Sep 17, 2020 4 min read

The Burgettstown High School football team entered this shortened season in a fog of sorts. As the newest member of the Class A Big Seven Conference – the Blue Devils dropped from Class 2A – each opponent is new, and that concerns head coach Mark Druga.

For Druga, studying video of the Blue Devils’ opponents has become an obsession, every practice has become too short and scouting reports have taken on added importance.

Burgettstown and Our Lady of Scared Heart have never before competed together on a football field. Thus, it is an understatement to say there are a few mysteries that will be solved when the teams meet tonight at Moon High School. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Both teams enter with 1-0 records.

The biggest mystery for Burgettstown is who will be playing quarterback for OLSH? Will it be senior Jaymar Pearson, who passed for more than 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns last year in addition to running for 12 scores? Or will it be Nehemiah Azeem, who played in the Chargers’ 34-26 season-opening victory over Cornell and passed for 168 yards and one score?

“What we do know is they have a big line and an athletic quarterback,” Druga said of OLSH. “They have nice edge players. They want to run to set up the pass. Their starting quarterback (Pearson) didn’t play against Cornell. The quarterback we saw in that game was a dual-threat guy, but the other quarterback is supposed to have a better arm. We’re going to prepare for the guy we saw on video.”

The mystery for OLSH coach Dan Bradley, a Washington High School graduate, is he must figure out what Burgettstown will try in an attempt to pump life into its passing game. The Blue Devils threw four interceptions in a 27-22 win over Fort Cherry.

“We can’t turn the ball over four times and not get any like we did last week. That kind of a turnover ratio is not going to help you win games,” Druga said. “We are going to have to contain OLSH. They have some good athletes and won the WPIAL under Coach Bradley two years ago.”

What is not a mystery is the level these two programs play at on a weekly basis. Each team is loaded with talent. Burgettstown has won 15 consecutive conference games and 21 straight regular-season games. OLSH, meanwhile, has won 13 of its last 15 conference games, is 17-4 in its last 21 games and has one WPIAL Class A championship in that span.

“We’re going to be up for the challenge,” Druga confirmed. “Last week, we made a few errors that Fort Cherry took advantage of. We corrected those errors and had a good week of practice.”

Burgettstown held a 20-0 lead on Fort Cherry late in the first half and had the Rangers pinned at their own 1-yard line after a punt by the Blue Devils. The Rangers, however, went 99 yards for a touchdown, scoring on a 50-yard pass.

“If we stopped Fort Cherry there and made them punt, if we only score a field goal we’re up 23-0 and we get the ball to start the third quarter,” Druga said. “Instead, we give up a touchdown, then throw a pick-six and suddenly it’s 20-14 instead of 23-0.”

The Blue Devils were able to hold on for the win because of their defense and running game. Druga credited tailback Shane Kemper with some excellent play against Fort Cherry and said Cole Shergi ran well playing quarterback in the wildcat formation.

“Our offensive line also played well, which was good to see. We had three new starters there,” Druga said. “The final score probably didn’t indicate how well the line played, even with Fort Cherry stacking the box. We had a nice drive to run out the clock.”

Burgettstown-OLSH is one of several games scheduled for tonight that could loom large at the top of conference standings when the regular season ends. One that will not be played is the Tri-County South Conference showdown between defending champion West Greene (1-0) and California (1-0). That game has been postponed because of a COVID-19 situation in the West Greene school district.

Peters Township, which did not play last week because of a similar situation as at West Greene, will make its debut tonight at home against Penn-Trafford (1-0). Though not a conference game, the teams are familiar with one another. The Indians defeated Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs in each of the last two years.