Stout defensive performance sends Beaver into second round with 17-3 win over Deer Lakes

BEAVER – A strong offense gave Beaver a surge at the end of the regular season.

However, an effective defense helped the Bobcats prevail in the postseason.

Beaver scored early and shut down Deer Lakes, 17-3, Friday night in a WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Pat Tarquinio Field inside Gypsy Glen Stadium.

“It feels amazing to win this,” Beaver’s Qualan Cain said.

The Bobcats (10-1) blasted their final three opponents in October, 155-35. Even though the offense cooled against Deer Lakes, the defense remained strong. The hosts limited the Lancers (7-4) to a “quiet” 200 yards of total offense and recovered a fumble.

“Much respect to Deer Lakes. Those guys played their hearts out and did a good job. It was a really great high school football game,” Beaver coach Cort Rowse said. “I am just proud of my kids for a good week of practice and they get to go on and live for another game.”

Beaver’s defense did a good job containing Deer Lakes junior quarterback Derek Burk, who entered the game as the focal point of the team’s offense with more than 1,200 yards passing. He finished 12 for 20 for 110 yards. However, 44 of those yards came on the Lancers’ last drive when the Bobcats were playing off receivers in more of a prevent defense.

“That quarterback is legit. You have to respect him. He gave everything he had,” Rowse said. “When you play athletes like that, you’re going to give up some yards. Our kids did what they had to do. I was pretty happy with defense tonight. Coach Cook called a great game as he always does.”

Establishing an early lead was key for the Bobcats. They took the opening kickoff and marched 60 yards for a score. A bad snap at the 3 nearly doomed Beaver as the team recovered back at the 27. However, on the next play, quarterback Isaac Pupi tossed a pass to Liam Gibson, who went down the far side for the score.

“It was great to get this one. It was nice to come out here and compete,” Gibson said. “It was nice to go up early because the momentum was all ours.”

The Bobcats went up, 14-0, with 7:34 left in the first half on another long drive – 68 yards. Cain capped it on a 6-yard scoring run.

“It felt really nice to get that early lead and gave us the upper hand,” Cain said. “We just shut them down.”

Deer Lakes had some momentum just before halftime. The Lancers got to the Beaver 5 in the final minute, but a sack pushed them back and they settled for a 29-yard field goal as time expired to cut the lead to 14-3.

“We made some adjustments on defense at halftime,” Rowse said. “They started getting a little traction.”

The changes worked as the Lancers struggled to get much going. Their biggest gainer came on a trick play early in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Aiden Fletcher fired a 36-yard pass. However, the Bobcats forced and recovered a fumble on the Deer Lakes 31 on the play.

Beaver added Evan Baker’s 33-yard field goal with 1:37remaining to secure the win.

“We were doing a lot of good things, but we kind of got back into some bad habits of getting in our own way – taking penalties when we don’t need to take penalties; a bad snap here and a bad snap there,” Rowse said. “Those are things you have to execute and do your job. There’s no tomorrow in November. You have to go do these things week in and week out. I am proud of our guys for keeping their composure and overcoming it.”

Beaver’s triple-threat rushing attack of Frankie Chirico, Cain and Gibson paced the Bobcats. Cain, a sophomore, led all rushers with 110 yards on 17 carries. Chirico had two carries for 20 yards, while Gibson added 10 for 19.

“Liam has had the bulk of the carries, but we trust Qualan and Frankie Chirico. Sometimes, you just have to play that hot hand and, formation-wise, what’s working,” Rowse said. “Liam is the straw that stirs the drink for us. I am really proud of Qualan. We have been watching him come along. He had a high-ankle sprain in the preseason and, now, he has his legs under him.”

Seventh-seeded Beaver visits second-seeded Avonworth (9-1) for a second-round tilt Friday at 7 p.m. The two teams met during Western Hills Conference play on Oct. 7 and the Antelopes posted a 29-3 victory.

“We’ll enjoy this and then go back to the grind,” Rowse said. “You look at the past and learn from your mistakes. They are a quality program and we have nothing but respect for them. We’re going to do what we have to do to prepare to win.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Stout defensive performance sends Beaver into second round with 17-3 win over Deer Lakes