When Burgettstown seemed to be on the ground last season, the Blue Devils tried to fight their way into the playoffs through physicality and aggressiveness.

Burgettstown defeated OLSH, Carlynton and Avella in succession to secure a spot in the postseason.

“We may not be the fastest, we may not be the most athletic, but I can tell you we are some of the toughest guys,” senior Travis Coles said. “If we get knocked down, we get right back up and punch you in the face the next game. That’s the mentality we’re going into the season with.”

Burgettstown is coached by Mark Druga, who has a career record of 43-26 with the Blue Devils. Druga returned to the program last season and is grateful to his team for sticking with him.

Coles is happy to end his time as a high school football player with the coaching staff.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better coach or coaching staff,” Coles said. “These guys are football fans and you can tell they’re passionate about it. They love what they do and they want the best for us as a team, so I couldn’t be happier.”

The Blue Devils have lost three key starters to graduation, including dual-threat quarterback Brodie Kuzior, running back Rudy Brown and wide receiver Zack Shrockman.

“We’re going to rely on our line because they’re mostly coming back,” Druga said. “We lost two starters last year. However, some of the linemen who weren’t starting have played a significant amount of time. Our line has a lot of experience when it comes back. We’re extremely young, so we’re going to rely on our line, there’s no doubt about that.”

One of the returning players is three-time All-Conference lineman Teddy Gray. Sam Elich also returns after playing on the line and as a tight end last year.

“Teddy is about 6’2″ and 290 pounds and was an all-conference starter for three years,” Druga said. “Sam has been a starter since last year and he’s 6’4″ and 230 pounds. Needless to say, we have room for where he could play for us. He’ll be a lineman, but he could easily play tight end. He could still be a middle linebacker or, more importantly, he could be a defensive lineman with that size.”

Druga said that while they lost their best players at the skill positions, their linemen and linebackers are equipped with experience.

“The box should be very strong,” Druga said. “We’re playing 3-4, so we have three returning defensive linemen and four returning linebackers. We expect to strengthen the middle, and then we just need to continue to work on the secondary.”

Gray has high hopes for the secondary and defense.

“Danny Smith returns at safety and then we lost our old core of linebackers,” Gray said. “It was Beau Ferris and Brody Kozier and we added a new linebacker in Sam Elitch and Brian Charles, who are both seniors. I think they’re both very solid football players and I’m excited to see what they can do this year.”

Smith, a junior, led the team with three interceptions last season. Shannon Archie also returns.

“(Archie is) one of our fastest players on the team and he’s one of our strongest at the skill position as well,” Druga said. “He can bench around 245 pounds and that’s pretty strong, especially for a junior D-back.”

Druga said Charles and Travis Coles will also play important roles on defense. He added that Wyatt Stevenson and the rest of the defense will work hard in the weight room.

“They were there as soon as the season was over,” Druga said. “Brian Charles and then Teddy Gray and Travis Coles, they were in that weight room. Teddy did track and field, but at the end of the day he was focused on football, that’s for sure.”

As for the backups at running back, Coles will be taking the snaps. Coles ran for 91 yards on 32 attempts last season. He lost some weight but put on muscle in the offseason.

“I’m ready and I couldn’t be more excited,” Coles said. “Honestly, if I could play every single snap of the game, I would, and I’m more excited than ever for football season to start.”

Druga added that Colton County, who also plays linebacker, and Brady Rightweiser will be used as running back.

“As soon as I was named head coach and we opened up the weight room, (Rightweiser) was there and he was a constant anchor there. So when he’s not playing running back, we expect him to do a lot of things on our football team,” Druga said.

Coles will take on multiple roles on offense. He relies on the leaders at the skill positions.

“He’ll potentially get some plays as, I don’t want to say wildcat quarterback, but kind of a variety quarterback,” Druga said. “We have Brian Charles, who’s a tight end and middle linebacker. He’s coming back and was a starter for two years, so it helps as far as the talent department goes to have some leaders.”

The two younger students Dom Stevenson and Blake Neal want to step in as quarterbacks. Neal was used several times last year.

“Don’t take his age lightly,” Coles said of Neal. “He’s a football player. He’s really good. His mind and everything else, he’s just thinking about football, and that’s great to see.”

The seniors have high hopes for the younger players. Coles said Smith will play a big role as he is young and determined and the young players have all impressed him.

“We just have a lot of young players that love to play football and that’s really nice to see when you have a team that lost a lot of core players to high school graduates last year,” Coles said. “It’s really nice to see these young guys coming in who are really determined to make this team better and just play our brand of football.”

Gray noticed the connection the team has with each other.

“We all try to keep our bonds very close,” Gray said. “Of course, each class has its little clique. I have my older friends that I’m closest with, but we try to include everyone equally. I’m always the one offering to drive someone home or give someone a ride, and I think that’s very important.”

Gray said he remembers giving his all for the older players as a freshman, and he was confident the younger players would do the same.

“I just told them how great it would be if they returned the favor and let me play on a playoff team all four years,” Gray said. “I’ve tried to put a lot of emphasis on making the playoffs. If we don’t make it, that’s OK too. I’d be happy if we did, but I trust my guys that we’re going to get there.”

Coles said the seniors come together and since Burgettstown is a small school, everyone is a family.

Last season, the Blue Devils lost to Union but had an outstanding first half. Coles and the team want to keep doing well for the community.

“Our loss to Union last year left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Coles said. “When we went out there, we played our style of football in the first half and everything fell apart in the second half. That really irked me. It motivates me more than ever to not only get to where we were last year but to go further.”

Burgettstown

Trainer: Mark Druga

Record 2023: 5-5, 4-3 in Class A of the Black Hills Conference

All-time record: 459-503-39

SCHEDULE

Date, opponent, time

8.23 Unions, 7

8.30 am in Bentworth, 7

9.6 at Jefferson-Morgan, 7

9.13 Cornell*, 7

9.20 a.m. in Chartiers-Houston*, 7

9.27 Fort Cherry*, 7

10.5 Neshannock, 2

10.11 in Monessen*, 7

10.18 Serra Catholic*, 7

10.25 Bishop Canevin*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL GUIDES

Passing by: Brodie Kuzior*

47-103, 739 yards, 6 touchdowns

Rush: Kuzior*

179-785 yards, 10 touchdowns

Reception: Zack Shrockman*

27-543 yards, 11 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Three players from Burgettstown made it to the NFL: Pat West, Walter West and Mike Nixon.

• Barry Alvarez, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and former Wisconsin coach, graduated from Burgettstown Union High School.

• Burgettstown won two WPIAL titles in program history, one in 1929 and one in 1941.

• Matt Taylor and Rich Druga, brother of head coach Mark Druga, are on the team and were also head coaches of the Blue Devils.

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