Preview: Burrell Bucs vs. Steel Valley Ironmen
The Burrell Bucs will head out on the road to face off against the Steel Valley Ironmen at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Burrell will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Pennsylvania Rankings (they are ranked 366th, while Steel Valley is ranked 181st).
After only eight points in their last contest, Burrell made sure to put some points up on the board against Ligonier Valley on Friday. Everything went Burrell's way against Ligonier Valley as Burrell made off with a 33-13 win.
Burrell can attribute much of their success to Devin Beattie, who rushed for 210 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. Burrell also got a significant boost from Cooper Hornack, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 82 yards.
Meanwhile, Steel Valley got themselves on the board against Derry on Friday, but Derry never followed suit. They blew past the Trojans 38-0 at home. The win was familiar territory for Steel Valley who now have four in a row.
Donald Barksdale was his usual excellent self, rushing for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Barksdale is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ashad Dye, who rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Their wins bumped Burrell to 4-3 and Steel Valley to 5-1.
Burrell was taken down by Steel Valley 48-0 in their previous matchup back in October of 2022. Thankfully for Burrell, Cruce Brookins (who rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries, and also threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
