Dutchtown football coach Guy Mistretta holds the play of senior safety AK Burrell in high regard. He’s been an indispensable figure on the defensive side of the football for the Griffins who enjoyed a stretch of three successive shutouts in District 5-5A play in October.
With the calendar turned to November, and a share of the district championship up for grabs, Mistretta wasn’t about to leave anything to chance. He ramped up the number of offensive snaps for Burrell and the Furman commitment delivered with 90 yards of offense and three touchdown, to go with six tackles, in the Griffins’ 30-27 victory Friday over parish rival East Ascension.
For his efforts Burrell was named this week’s Tiger Rag Magazine Shining Star of the Week.
“We really can’t go without him on defense,” Mistretta said. “He’s taken every meaningful snap this year and hasn’t come out on that side. The biggest thing was just keeping him fresh there. We had a string where we were really dominant for five weeks, so up until then, we really didn’t need him on offense and that helped us hide some stuff.”
Burrell also collected a tackle for loss, broke up a pass and had an interception on defense.
But for the first time this season, Burrell impacted the team’s offense in a big way with a 2-yard touchdown run. But he unleashed his arm with a pair of touchdowns, a 55-yard halfback pass to Brennon Thompson to tie the game at 24-24, and an 8-yarder to Dickson Agu on a “jump pass” out of Wildcat formation that provided the Griffins with the win.
“We put those in just for this week,” Mistretta said the passes from Burrell. “He’s just so tough. He’s a really good running back, he has explosion with good vision. All of the things that you need and at safety he’s been leading us all year.”
OFFENSE
MIKE MITCHELL, Plaquemine (Accounted for 285 yards, 2 TDs; Completed 24 of 39 passes for 235 yards, 1 TD; Rushed 18 times for 50 yards, TD), GLEN CAGE, Central (Rushed 30 times for 277 yards, 5 TDs), JOEL ROGERS, West Feliciana (Accounted for 217 yards, 4 TDs; Completed 7 of 12 passes for 139 yards, 3 TDs; Rushed for 78 yards, TD), ELI HOLSTEIN, Zachary (Completed 11 of 17 passes for 206 yards, TD), JA’CORY THOMAS, Walker (Accounted for 196 total yards; Rushed 4 times for 101 yards; Caught 4 passes for 85 yards), COVANTA MILLIGAN, Scotlandville (Rushed for 193 yards, TD), DA’LANO SANDERS, Plaquemine (Caught 10 passes for 130 yards, TD), BLAKE ABNEY, University (Completed 13 of 18 passes for 148 yards, 3 TDs), RAY MCKNEELY, Denham Springs (Rushed 17 times for 128 yards), ANTWONE FOSTER, East Ascension (Rushed 18 times for 127 yards, TD), WALTER SAMUEL, East Ascension (Rushed 24 times for 123 yards), PIERSON PARENT, Dutchtown (Accounted for 186 yards; Rushed 16 times for 122 yards; completed 5 of 9 passes for 63 yards), CAM KELLY, Denham Springs (Rushed 20 times for 114 yards), JA’TERRIUS JOHNSON, West Feliciana (Rushed 16 times for 99 yards, 3 TDs), KEYLAN MOSES, University (Rushed 13 times for 104 yards, TD), JOSHUA MORRISE, St. Amant (Rushed 20 times for 97 yards, 2 TDs) RYLAND PARKER, Catholic (Rushed 17 times for 89 yards, TD), JALEN WRIGHT, Zachary (Caught 3 passes for 79 yards), BRADLEY WRIGHT, Catholic (Caught 3 passes for 75 yards, TD), DAVID JONES, Madison Prep (Caught 3 passes for 42 yards, 2 TDs).
DEFENSE
JAIDEN AUSBERRY, University (12 tackles, 1 ½ TFL), PARKER JACKSON, Plaquemine (10 tackles), SHERMAR CARTER, Plaquemine (10 tackles), HARRY BEACHAM, University (8 tackles, 1 ½ TFL), DIEGO DAVIS, Plaquemine (7 tackles, 2 TFL), AIDAN CAIN, Plaquemine (7 tackles, 2 TFLs, fumble recovery), BLAIR ROUSSEAU, Catholic (6 tackles), HAROLD LAWSON, Catholic (5 tackles), BENNETT CASTRO, Catholic (5 tackles), TONY BURNS, University (4 tackles, TFL, interception)
SPECIAL TEAMS
JOE CHATELEIN, Catholic (2 punts, 46-yard average), LANDON CARTER, Catholic (game-winning 40-yard field goal)
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