Oct 13, 2018 4 min read

BURGETTSTOWN – The Burgettstown High School football team’s stout defense had only allowed 34 points through six games entering a non-conference showdown Saturday with once-beaten Mohawk.

That’s 5.7 points allowed per game. And that number was reduced after another 48 solid minutes of swarming defense.

The Blue Devils’ rock-solid defense showed its muscle at Hill Memorial Stadium as cornerback Seth Phillis returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter and Burgettstown upended Mohawk, 14-3, in battle of first-place teams.

“The defensive line and the linebackers do a great job of getting pressure up front,” Phillis said. “That makes the secondary’s job a lot easier. We just came together as a team and we knew someone would make a play today. Our defense has been stepping up all year long.”

This was the first meeting between the two schools, and both came in red hot. Mohawk is in first place in the Midwestern Conference and Burgettstown is at the top of the Three Rivers Conference.

Despite being a non-conference contest, there was definitely a playoff-like atmosphere during Homecoming weekend. The win for the Blue Devils (7-0) could be huge when it comes to postseason seedings in Class AA.

Burgettstown will have a chance to clinch the conference title outright Friday at Brentwood. It would be the Blue Devils’ first conference title since 1977.

“Mohawk is an excellent team,” Burgettstown coach Mark Druga said. “They are are very similar to us in a lot of ways. The defenses were on it today. Nobody could sustain drives. We had to key on their running back and slow them down.”

Trailing 3-0 to start the third quarter, Burgettstown mounted a drive that took them to the opponent’s 33-yard line, but the Warriors (6-2) came up big with a stop on fourth-and-two.

Two plays later, Phillis read the eyes of Mohawk quarterback Nick Wheeler and intercepted a pass. After evading a couple of tacklers, Phillis was able to take the return back for a touchdown and give Burgettstown a 7-3 lead at the 4:22 mark of the third quarter.

“I saw the slot receiver running a hitch and the throw got away from the quarterback,” Phillis said. “I just came up and got it. As soon as I caught it, I knew I had a chance for the pick-six. The defense has been the driving force of the team this season.”

After both teams traded scoreless possessions, the Blue Devils were able to hold off the Warriors after Jake Lounder sacked Braydon Cameron for a eight-yard loss on fourth down.

Burgettstown increased its lead to 14-3 three plays later, when Lounder threw a 19-yard scoring toss to Dylan Poirier with 2:21 remaining in the game.

The Blue Devils’ defense sealed the victory the next possession as Lounder grabbed an interception at the Burgettstown 15-yard line to halt another Mohawk drive.

After both teams were forced to punt on their opening drives, the Warriors took a 3-0 lead in the late stages of the first quarter when Dylan Lloyd capped a 10-play, 72-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal.

Both offenses continued to stall in the second quarter. Mohawk did have a chance to extend its lead just before halftime but Cole Shergi intercepted a Wheeler pass in the red zone. Burgettstown’s defense had three interceptions and a fumble recovery by Lounder.

Lounder had 118 yards of total offense, and Cyle Conley led Burgettstown on the ground with 74 yards on 16 carries.

“I thought Clye was very physical running the football in between the tackles,” Druga said. “He puts in a lot of work in the offseason. He runs track to get faster. He is probably our second strongest kid in the weight room. He is just so strong and is hard to tackle late in games.”

Cameron led Mohawk with 128 rushing yards on 26 carries, but he was limited to only 19 yards on the ground in the second half.

“This is a great win, but we can’t be satisfied with just this win,” Druga said. “We can’t have any letdowns and these next two weeks are going to be the hardest. We preach being consistent and not taking anything for granted. We have to focus on the details and be prepare to work.”