Burgettstown leaning on grit for turnaround
BURGETTSTOWN – At one end of the football practice field at Burgettstown there is a one-of-a-kind goal post. The uniqueness is that it’s turned backward – the neck extends toward the field – and the crossbar rests noticeably higher than the standard 10 feet.
In some ways, that goal post is a symbol of the Burgettstown program.
Like the goal post, the Blue Devils, who are coming off a 1-8 season, are in need of a turnaround. And with a bevy of experienced skill-position players returning, the bar has been set higher for Burgettstown this fall.
“We are going to be better,” head coach Mark Druga says firmly. “We’re going to be a better football team.”
The reasons for Druga’s optimism are the returning players at the skill positions on offense and something you can’t measure or feel, but all coaches can see.
“The mindset is different. We have grit,” Druga said. “We learned a lot from losing last year. There is a strong core of athletes here who have taken to the offseason workouts and conditioning. There is something about moving that iron in the weight room that makes you mentally tougher.”
The Blue Devils have to be mentally tough because they play in the Class A Black Hills Conference, which has produced three of the last four, and four of the last seven, WPIAL champions. And the nonconference schedule includes defending conference champions Jefferson-Morgan and Neshannock.
“We played three conference champions last year. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the way it worked out,” Druga said. “Even the one game we did win, it came against a playoff team: Bentworth. Our conference is as good, if not better, than last year. Fort Cherry still has Super (Matt) Sieg, Bishop Canevin has three potential Division I recruits, Cornell has a running back who will be going to William & Mary, Monessen has two good running backs and you never know what Serra has. Our conference, top to bottom, is the best conference in Class A.”
If Burgettstown is to accomplish a turnaround, it will start with the skill-position players. The Blue Devils return every wide receiver from a year ago, their top three pass catchers, their top two quarterbacks and their two leading rushers.
The offense should be more dynamic than last year, when the Blue Devils averaged only 9.3 points per game.
Colton County is back at tailback after averaging 5.3 yards per carry a season ago. His backup, sophomore Dom Stevenson, also returns.
Blake Neal was the Blue Devils’ quarterback a year ago until he suffered a season-ending collarbone injury at midyear. He has put on 20 pounds and grown a couple of inches since last year.
“This year, he’s placing the ball where it needs to be and he’s developed a nice raport with the receivers,” Druga said of his quarterback.
Druga raves about the athleticism and potential of sophomore wide receiver Michael Carrozza. “He catches everything,” Druga said.
Also back at wide receiver are senior Danny Smith, junior Bryce Speer and Stevenson.
“I think we’ll be throwing more, but with Mark Druga football we’re not going to be throwing 70 passes a game. We have to control the ball, though we did see improvement in the passing game during 7-on-7s,” Druga said.
If there is a concern at Burgettstown it’s in the trenches. Only two offensive linemen are back, senior Adam Baloga and senior Riley Dhans. Baloga is a two-year starter at center and Dhans plays tackle.
The defense and tackling must improve after the Blue Devils surrendered an average of 33.5 points per game last year. Druga is hoping to have more experience in the secondary and players more committed to the weight room will help in that area.
“We don’t have the size we had last year, but the grit is there,” Druga said. “We might not be the strongest team, but we pride ourselves in being the toughest.
“There’s not an easy game on our schedule. The teams we play, they all have the potential to break a big play. We don’t have that potential, so we have to control the football. We will have to piece things together, but we’ll be a better football team.”