Are Bulldogs patient? Like it or not, these playful Westinghouse Bulldogs have had to learn the trait.
Westinghouse plays in the PIAA Class 1A playoffs Friday. When the Bulldogs and Windber kick off at 7 p.m. at Cupples Stadium on the South Side, it will have been 20 days since Westinghouse put on a game uniform.
That was Oct. 26, when Westinghouse beat Allderdice for the City League title. So after almost three weeks without a game, Westinghouse will begin what it hopes is a run to a third consecutive state championship game, even though that run had a delayed start. The past two seasons, Westinghouse was a Class 2A team, played in the PIAA 2A playoffs and made it to the title game before losing to Southern Columbia. Westinghouse had one week off last year after the City championship before playing in a PIAA sub-regional. In 2022, Westinghouse did not have a week off between the City championship and the PIAA sub-regional.
But Westinghouse dropped to 1A this year, and the PIAA bracket was set up where Westinghouse had two weekends off after the City League championship.
So while coach Donta Green and his staff tried to keep their team active during the time off, the Bulldogs also had their patience tried.
“I’m not going to lie, it was a bummer when we first heard that we would pretty much have 21 days between our last game and next game,” Green said. “But we didn’t stay there long with that mindset. We figured, ‘How can we make this exciting for the team and the guys for the next few weeks?’”
There was activity in the ’House.
“Every week we continued to preach what our mantra was and that was: This can be a detriment or a benefit,” Green said. “It’s all how you look at it and prepare. The last two weeks, the energy was high and there was attention to detail, knowing we have to start fast. That’s been our primary conversation the past two weeks, and I think the kids got it.”
Green has never been in a situation where his team had two off weeks. During the time off, he said his players lifted weights harder than they usually do during the season. The coaching staff also made some personnel adjustments and the coaches tried to have some team bonding time, “which I thought was good and needed,” Green said.
One of those bonding events was when the Bulldogs went to Dave & Buster’s in Homestead last Friday to be guests on a KDKA high school football radio show.
Green acknowledged that there is still some worry about possible rust from the layoff, but he believes his team’s energy is high as Westinghouse tries to become only the second City League team to ever win a state championship.
Westinghouse will get to make its case first against a Windber team that won the District 5 title last Saturday with a 14-7 victory against Northern Bedford.
Windber is an “old school” type team that runs a single wing offense that is heavy on the run. Senior quarterback Lucas Oleksa throws only 8.8 passes a game.
Windber has four players who have rushed for 350 yards or more. Senior R.J. Tallion leads with 1,251 yards on 165 attempts, while Oleksa has 779 on 97 carries. Junior Luke Hostetler has rushed for 513 yards on 74 attempts, while junior Cole Mash has run 39 times for 371 yards. Windber averages 301 yards rushing a game and 7.3 yards per carry on the ground.
But since a season-opening loss to Beaver of the WPIAL, Westinghouse has allowed only 41 points in eight games. Plus, a few players used the time off to take care of injuries.
“I kind of get a kick out of it because when you talk to alumni of Westinghouse, the play up the days of [legendary Westinghouse coach] Pete Dimperio when he ran the single wing,” Green said. “It’s going to be interesting.”
This is the second time in four years the two teams have met in the PIAA playoffs. In 2021, Westinghouse edged Windber, 35-34, in a PIAA sub-regional contest. Windber held a 34-21 fourth-quarter lead in that game, but Westinghouse came back behind two fourth-quarter touchdowns by quarterback Keyshawn Morsillo.
The winner of this game moves on to the PIAA quarterfinals to play the winner of Bishop Guilfoyle (11-1) and Northern Cambria (11-1). Bishop Guilfoyle is the Post-Gazette’s No. 4-ranked Class 1A team in the state.
Correction: Windber defeated Northern Bedford in the District 5 championship. Another team was listed in earlier versions of this story.
First Published: November 12, 2024, 5:25 p.m.
Updated: November 12, 2024, 8:48 p.m.