Burgettstown strong in second half for win over Bishop Canevin
Burgettstown’s Ryan Lounder attempts to evade the tackle of Bishop Canevin’s Matt Colantonio Friday night.
Burgettstown’s Ryan Lounder runs past Bishop Canevin’s Lou Worrall Friday night at Hill Memorial Stadium.
Burgettstown’s James Choff carries the ball Friday night against Bishop Canevin at Hill Memorial Stadium.
Burgettstown’s Ryan Lounder attempts to avoid the tackle of Bishop Canevin’s Alex Jozefowicz, left, and Allen Green Friday night.
Burgettstown’s Seth Phillis evades the tackle of Bishop Canevin’s Josh Gyms Friday night.
Burgettstown’s Seth Phillis attempts to break the tackle of Bishop Canevin’s Alex Shaughnessy Friday night.
Burgettstown’s head coach Mark Druga converses with quarterback Ryan Lounder Friday night against Bishop Canevin.
Burgettstown’s Nathan Neal carries Bishop Canevin’s Brian Deschon into the end zone for a touchdown Friday night at Hill Memorial Stadium.
BURGETTSTOWN – It would have been easy for Burgettstown football coach Mark Druga to be a little frustrated at halftime of his team’s contest Friday night against Bishop Canevin. And make no mistake, he was.
On the one hand, his defense was playing phenomenally well, allowing only one play of longer than 10 yards and just one first down in the opening 24 minutes. On the other hand, the Blue Devils were only up by a single score at the break.
The margin could have been larger, as Burgettstown had a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty late in the first quarter.
Druga must have said the right things in the locker room because his team responded in the second half and ended up coasting to a 34-0 victory, led by four touchdown passes from senior quarterback Ryan Lounder.
“Oh, yeah, we were getting punked in there,” said Lounder. “We just couldn’t finish. That was my fault, too. I missed a couple throws.”
Lounder didn’t miss many, and the ones he connected on really counted. All of his completions went for scores, as he went 4 for 7 for 97 yards through the air.
Not bad for a converted wide receiver.
“He’s a playmaker,” said Druga. “He earned the job in camp. I’m very proud that he’s leading the team.”
It turned out to be a pretty balanced offensive attack for the Blue Devils (2-0), who used a pounding rushing game to wear down the shorthanded Crusaders (0-2) before letting Lounder throw against the softened-up defense.
Burgettstown rushed for 173 yards over the first three quarters, with a trio of players gaining at least 45 yards, and finished with more than 200 for the game. Austin Safreed led the way with 51 yards on nine carries, Lounder gained 50 yards on 10 attempts and Nick Speer was the workhorse with 13 carries for 48 yards.
Lounder also had an interception on defense to set up Burgettstown’s third scoring drive. The Blue Devils also recovered two fumbles.
Once the second half started, Burgettstown wasted no time increasing the lead. The Crusaders attempted a surprise onside kick but failed to recover it, and it took the Blue Devils only three plays to score, with Lounder floating a deep ball to Jarred John, who got behind the defense for an easy six points.
“I unloaded on them, and they responded quite nicely in the second half,” said Druga.
Lounder picked off Brian DeSchon on Canevin’s next possession, and Burgettstown went on a 12-play drive capped off by an impressive scrambling play by Lounder to buy himself time and find John again for the second time in the game.
“It wasn’t designed fully,” said Lounder of his scrambling. “I was just supposed to roll out and gun it, but it worked out in the end.”
Burgettstown now turns its attention to Bentworth next week with something that hasn’t happened often – a 2-0 record.
“It’s enormous,” said Druga. “The second week’s been a killer. We just never seemed to get over the hump, but this year, we’re rolling. It took us a little bit of time to get rolling, but once we did, we kept the foot on the accelerator.”
Angelo Fratini blocked a kick for the second straight week to help set up Burgettstown’s first touchdown, an 11-yard quick slant from Lounder to brother Jake Lounder.