Over the past few years, a seismic shift has been taking place throughout the halls at Deer Lakes High School.
Long considered a soccer powerhouse without much prowess in football or basketball, the Lancers have emerged as one of the area’s premier small-school basketball programs in recent years, claiming back-to-back WPIAL Class 3A titles under coach Albie Fletcher. In the meantime, the football program has been steadily climbing the ladder toward its own lofty goals under coach Tim Burk, finally capturing its first WPIAL playoff win in school history last fall after making back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time.
Now, after storming out to a 2-0 start and ascending to the No. 5 ranking in Class 3A, it appears the Lancers might be ready to shed their “soccer school” label once and for all.
“I said it to our kids, and they probably didn’t understand it, but three years ago, we were right on the cusp of making the playoffs,” Burk said. “We didn’t get it because of the Gardner points, or whatever the case may be. Hindsight is 20/20, but you could just feel that the culture was shifting and momentum was starting to take off.”
Of course, a football program can’t go from bottom-feeder to title contender overnight. Burk has spent the past 15 years as a coach in the district, and he was there when the seeds were first planted for this turnaround, before he even took over as head coach.
In 2015, Deer Lakes started out the season at 4-0 before finishing 6-4 and exiting in the first round of the playoffs. The Lancers experienced some ups and downs over the next few seasons, bottoming out with a record of 0-7 in 2020. But they have made consistent progress year after year since, and despite graduating 4,000-yard passer Derek Burk and standout receivers Wayne Love and Ryan Cochran, there’s reason to believe Deer Lakes could be built for a deep postseason run this fall.
In place of Burk under center, senior Jake Fleischer has taken the reins and performed like a polished veteran. After biding his time and waiting his turn behind Burk the previous three seasons, Fleischer has completed 20 of 29 passes for 337 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first two weeks of the season.
“Jake always did a nice job of trying to learn,” Burk said. “When we were calling things, he was standing around listening and asking questions. He always knew his time was coming, and when his time came, he was going to excel.”
After rushing for 1,121 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, senior running back Zier Williams has picked up right where he left off a year ago. Williams was instrumental in leading the Lancers to a 35-22 road win at Class 2A No. 4 South Park last week, rushing for 116 yards and three TDs in the pivotal non-conference victory.
“Zier is a guy who never really wants the big spotlight. He’s just a workhorse,” Burk said. “He doesn’t complain about anything. We lean on him a lot. He never asks for anything more or anything less. He just does his job. It’s been a blessing to have him.”
At wideout, Zach Grant and Charlie Cook give Fleischer a pair of reliable weapons to target, with Grant providing more big-play ability while Cook is known for moving the chains. Burk pointed to Grant as a player bursting with potential to play at the next level, and he remains baffled at his lack of recruitment so far, other than one scholarship offer from Edinboro.
“He’s 5-11, 175. But he ran a 4.5,” Burk said. “His speed off the ball for the first 10 yards is ridiculous. He’s beaten press coverages like it’s nothing. And once he gets by you, you might as well forget it.”
With each of the skill positions covered on offense, the biggest strength Burk pointed to for Deer Lakes this season is its venerable offensive line. The Lancers returned four starters from last year’s group, led by senior Lee Hengelsberg, a three-year starter at center. The other four starters on the line are all juniors, meaning Deer Lakes will have plenty of continuity on the line next season as well. But for now, the focus is on making a third consecutive trip to the postseason — and this time, looking for more than just one win.
“It was always just that, ‘Let’s just get to the playoffs’ mentality,” Burk said. “Now we’ve kind of kicked that door in with back-to-back playoff appearances. It was the first time in school history to go back-to-back. Now, just getting a playoff win, that’s just not acceptable anymore. We need to take it to the next level. I think this group can do that. They’re starting to see that.
“They’re thinking about the bigger picture. They want to take it as far as they can, which is great. The culture is starting to change.”
South Allegheny surging to red-hot start
Speaking of long-downtrodden programs in the midst of a transformation, South Allegheny has made only two playoff appearances since 1986 — but better days could soon be on the horizon for the Gladiators.
After posting a winning season in 2020 and qualifying for the Class 3A tournament as a No. 10 seed in 2021, South Allegheny appeared to be on the upswing, only to stumble to back-to-back 1-9 finishes in 2022 and 2023. Both times, the Gladiators won their season opener before losing their final nine games. This year, though, South Allegheny is looking like no one-week wonder.
In their second season under coach Brian Hanson, the Gladiators are off to a 2-0 start after picking up a pair of lopsided road wins at Ringgold and Brentwood. South Allegheny defeated the Class 4A Rams, 28-14, in the season opener before blowing out the Bearcats, 50-7, last Friday. Now, the Gladiators suddenly find themselves ranked No. 5 in the Class 2A “Best in Show.”
Through the first two weeks of the season, senior quarterback Ryan Cortes has completed 34 of 47 attempts for 543 yards — second most in the WPIAL — with four touchdowns and one interception. His top target, Drew Cook, has 16 receptions for a WPIAL-leading 313 yards and a pair of scores, while Camden Lewis has eight receptions for 136 yards to go with 74 yards rushing and three total TDs. Elsewhere, senior running back Cam Epps has racked up 310 yards on the ground with two TDs on 34 carries.
Steel Valley’s Barksdale back in top form
After being held in check by Clairton’s stout defense in the season opener, Steel Valley senior Donald Barksdale bounced back in a big way to help the No. 2 Ironmen take down the top-ranked team in Class 2A last Friday.
In Steel Valley’s 30-7 loss against the Class 1A No. 2 Bears in Week 0, Barksdale rushed for only 35 yards in the first half before exiting at halftime due to severe cramps. His absence was amplified by the fact that his younger brother, coveted junior Da’Ron Barksdale, is still on the sidelines while recovering from a knee injury.
While shouldering the bulk of the workload on offense due to his brother’s injury as a junior, Barksdale rushed for 2,061 yards and scored 37 total TDs on his way to earning PUP All-Star honors. And with the Ironmen in danger of falling to an 0-2 start against Washington, Barksdale carried the ball 34 times for 327 yards and scored all four of his team’s touchdowns in a 28-8 win against the top-ranked Little Prexies, proving to be every bit as stellar as advertised during his spectacular 2023 campaign.
Steel Valley coach Ray Braszo said Da’Ron Barksdale is still undergoing rehab for his knee, but the team hopes to get him back before the end of the regular season.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
