Valley, Burrell players amped up for annual ‘Battle of the Bypass’

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 | 6:36 PM

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Mark Adams served as an assistant at Valley under former coach Muzzy Colosimo in 2018 and 2019, and he was able to get a taste of the “Battle of the Bypass” rivalry between the Vikings and Burrell.

“The schools are just three miles apart, and everybody knows everybody,” said Adams, who is in his first season as Valley’s head coach.

“The teams know each other so well, their strengths and weaknesses. This is for bragging rights. I expect it to be a good, solid game on both sides of the ball.

“I remember my first year, we played them at Burrell (2018) and there were a lot of people there. It was packed. The game was hard-hitting, and it went down to the wire. There was a lot of excitement, and I expect nothing less Friday night.”

This is the 44th consecutive meeting between the schools, and many players on both sides have relatives — a father, uncle, older brother or cousin — who also played in the rivalry game.

“Kevin Hurd, one of my assistants, played in this game, and he’s excited about it, for sure,” Adams said.

“That is what brings it back home, that they can all talk and tell their stories. For me, it gives me the magnitude of how much this game means to everyone.”

Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said he also appreciates the family connections among the teams.

“There are probably so many on our team, I can’t even name them,” he said.

“It is a great tradition and a healthy rivalry in the fact that there is a lot of mutual respect between the schools and the programs. We have had nothing but sportsmanlike games with Valley. They’ve been intense and hard-hitting with big plays. It’s always a great battle.”

Valley (1-1) holds a 25-18 lead in the series. Burrell has won the last four, including last year’s 30-27 triumph on a tie-breaking field goal in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Before the Bucs’ latest streak of wins, Valley prevailed six straight times from 2013-18.

“That one in 2018 was a close one (Valley, 26-21),” Liotta said. “They beat us at home. Since then, we’ve been able to go on a run with some nice victories. That is something the guys take pride in. The seniors have never lost to Valley, and they have a chance to complete a sweep.”

Burrell (0-2) now is well-known for being a heavy run-first team. All of the Bucs’ yardage through two games — setbacks to Jeannette (16-13) and Deer Lakes (33-0) — has come on the ground.

“You know what they’re going to do,” Adams said. “There’s no secret. They are going to come right at you and try to run it down your throat. They like to grind you down with the power run game. For us, we just have to be assignment strong and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Valley was assignment strong last Friday in its 18-7 victory over Apollo-Ridge and senior dual-threat quarterback Karter Schrock.

Schrock, who ran 34 times for 152 yards in a Week Zero victory over Leechburg, scored Apollo-Ridge’s first touchdown — a 39-yard scamper in the first quarter — to give his team the lead.

But the Valley defense limited Schrock to just 57 yards outside of the TD run. Meanwhile, the Valley offense scored three times as Mason Simmons connected with Dorian Briggs for two touchdowns, and Tristan Goodwin sealed the win with a 6-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

Goodwin finished with 14 carries for 70 yards.

“The guys are locked in,” Adams said. “You could see that Saturday morning when we were watching film. They are ready to go, which is fantastic. We didn’t have to get them there. They knew immediately what this week is and what this game means.”

Valley evened its record last Friday after suffering a 49-16 loss in Week Zero to Class 5A Armstrong.

“Getting that win at home meant so much to the guys,” Adams said. “They were flying high. They worked so hard in preparation, and it paid off.”

Liotta said he was impressed with what he saw of Valley on film.

“We know that Valley really wants to turn the tide in the series, and they have a lot of momentum on their side after their win last week,” Liotta said.

“They have a really good football team. Coach Adams and his coaching staff are doing a nice job. They are organized, and they have some really strong athletes who make plays. They have a disruptive defensive line. We have to be at our best if we are going to be able to move the football.”

Liotta said his team will be short-handed. Senior running back and linebacker Caden Garner left early in the Jeannette game with a knee injury, and last week, senior running back and linebacker Tristan Brothers exited in the first quarter with a finger injury.

Neither will play this week.

Workhorse senior running back Devin Beattie, Liotta said, is questionable after suffering an injury against Deer Lakes. He finished with 23 carries for 66 yards against the Lancers.

“We hoped to start off with a couple wins, but it’s still early,” Liotta said. “We haven’t even started conference games yet. We’re young and a little banged up right now, but we’re just trying to push forward and work to get better every day. The guys remain positive and are working hard to be ready for Friday.”

Battle of the Bypass

Valley leads the all-time series against Burrell, 25-18. Here are the results of the past 10 games:

2022: Burrell 30, Valley 27

2021: Burrell 19, Valley 14

2020: Burrell 22, Valley 13

2019: Burrell 20, Valley 0

2018: Valley 26, Burrell 21

2017: Valley 18, Burrell 13

2016: Valley 38, Burrell 20

2015: Valley 27, Burrell 20

2014: Valley 3, Burrell 0 (2OT)

2013: Valley 26, Burrell 0

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, Valley