotta’s voice has a similar twang to Jim Mora, but the similarities to the former Indianapolis Colts coach end there.

For one, the Burrell coach is talking about the playoffs.

“Until someone tells us we’re eliminated, our goal is to make the playoffs,” Liotta said Tuesday, three days before the Bucs’ Class 3A Big East Conference game at Deer Lakes. “We’re going to battle towards that. But with that said, we’re trying to make positive strides here, and it’s week by week. So our goal right now is to beat Deer Lakes. We’re going to have to beat Deer Lakes if we’re going to talk about playoffs. It’s game by game, and Deer Lakes happens to be the next one up.”

It’s a familiar mantra for many football coaches: The season is a day-by-day, week-by-week, game-by-game process, with the short-term goals in greater focus than the long-term goals.

But for Burrell (1-3, 1-3), which is seeking its first WPIAL playoff appearance since 2012, and Deer Lakes (2-2, 2-2), which has qualified for the postseason twice in school history, the playoffs are a significant goal. And with only four conference games remaining for both teams, it’s getting late early: A win Friday could mean the difference between that hoped-for playoff trip or another year at home in November.

“For us, we’re in the hunt, and you just want to be a dog in the fight,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said. “That’s all we want, and you just want the chance. You got to take it practice by practice. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. One thing I said to them Friday was … we’ve got to live in the moment, we’ve got to live for right now, and focus on what we need to do today.”

Burrell and Deer Lakes share plenty in common: first-year head coaches with offensive mentalities and similarly nonexistent hairlines. And they both have high aspirations.

If the WPIAL playoffs began today, both Burrell and Deer Lakes would sit on the outside looking in. But the Bucs and Lancers believe they’re consistently improving and can make a push in the second half of the season.

Deer Lakes enters Friday’s game having won two of its past three games, scoring 40-plus points in victories over Uniontown and Mt. Pleasant. The Lancers scored the first 28 points of the game in beating Mt. Pleasant, 42-14, last week, responding positively to a loss to Yough the week before.

“It was big motivation for us, gave us something to play for again,” Deer Lakes senior Jack Hollibaugh said. “It kind of felt like we were losing some hope, but that brought us back up.”

The .500 record through four games represents Deer Lakes’ best start since 2015, when they won their first four en route to a WPIAL playoff berth.

“For any school, not just us, when you go 0-4, 0-3, 0-2, it’s tough to keep the kids on the right mindset and doing the right things,” Burk said. “But when you get a win here and there, they believe and they continue to buy in and they’ll go. That was a big win for us Friday, just for the mental side of the game.”

Burrell is looking for a bounceback of its own. After setting a school home record by scoring 61 points in a rout of Uniontown two weeks ago, the Bucs lost to Yough last week.

“The things that we’re doing here in terms of trying to change the culture of this program, I’m very pleased with the way things have gone,” Liotta said. “I’m pleased with our kids’ work ethic, I’m pleased with the way our kids are out here learning and competing and trying to be better football players and better young men every day. So I’m pleased with where we are right now. I’m not pleased with the record, but that takes time. The scoreboard will take care of itself after we start to do the little things right.”

To that end, Liotta said he’s seeing progress on a weekly basis.

“I definitely think this team is in a higher gear than last year,” Burrell senior Zack Kerr said. “Every game we’re in, we’re more physical. The offense is faster-paced, and we’re really making progress.”

The up-tempo spread offenses both teams run have the potential of putting up big plays and big points. Burrell running back Luke Kastelic ran for more than 300 yards against Uniontown, potentially concerning for a Deer Lakes team that gave up 401 yards on the ground to Yough’s Dustin Shoaf.

Deer Lakes has a rising quarterback in junior Aris Hasley, who passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns against Mt. Pleasant, along with tight ends Hollibaugh, who had 142 yards receiving last week, and Colin Kadlick, and wide receivers Ethan Bender and Jared Colton.

Conference rivals since 2002, Burrell and Deer Lakes have a lengthy history against each other, one that extends to other sports.

“You know the guys across from you,” Hollibaugh said. “It’s exciting.”

Burrell holds a 21-7 overall lead in the series, but Deer Lakes won three of the last four matchups, including 47-14 last season.

“These last few years, Deer Lakes has been getting the best of us, and I think it’s really starting to build in our minds, the rivalry,” Kerr said. “We’re trying to win ‘em all, and we’re really trying to beat Deer Lakes.”

Cullen Shawley

Derry, sr., C/DT

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound senior has started every game at center since his freshman season. He anchors Derry’s offensive line, which dominated the line of scrimmage last week against North Catholic. Derry rushed for 242 yards in a 27-0 victory.

Jacob Johnson

Mt. Pleasant, jr., WR/DB

The 6-2, 175-pound junior is the Vikings’ leading receiver. He has 22 catches for 448 yards and seven touchdowns. He has a touchdown catch in every game this season for the Vikings, who will play at North Catholic this week.

Drake Petrillo

Jeannette, sr., OT/DT

The 6-foot, 205-pound tackle is the second-leading tackler at Jeannette behind linebacker Justin Cramer. He has 31 tackles and two quarterback sacks for the Jayhawks, who travel to Brownsville this week for a nonconference tilt.

Fintan Brose

Hempfield, jr., OT/DT

The 6-3, 280-pound tackle anchors the Spartans’ young offensive and defensive lines. Brose doesn’t have any college scholarship offers yet, but he has visited Pitt and West Virginia. The Spartans host Mt. Lebanon on Friday.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes