LOWER BURRELL — Matt Lucas was more or less fed to the lions Friday night.

Freeport's sophomore quarterback, starting for injured Brian Zimmerman, who has a separated shoulder, was harassed by a swarming Burrell defense in a 16-6 Allegheny Conference win for the Bucs.

"The coaches prepared me," Lucas said. "They got me ready. I got the reps in practice and the coaches did a great job preparing me."

But its safe to say no matter who was under center for Freeport (2-3, 2-3), he would have had a tough night at Buccaneers Stadium.

Burrell Dave Heavner was Franklin Regional's defensive coordinator last season when the Panthers won the PIAA Class AAA state title.

While the players were different Friday, Lucas was facing the same scheme that teams from Pittsburgh to Pottsville had trouble figuring out last year.

"We wanted to pressure (Lucas) as much as we could," Heavner said. "I think it worked. We pressured him and he had to hurry his throws so Ithink it was effective."

Lucas was baited into three interceptions, the last of which was returned 34 yards for a touchdown by Tyler Reifschneider, giving the Bucs (3-2, 3-1) a 16-0 lead.

But take away those turnovers and Freeport, which tallied 311 offensive yards including a 16-yard touchdown pass from Tom Douglas to Cory Massart with 1:22 left in the game, may have had a better chance.

"I don't really think they did anything too special," Lucas said. "We just made some mistakes offensively."

One of those popped up with Freeport still within striking distance in the fourth quarter.

After connecting on consecutive passes of 20 and 45 yards, Lucas was picked off by Shane Walsh, thwarting a chance to cut into Burrell's 9-0 lead.

"I'm very pleased with the defensive effort," Heavner said. "We created a game plan and, fortunately, it worked for us."

The offensive scheme did as well. Burrell went 80 yards in 1:03 of the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead. Quarterback Seth Napierkowski's 1-yard touchdown run was set up by back-to-back 26- and 37-yard runs by Jordan Pisano and Frank Gigler, respectively.

The Bucs finished their first half scoring with Casey Cavanaugh's 33-yard field goal.

Freeport coach Bill Dillen declined to comment following the loss.