Look who’s 2-0: Burgettstown, Trinity proving themselves with strong starts
Burgettstown, Trinity proving themselves with strong starts
By Jerin Steele
jsteele@observer-reporter.com
Trinity is one of the biggest schools in Washington County and Burgettstown is on the smaller side, but both have something in common.
Their football teams are off to strong starts and are proving doubters wrong.
The Hillers lost their do-it-all quarterback Jonah Williamson to graduation and Burgettstown was coming off a one-win season for the second straight year and opened with two playoff teams.
That left both teams with questions, but they’ve answered them and
stand at 2-0 entering tonight.
Trinity pulled off one of the signature wins of the young season last Friday, going to Canon-McMillan and winning 29-24 against a team that has high aspirations in Class 6A.
Burgettstown, meanwhile, has secured convincing victories against Jefferson-Morgan and Avella.
Now each team is focused on another test tonight.
Burgettstown hosts perennial power Rochester.
Trinity makes another road trip to play a Class 6A opponent on Interstate 70 to Westmoreland County at Hempfield.
Both games start at 7 p.m.
Other teams off to 2-0 starts are: Beth-Center, Wash High, Monessen, Fort Cherry, South Fayette and Waynesburg.
Trinity
The Hillers won its first conference title since 1986, and even with a move up to Class 5A and losing Williamson, they haven’t slowed down, beating Ringgold in the opener before last week’s win in Canonsburg.
It was the first time the Hillers beat the Big Macs since 2011 although the two teams did not play much after that before renewing the rivalry in 2021.
“It was a great high school football game with a great atmosphere,” Hillers coach Dan Knause said. “Both communities showed out. We have great respect for Canon-McMillan, so we knew it was going to take a top-tier effort and we’re proud of our players and coaches for executing a game plan.”
Owen Samogala has stepped in well at quarterback and along with bruising running back Owen Gardner and speedster Daniel Glass, the offense has put up 63 points.
Samogala is 14-21 passing for 284 yards and two touchdowns and has 123 yards rushing. Gardner has rushed for 225 yards on 27 carries and Glass has 10 carries for 121 yards, giving him 12.1 yards per rush.
“We’re excited with how he’s handled the adversity pockets more than anything,” Knause said. “We always talk about having composure and he’s shown that.
“We have very athletic, explosive and strong running backs that are going to be an integral part of our game plans. That’s a nice feature for a new quarterback to have.”
A trip to Hempfield (0-2) is another chance for the Hillers to defeat a team in the WPIAL’s highest classification.
“We’re extremely impressed by their film,” Knause said. “They had Bethel Park beat, but settled for two field goals, but did some really good things against them and lost by one. They played another competitive game against Penn-Trafford, so they’ve had a top-tier schedule to start.
“There’s challenges with playing big 6A programs back-to-back and I think these challenges will tell us where we’re at as a team.”
Burgettstown
The last two years Burgettstown started 1-0 before losing the last nine games, so getting a second win was a hurdle cleared.
The Blue Devils have done well on both sides of the ball. They have allowed only seven points and scored 64.
The offense is led by senior quarterback Blake Neal, who is 21-for-29 passing for 375 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
“It all starts with Blake Neal,” Burgettstown coach Mark Druga said. “He took his share of lumps the last two years and this year he’s started out quite strong.”
Brady Rightweiser has been a great compliment to the passing game, rushing for 212 yards on 24 attempts. Rightweiser, a junior, is averaging 8.8 yards per carry and has five touchdowns.
Druga saw the work Rightweiser has put in and said he’s reaping the rewards.
“When I came back four years ago, he was one of the first guys in the weight room as a seventh grader and it shows,” Druga said. “He’s an old-school ballplayer that’s tough as nails.”
Another stout part of the Blue Devils has been their defense. That was punctuated Friday against Avella, when they didn’t allow a single pass completion in the second half. Burgettstown has eight takeaways and did not have a turnover in the first two games.
Druga said his team will need a similar effort against Rochester on Friday if they want to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2019.
Rochester is 0-2, but has been a perennial playoff contender for years and has won eight WPIAL titles.
“Rochester is a storied program and the bottom line is no matter what year you play them, they’re going to be a tough team,” Druga said. “They’re hard-nosed and a smashmouth football team that will come right at you, so we’re going to have their rushing attack.”
Extra points
There are fewer all-local matchups compared to the first two weeks. Avella at Charleroi, Washington at California, Jefferson-Morgan at Chartiers-Houston and West Greene at McGuffey are the only four. … Fort Cherry has a revenge game at Laurel. The Spartans beat the Rangers, 24-14, in last year’s semifinals, ending the Rangers’ bid for a WPIAL Class A three-peat. … Another intriguing matchup is Montour at South Fayette. Both teams are 2-0 and are coming off impressive wins. Montour beat McKeesport, 28-17, last Friday and South Fayette blanked Peters Township, 14-0.