Burrell turns back the clock, brings old-school offense into matchup with Deer Lakes

By: George Guido
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 | 6:37 PM

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Burrell High School wasn’t even around in the 1950s.

But the Bucs used a 1950s-style offense in their season opener last Friday against Jeannette. Burrell ran 51 plays: 50 rushing and one passing. It resulted in a 31-10 victory against Jeannette.

Bucs coach Shawn Liotta loves the wide-open passing game of the 2000s, but the veteran coach is more than willing to tailor his offense to the people he has on hand.

Burrell lined up in a “big I,” with three backs directly behind the quarterback, who calls quick snaps.

“Football, it’s funny. I was a spread guy for all these years,” Liotta said. “Now, with our talent, we’re back to football from the ‘50s and ‘60s, which is kind of cool. What’s old is new again. You don’t see a lot of people run the stuff that we run, and it poses a challenge, like teams when they started to spread. It’s old-school football, but it fits our kids and they’re having fun with it.”

Burrell went into Deer Lakes last season with an 0-6 mark and pulled off a huge win against the Lancers, who were 3-0 in conference play at the time.

It’s not a conference game this time around, but it’s still meaningful to the players. The last time the Lancers visited Burrell, the Bucs were playing their first game on artificial turf.

“It’s a tough place to play,” said Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk. “It just adds to the rivalry. They do a very good job at Burrell in creating an atmosphere, getting the student body involved. They have that victory circle after the game, so hat’s off to them for a tough environment.”

The Bucs will have to stop Lancers junior quarterback Derek Burk, who passed for more than 1,000 yards last season, but ran in a 32-yarder Friday to account for the Deer Lakes touchdown in a 19-7 loss to Keystone Oaks.

“We missed a field goal, and we had some opportunities, but we can’t dwell on it,” coach Burk said. “We were a little sloppy, and we plan on fixing that.”

Burrell also fumbled five times against Jeannette, losing four.

Also emblematic of the 1950s was the tradition of a player who fumbled carrying a football around the classrooms the following week.

That might be brought back if the fumbles continue.

“We still might do it,” Liotta said with a laugh. “We’ve got enough footballs. We’ve got to make sure we don’t put that thing on the ground. If we’re going to be a ball control, run-it-at-you football team, that’ll derail that type of offense. It killed momentum for us at Jeannette.”

Burrell is looking for a big game from senior running back/middle linebacker Antonio Cook, who had 115 rushing yards in the first half but was hampered by leg cramps in the second half.

“Our defense played well, and everybody did a good getting to the ballcarrier. We all did our part,” Cook said. “Everything came together on offense. Our guys blocked, and the holes were there.”

SERIES HISTORY

Burrell holds a 24-8 advantage in the all-time series against Deer Lakes. Here are the results of the last 10 games:

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

2012: Burrell 51, Deer Lakes 18

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes