A-K Valley football notebook: Deer Lakes streaks into matchup with East Allegheny

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 7, 2023 | 5:11 PM

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The Deer Lakes football team won its fifth game of the season Friday night and evened its Allegheny 6 Conference record at 1-1.

The Lancers hope to move closer to a WPIAL Class 3A playoff spot when they visit East Allegheny (5-2, 2-0) on Friday.

The Lancers gave up just one touchdown to Valley on Friday, the fourth time this year they surrendered one score or less.

They are averaging 13.7 points against, the best in the Allegheny 6 and fourth best in Class 3A behind Belle Vernon (8.5), Elizabeth Forward (12.1) and Avonworth (12.6).

Those three teams, after Friday, are a combined 19-1.

On the flip side, Deer Lakes has scored 33 or more points in a game four times and is averaging 31.4 points, also tops in the conference.

Friday’s game with East Allegheny could be a high-scoring affair as the Wildcats also are averaging 31 points. EA sent Freeport to 0-2 in conference play with a 28-7 victory Friday.

The top four teams in the Allegheny 6 Conference qualify for the WPIAL postseason.

Knights move forward

Knoch coach Tim Burchett said Friday it wasn’t the way his team wanted to record an Allegheny 6 win, but the forfeit victory over Shady Side Academy put the Knights at 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

Knoch can clinch a berth to the Class 3A playoffs with a win over Freeport on Friday and a Valley loss to Shady Side Academy if the teams are able to meet on the field.

Shady Side announced hours before kickoff that several players were sick, and the team elected not to play the game. The Bulldogs fell to 1-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall.

Burchett said his team was disappointed they weren’t able to play the game, and rescheduling the game wouldn’t be feasible because of the remaining schedule.

Shady Side officials shared in Burchett’s disappointment.

“Our team (had) been working hard to prepare for the game, and we were looking forward to a great evening of football,” Shady Side associate athletic director Josh Frechette said in an email Friday.

“Please know that this decision was not taken lightly, and our primary goal is to ensure the well-being of our student-athletes.”

Burrell grounds out another win

The Bucs’ bread-and-butter run game again was on display Friday against Ligonier Valley in an Allegheny Conference matchup.

Burrell ran 66 plays, and bruising senior tailback Devin Beattie most likely slept well into Saturday morning after carrying the ball 32 times for 187 yards and a touchdown.

An improving offensive line mixed with veterans and younger talent helped the Bucs finish with 335 total yards of offense. All of it was on the ground.

Senior Caden Garner, who has battled back from an injury suffered in a Week Zero loss to Jeannette, tallied a fourth-quarter touchdown to cap the Burrell scoring.

The Bucs improved to 3-1 with additional conference wins over Serra Catholic and Yough. They will test their mettle Friday at Campbell Field in Munhall against conference leader Steel Valley (5-1, 4-0).

The Ironmen rolled past Derry, 38-0, on Friday.

Points aplenty

Leechburg and Jeannette engaged in one of the highest-scoring Eastern Conference games of the season so far.

The teams combined for 68 points in a 37-31 Jayhawks victory.

It is on par with both teams’ penchant for points this season. Leechburg leads the conference in scoring at 36.4 points a game, and Jeannette is second at 35 a contest.

The teams also combined for 35 points in a wild fourth quarter that saw the Blue Devils rally from a 13-point deficit to take the lead.

Leechburg hoped to keep pace with the conference leaders, but they slipped to 2-2 with the setback. Jeannette, which has returned to the form that put it in title contention for so many years, improved to 4-0 in the conference, tied with Clairton (5-2, 4-0) for the conference lead.

The Jayhawks have lost just once this season, an overtime setback to Class 3A East Allegheny.

Leechburg hopes to get back on track in the conference next Saturday afternoon when it visits rival Riverview. The Raiders improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference with a win over Summit on Saturday.

Stat sheet leaders

Leechburg junior Jayden Floyd led the Alle-Kiski Valley in passing Friday with a 230-yard performance. He completed 15 of 28 passes but also used his feet several times, including TD runs of 3 and 5 yards.

Deer Lakes senior Derek Burk threw another TD, 37 yards to senior wideout Wayne Love, and finished with 210 yards through the air. He has 15 touchdown passes this season.

Kiski Area junior Carson Heinle completed 13 of 18 passes for 129 yards in a loss to Mars.

Apollo-Ridge senior Karter Schrock threw for 126 yards and ran for another 108 yards with two scores in a losing effort against Imani Christian. Schrock has accounted for nine of his team’s 12 offensive touchdowns this season with seven rushing TDs and two more through the air.

Beattie’s 187 rushing yards were the fifth most in the WPIAL on Friday.

Love came close to the century mark in receiving yards against Valley as he caught four of Burk’s passes for 93 yards and the touchdown.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Valley