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Safreed swings momentum in Burgettstown win

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Burgettstown’s Austin Safreed (30) celebrates with Angelo Fratini (78), and several other teammates, after returning an interception for a touchdown Friday night against Beth-Center.

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Burgettstown quarterback Ryan Lounder throws a pass Friday night before being hit by Beth-Center’s Anthony Herman.

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Beth-Center’s Bailey Lincoski carries the ball Friday night against Burgettstown.

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Burgettstown’s Ryan Lounder carries the ball Friday night against Beth-Center.

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Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy carries the ball Friday night during the third quarter against Burgettstown.

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Beth-Center’s Trevor Anderson beats Burgettstown’s Ryan Lounder to the end zone Friday night for a touchdown.

FREDERICKTOWN – Burgettstown opened the door for disaster and Austin Safreed made sure to slam it shut right away.

Facing a 4th-and-23 in its own territory and trailing by seven points in the third quarter, Beth-Center dropped back to punt before the Blue Devils gifted-wrapped a roughing-the-punter penalty and an automatic first down.

With the momentum shifting and the Beth-Center sideline cheering, Safreed, a senior linebacker for Burgettstown, backpedaled into his zone responsibility and made the biggest play of the game.

Safreed stepped in front of a Beth-Center receiver to intercept a pass and return it 54 yards for a touchdown and Burgettstown went on to defeat the Bulldogs 34-22 in a Class 2A Century Conference game Friday night. Both teams entered the game with undefeated records.

“Bob and weave,” Safreed said. “The only thing I was thinking about when I picked it off was to score.”

He bobbed, weaved and nearly got dragged down from behind before leaping into the front corner of the end zone to put Burgettstown ahead by two scores, 27-14.

“It was incredible. A total game-changer,” said Burgettstown coach Mark Druga. “He is a senior leader and has been with us for four years. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. Seeing him take it to the house, you can’t get any better than that.”

It was more than just a turn in momentum for both sides, but an opportunity missed by Beth-Center, which saw a defensive substitution it was trying to take advantage of on the other side of the field.

“There was a real opportunity for us there on the lone receiver to the weak side when (Burgettstown) brought in a new cornerback,” Beth-Center coach Joe Kuhns explained. “We didn’t go where I wanted and the linebacker dropped back and just made a nice play.”

The Burgettstown defense then forced a three-and-out on the next possession before senior quarterback Ryan Lounder found Cyle Conley for a 66-yard touchdown pass to give the Blue Devils a 34-14 lead with 11:45 remaining.

Trailing much of the first half, after a touchdown on Burgettstown’s opening possession and another score nearly a quarter later, Beth-Center cut the deficit heading into halftime.

Bailey Lincoski connected with J.J. Green for a 10-yard touchdown pass across the middle. Lincoski then ran in the two-point conversion to trim the gap to 14-8 with 15 seconds left in the first half.

It was the first time an opponent scored a touchdown against Burgettstown (5-0, 6-0) since the first week of the season. It was also the first time the Blue Devils have allowed a touchdown in the opening 24 minutes.

“I tip my hat off to Coach Kuhns. (Beth-Center) played phenomenal and gave us everything and more. He did a heck of a job.”

Beth-Center (3-1, 6-1) had success running the ball to the weak side of its formation, using running back Dominic Fundy as a decoy while Lincoski and fullback Trevor Anderson racked up yardage.

Lincoski ran for 92 yards on 14 carries. Anderson had nine attempts for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

“A lot of it was them just paying so much attention to Dominic,” Kuhns said. “Our numbers were better on the weak side when we decided to do what we did tonight.”

Fundy finished with 113 yards on the ground.

Burgettstown’s balanced attack was led by Lounder and running back Nic Speer. Lounder completed 5 of his 7 passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns. He also added another score with a 26-yard run to break a 14-14 tie after B-C opened the third quarter with a quick touchdown.

Speer, the Blue Devils’ workhorse in the backfield, had 18 carries for 138 yards, helping to keep the clock moving late in the fourth quarter as the visiting faithful sensed victory.

“This isn’t an easy jaunt from Burgettstown down to here,” Druga said. “We’re up in the most northern part of Washington County and this is pretty deep down here. I couldn’t ask for anything more from our community. They’ve been phenomenal. This is for our community as much as it is for our players and our staff.”

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