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Burgettstown’s plan is to toe the line

By Chris Dugan 4 min read
article image - Mark marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Tight end Brian Charles should have a bigger role in the Burgettstown offense this season. The Blue Devils graduated their top two pass catchers from a year ago.

BURGETTSTOWN – Five-receiver formations, 30 passes per game, no huddles, a new trick play or two every week. Those modern offensive strategies are not part of Burgettstown’s time-honored formula for winning football.

If the Blue Devils are to return to the Class A playoffs this year, then Burgettstown will have to play the kind of football it has been known for: smart, physical and ground-oriented.

That’s the kind of football that has Burgettstown head coach Mark Druga sounding like Mike Tomlin or any other old-school NFL coach.

“We have to control the ball, not be foolish, not turn the ball over with interceptions and not put our offense in bad situations like 3rd-and-10 or 3rd-and-15,” Druga explained. “It sounds simple – it’s almost a throwback – but it’s true. Many great teams excel at those facets of the game. It’s the small details that win games.”

A good line is a strength of any winning team, and that’s where Burgettstown hopes to bank its success this fall. The Blue Devils have a good group of linemen, but there is a definite lack of experience at the skill positions. Burgettstown lost its leading passer, top three leading rushers and its two leading pass catchers from a year ago, when the Blue Devils finished with a 5-5 record and lost to Union in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

“We’re going to be young at the skill positions, but the good thing is we have a full line,” Druga said. “Not all of the linemen have started, but they have varsity playing time. We’re going to rely on that.”

The line is built around the size and talents of seniors Teddy Gray (6-2, 305) and Sam Elich (6-5, 245). The Blue Devils’ other experienced linemen are seniors Wyatt Stevenson (6-2, 190), Caden Anderson (5-11, 210), junior Adam Bologa (5-6, 220) and junior Riley Dhans (6-0, 255). They will be the hub of the offense.

Finding replacements who can match the production of graduated quarterback Brodie Kuzior, running back Rudy Brown and wide receivers Zack Schrockman and Ryan Murray will not be easy.

“I won’t lie. That seems like a Herculean task,” Druga admitted.

Burgettstown’s quarterback will come from a trio of candidates: sophomore Blake Neal, senior Travis Coles and freshman Dominick Stevenson. Neal was the junior varsity quarterback a year ago while Stevenson was the junior high signal caller. Coles, Druga said, could be used in roles similar to Kuzior, who passed for 739 yards and rushed for 785 last season.

“Whoever is the quarterback, we’re not going to ask them to throw the ball 30 times a game,” Druga said.

Whoever wins the quarterback battle will have Danny Brown at wide receiver. Brown gained experience last fall playing in the slot on offense and he excelled on defense, grabbing a team-leading three interceptions. Brian Charles is back at tight end and will likely be utilized more in the passing game.

The ground game will be built around junior running back Colton County, who had only 17 carries in varsity action a year ago, when the Blue Devils could afford to give him seasoning in JV games.

The Blue Devils had a late-season surge a year ago, winning four of their final regular-season games. The Blue Devils gave up 55 points to Fort Cherry in the regular-season finale, 51 to Union in a playoff loss and an average of 23.4 points per game. Druga said the latter number must decrease for Burgettstown to improve on last year’s break-even record.

“There’s no chance, if it doesn’t,” Druga said.

With the experience on defense, especially with Gray at nose tackle and Elich, Charles and Coles at linebacker, Druga expects his stop unit to be better. The question marks are in the secondary, where Smith is the only returning starter.

Only three teams are guaranteed of making the playoffs out of the rugged Black Hills Conference, which has added Serra Catholic and Monessen. A fourth team can make it as a wild card. Druga says the Blue Devils will be able to control their future if they can control the football.

“We’re going to control the tempo and play sound defense to complement our offense,” he said.

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