It was a fall Saturday night, and Westinghouse High School football coach, Donta Green, and his wife were just about to leave for dinner at a restaurant. Green then got a phone call from one of his players who asked Green to instruct him how to tie a tie for that night’s homecoming dance.
“I’ll be right over,” Green told his player.
On the way to dinner, Green make a quick stop at the player’s home and showed him how to tie the tie. When Green returned to the car, his wife, Tonia, was in tears, just because she was so touched at the things her husband will do for kids.
Green spent the rest of this fall doing wonderful things for the Westinghouse football team, the Pittsburgh City League and Western Pennsylvania high school sports in general. Instead of tears, it was all about cheers for Green.
Green and Westinghouse became one of the best storylines of the high school football season. In his fourth season as coach, Green guided Westinghouse to a place no Bulldog team had ever been and no City League team had been in 25 years. Westinghouse finished with a 14-1 record, won the City League title and made it to the PIAA Class 2A championship game before losing to Southern Columbia.
Now, the Post-Gazette says “cheers” to Green as Coach of the Year. The award takes into consideration all coaches in the WPIAL and City League. Since the P-G started picking a Coach of the Year in 2004, Green is the first City League coach to win the award.
This year was an unforgettable journey for Westinghouse and Green. In the postseason, Westinghouse developed a big following as the Bulldogs captured the attention and admiration of City League fans, young and old, as well as former City League players.
There were certainly some other worthy candidates for Coach of the Year, like Pine-Richland’s Jon LeDonne, Belle Vernon’s Matt Humbert and Union’s Kim Niedbala. But the Green and Westinghouse story was so unique.
“I honestly believe it breathed life into a community that doesn’t have a lot of things to laugh about and smile about,” Green said. “Our guys gave the community reason to smile. I’d see people in their 60s and 70s coming out of the woodwork to become fans. I’d be at the local store and people would stop me to congratulate me.
“I’ve said this before: I think what we did this year was some community restoration.”
Green, 34, is a 2005 Westinghouse graduate who played defensive back at IUP. He and his wife live in Larimer with their two young children (ages 5 and 2). His full-time job is executive director of Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, a non-profit organization in Homewood that provides vocational training and opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment.
Green never had designs on coaching, even when he took a job as Westinghouse’s strength and conditioning coach in 2014 under Monte Robinson. Green eventually became Westinghouse’s defensive coordinator and took over when Robinson stepped down prior to the 2019 season.
Green has won City League titles in three of his four seasons, and this year’s team was only the second in 70 years to finish a regular season undefeated for the third consecutive season.
Then came the PIAA playoffs. Westinghouse won its first five playoff games by an average of 33.6 points before losing to Southern Columbia. Westinghouse had an explosive, balanced offense led by quarterback Keyshawn Morsillo, receiver Sincere Smith and running back Khalil Taylor. The Bulldogs’ defense was staunch.
Green has been lauded for the work he’s done on and off the field. KDKA radio recently honored him as one of five “Hometown Heroes.” It’s an award given to individuals who impact the Pittsburgh community, and not just in sports.
Under Green, Westinghouse’s team grade-point average in the classroom rose. He has a rule of no cussing on the team — for players and coaches. If they do, it’s 25 pushups on the spot. He doesn’t allow players to wear pants below their waists. Players also wear a blazer and tie to school on game days.
Green and Westinghouse did so much this season. Ask Green for a memorable moment, and he will tell you it came when the Bulldogs were at a week-long preseason camp. Green won’t give the name of the camp except that “it’s in the middle of nowhere.”
On the third day at camp, Westinghouse had what Green termed “one of the worst practices.” Then, like a scene from “Remember The Titans,” he brought the team back to the practice field at 11 p.m. The field had no lights. Coaches used their cell phone flashlights instead.
“We worked out for about an hour,” Green said. “I probably shouldn’t have done it, but we had a great practice. That was probably the turning point for us. Guys just began to jell.”
With Westinghouse’s success, Green’s name has become known around district high school football. A few bigger WPIAL teams have head coach’s openings. Woodland Hills is one, and Green said he has been contacted by “Woodland Hills people.” But he says he is staying put — for now. After the state championship loss, he said it was not the end. Rather, it was the beginning of something special for Westinghouse.
“I have no plans of leaving Westinghouse,” said Green, who has a 39-7 record. “I still feel there is a ton of work to do. I feel like God wants me in this place in this time of my life.”
Coach of the year winners
The Post-Gazette started picking a Coach of the Year 19 years ago. Here is the list of former winners:
2003: Chuck Wagner, Springdale
2004: Art Walker, Central Catholic
2005: Greg Botta, Franklin Regional
2006: Jim Render, Upper St. Clair
2007: Bill Cherpak, Thomas Jefferson
2008: Jeff Metheny, Bethel Park
2009: George Novak, Woodland Hills
2010: Mark Lyons, Central Valley
2011: Tom Nola, Clairton
2012: Bob Palko, West Allegheny
2013: Joe Rossi, South Fayette
2014: Eric Kasperowicz, Pine-Richland
2015: Mike Zmijanac, Aliquippa
2016: Tim Sweeney, Derry
2017: Jerry Veshio, Quaker Valley
2018: Jon LeDonne, Penn Hills
2019: Bill Cherpak, Thomas Jefferson
2020: Roy Hall, Jeannette
2021: Mike Warfield, Aliquippa
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: December 22, 2022, 11:00 a.m.
