Oct 23, 2015 4 min read

BURGETTSTOWN – For an offense that hadn’t scored a touchdown in two weeks, the prospect of driving 76 yards for the potential go-ahead score seemed bleak, and the Burgettstown football team was seconds away from its season essentially ending.

But as head coach Mark Druga would yell to his players in the postgame huddle, the Blue Devils now know how to win.

Jarred John made a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone, freshman Reed Reitter drilled what proved to be the winning extra point, and Burgettstown rallied for a 21-20 victory in the waning seconds over Derry in the Class AA Interstate Conference Friday night.

“Right before that drive started, I went out there and said, ‘Hey, boys, give me time, give me blocks and we’ll get this done,'” said quarterback Brad McLaughlin.

The final drive was redemption of sorts for both McLaughlin and Reitter. McLaughlin struggled, throwing a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and also fumbled at the 1 on another drive. But as injuries piled up for Burgettstown, McLaughlin powered his team back in it, rushing for 90 yards on 23 carries and throwing for another 143.

And with only 5 seconds left, McLaughlin spotted his receiver just inside the pylon, tossed it up for him, and the 6’2″ sophomore made the play that might’ve saved Burgettstown’s season.

“He’s a big body, and any time we can throw it up to him, we just want to give him a chance,” said McLaughlin. “He went up and made the best play.”

As for Reitter, who is also a receiver, he dropped what would’ve been a sure first down on a fourth-down play earlier in the fourth quarter, a play that could’ve gone for a touchdown. Rather than dwell on that and despite Derry (4-3, 4-4) calling a timeout prior to the final extra point, Reitter calmly made the point after, even with having to get used to a new holder after Brandon Sell had been injured early in the game.

“Brad’s been a workhorse for us all season,” said Druga. “He’s just been a phenomenal job all year. We thought about calling timeout, but when they did, I told Reed to just believe in family.”

The final drive was aided by a pass interference penalty on Derry, but Burgettstown (4-3, 4-4) still needed to convert not just a third down but a fourth down as well, with McLaughlin hitting Scott Schmidt for nine yards.

Schmidt was a big part in Burgettstown’s comeback in another way, having intercepted Trey Friedline late in the third quarter and returning it for a touchdown. That and Ryan Lounder’s 73-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the second half helped the Blue Devils get back in the game.

Burgettstown trailed by 13 at halftime before rallying with a 21-point second half.

The win ties the Blue Devils with the Trojans for fourth place, with McGuffey (5-2) sitting in third but facing a trip to Washington next week. The potential is there for three teams trying to jam into the last two spots, and it could come down to Gardner points.

“All of our energy is going into Brownsville and what we need to do to get the job done,” said Druga. “Obviously this was one heck of a challenge, and our boys rose to it at the end.”

The last time Burgettstown reached the playoffs was 2009, when Druga was an assistant coach.

John finished with seven catches for 88 yards. Tyler Balega, in a losing effort, ran for 119 yards on 23 attempts and a pair of scores.