Duquesne middle school’s first football game of the season — and first in a decade — paid homage to the school district’s long history of athletic achievement.
That, of course, meant they won the game in dominating fashion.
The Dukes largely controlled all three facets of the game Wednesday against Upper St. Clair’s middle school squad for a 38-0 win.
For head coach John Mahone Jr., the victory was not unexpected with a talented roster he compiled, which included many players who participated in Mon Valley youth football leagues. The team was also coming off of its lone scrimmage in which they drubbed Chartiers Valley by a score of 60-0.
“I was real confident that we would come up here and do what we did last week,” Mr. Mahone said.
Even more significant than the win was the game itself: A milestone long in the making for the district that closed its middle school in 2012, five years after it had shut down its high school because of academic and economic problems.
With the closure of the middle school 10 years ago went what was left of the district’s vaunted athletic department.
Duquesne brought back its seventh graders last year and its eighth graders this year, becoming the first school district in Pennsylvania to reopen its middle school after being forced to cut it. Duquesne also brought back middle school sports this year, and district officials are now exploring ways to bring back the high school.
“It's huge, simply because it's tradition,” said DiAngelo Mitchell, the district’s athletic director. “Just to have these kids out here is a wonderful opportunity. It's truly a blessing for them to be out here, to be able to perform with that 'Duquesne' across their chest. So it's a big thing, it's really a big thing.”
Wednesday’s win looked similar to what might have been expected by a team from the school district decades ago.
Duquesne High School won four WPIAL football championships, and the team was just 12 wins shy of 500 all-time. It would have been just the 15th WPIAL high school to reach 500 wins.
The high school was one of only a handful in Pennsylvania to win state titles in both football and basketball.
On Wednesday, the Dukes took the field outside of Fort Couch Middle School wearing white jerseys with red numbers and lettering, red pants and red helmets.
The Dukes received the ball first, and, before the first play from scrimmage, the offensive line was flagged for a false start.
That was one of the few setbacks the Dukes would face all day.
Just 1:15 into the game, eighth grade running back Armand Hill ran for a touchdown, the first of three he would score in the game, including a fumble he would return for a score after ripping it from an opposing player’s hands.
Eighth grade receiver Sincere Degree added two touchdowns of his own on the ground.
“They just couldn't tackle me,” Sincere said after the game.
Duquesne’s Tyrone Leonard added a punt return touchdown just before the end of the first half, helping the Dukes win the special teams battle.
Mr. Mahone brought his team together on the field and congratulated them following the victory.
“I told them 'Way to play. This is Duquesne's football tradition. We get it done, and we got to move on to next week,’” he said.
The coach also offered up a reward to his team for shutting out Upper St. Clair.
“Every time we get a goose egg, I tell them guys ‘Pizza party,’” Mr. Mahone said. “So they work hard keeping the opponents from scoring.”
Mr. Mitchell, who played for the Duquesne middle school football team himself years ago, said seeing the red and black on the field again after the long hiatus brought back memories.
“It was sort of surreal,” he said. “It took me back a little bit to when I played. So it was a good feeling, just to see them out here because I know they work hard. To see them out here being able to compete is a great feeling.”
Even though football is a good outlet for the kids, Mr. Mitchell said, he reminds them that their education is the most important thing of all.
“Everything starts in the classroom,” he said. “A lot of them are doing real well in the classroom right now.”
Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com.
First Published: September 8, 2022, 12:12 a.m.