Deer Lakes aims to end 4-game losing streak to rival Burrell

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 | 5:59 PM

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The Burrell football team has won the last four games in the series with Deer Lakes, but three of the four went down to the wire.

In last year’s nonconference matchup, then-junior Tristan Brothers intercepted a pass in overtime, which set up the winning score in the Bucs’ 27-21 victory.

“The game last year was pretty intense,” Brothers said. “You can’t get much closer than overtime. We were able to make the plays we needed.”

Two years ago, Burrell scored on Caden DiCaprio’s late touchdown in a come-from-behind 28-24 win that put a damper on the Lancers’ homecoming festivities.

The Bucs grinded out a 16-14 win in 2019.

Brothers said he and his Bucs teammates are focused on extending the win streak as the teams renew pleasantries at 7 p.m. Friday at Deer Lakes’ Lancers Stadium.

“We expect the same type of tough game this week,” he said.

Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said his team wants to halt that run.

“The guys on each team know the other guys so well from playing against each other over the years. There’s social media, too,” Burk said.

“It is a fun game. It is one of those games that goes way back. The close games always fuel the rivalry and fuel the intensity. I am sure Friday night won’t disappoint, either.”

Burk said he doesn’t harp on any streaks one team might have in the series. The Lancers had won four of five meetings through 2018’s 34-21 victory.

“It is what it is, but we don’t worry about it because we can’t do anything about those past games,” he said. “We try to control what we can control, and that is the game in front of us.”

Both teams hope to get into the win column Friday after each suffered close, frustrating losses in Week Zero. Burrell fell to Jeannette, 16-13, as the Jayhawks rallied in the fourth quarter.

“We had some new guys in there getting their first taste of varsity action,” Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said.

“We started freshmen and sophomores. Those guys are going to be good football players. They just have to get that experience of playing in these situations. There’s going to be some growing pains at times with some on this team. We do have a great senior group that is helping bring these younger guys along.”

Senior Devin Beattie carried the load for the Bucs against Jeannette with 127 yards and both touchdowns on 27 attempts. Brothers paced the defense with 10 tackles, and Maliq Buchak recorded an interception.

Deer Lakes scored first against Keystone Oaks and led in the third quarter before the Golden Eagles bounced back to prevail 7-6.

“It was really tough to not get that win,” Lancers junior linebacker Sam Guthrie said.

“We prepared really well for that game. We hadn’t had a win in our opening game in a long time, so it would’ve been nice to get the season off on the right foot. We didn’t play our best game, but there were some things we did well that we can build off of this week. There were really only two plays that lost us the game. Now, we just have to prepare our best and look forward to Friday.”

Deer Lakes senior Derek Burk completed 10 of 17 pass attempts for 121 yards and a touchdown to classmate Wayne Love.

Love had two receptions for 58 yards, and senior Ryan Cochran tallied three grabs for 30 yards.

“We didn’t play very well, and that falls on me,” coach Burk said.

“We didn’t execute the way we had hoped and had a ton of first-game mental mistakes, but we ended up losing by just one on all our mistakes. At the end of the day, a lot of that is correctable, and we are out here getting that done. The enthusiasm and effort from the guys were there, no doubt. We need to be better this week if we are going to beat Burrell, and I know the guys will work hard to be ready.”

Liotta said Burrell senior fullback and linebacker Caden Gardner, who had four rushes for 29 yards during his team’s first possession against Jeannette before leaving the game because of a knee injury, will not play this week.

“That hurt us, as he started out running really hard for us,” Liotta said. “We will have to have guys step up.”

This will be the 34th all-time meeting between Burrell and Deer Lakes, and the Bucs lead the series 25-8.

“Burrell and Deer Lakes is a great rivalry,” Liotta said. “Any time two local teams meet, there is a great crowd and atmosphere. Deer Lakes always is a tough opponent for us to prepare for and face. Some of the recent results show how close the teams have been. We’ve won the last four, so I know they are pretty hungry to get out there and change that. Deer Lakes has a lot of good players with experience, and they kind of have been building towards this year. They played a really good Keystone Oaks team last week and were really competitive. We’re going to have to make sure we’re ready to go.”

Head to head

Burrell holds a 6-4 edge in the teams’ last 10 meetings:

2022 – Burrell 27, Deer Lakes 21 (OT)

2021 – Burrell 28, Deer Lakes 24

2020 – Burrell 44, Deer Lakes 6

2019 – Burrell 16, Deer Lakes 14

2018 – Deer Lakes 34, Burrell 21

2017 – Deer Lakes 47, Burrell 14

2016 – Burrell 21, Deer Lakes 13

2015 – Deer Lakes 41, Burrell 20

2014 – Deer Lakes 35, Burrell 20

2013 – Burrell 49, Deer Lakes 32

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes