For one half of football on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon on the South Side, it appeared Allderdice might muster enough magic to pull off a miraculous upset in the City League championship game against Westinghouse.
But the big bad Bulldogs are the undisputed kings of the city for a reason — and they made sure there would be no fairy-tale ending for the Dragons this time around.
Entering the game as a massive underdog while playing in honor of late coach Jerry Haslett, Allderdice battled back from an early double-digit deficit to tie the score going into halftime. But Westinghouse retook the lead less than a minute into the third quarter and never looked back, pouring in 28 unanswered points while pitching a second-half shutout to capture its third consecutive City League crown with a 40-12 triumph at Cupples Stadium.
Senior captain and fiery team leader Lloyd Penn scored every time he touched the ball for the Bulldogs, hauling in four passes for 81 yards and four touchdowns while also converting a pair of extra points. Along with his on-field contributions, Westinghouse coach Donta Green credited Penn’s passionate leadership with lighting the spark the team needed in the locker room at halftime.
“That’s what we expect out of [Penn] every week,” Green said. “He was the loudest voice in the locker room next to mine.”
Senior quarterback Khalil Green passed for 185 yards and four TDs with one interception in the win, improving his career record to 21-2 in two years as a starter. Green narrowly missed on a couple of his patented deep balls that could have led to an even gaudier stat line, but the only thing on his mind was securing the victory.
“We’ve got a lot of receivers,” Khalil Green said. “I just want to shout out the defense. The defense is what gets us up.”
The win gives Westinghouse five City League titles in the past six seasons and a league-best 40 overall. The only time the Bulldogs failed to bring home the title in Green’s six-year tenure was in 2021, when the Dragons pulled off a shocking 14-0 upset to spoil Westinghouse’s previous three-peat bid.
Going into the locker room at halftime, it sure felt like Allderdice might find a way to repeat the feat, but the Bulldogs weren’t about to let lightning strike twice.
“As soon as we got into the locker room, I told them, we aren’t playing our brand of football,” Donta Green said. “They understood. It was a really, really short talk. It really wasn’t a lot. There were no adjustments. We just knew we needed to play better.”
After Westinghouse took a 6-0 lead on its opening drive with a 5-yard TD pass from Green to Penn, both offenses took turns trading fumbles and penalties throughout a sloppy first quarter. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 12-0 late in the second quarter on a 16-yard TD reception by Penn on fourth down, but that’s when the Dragons came to life.
First, Mekhi Butler found speedy wideout Brandon Beachum for a 44-yard completion to get inside the red zone, then Butler called his own number on a 9-yard TD run to cut the Westinghouse lead in half. On the ensuing kickoff, Allderdice coach Mark Matson rolled the dice with a successful onside kick, then he dialed up a fake punt from deep in his own territory with just 45 seconds remaining in the half — and the Dragons converted.
Moments later, Butler heaved a long pass to Beachum for a 65-yard score, tying the score at 12-12 going into the break.
“They fought real hard,” Matson said about his team. “They left it all out here. We just couldn’t hang with them in the second half.”
With all the momentum firmly in Allderdice’s favor, the Bulldogs quickly regained control with a 38-yard TD run by Khalil Mitchell on the third play of the third quarter. That gave Westinghouse a lead it would never relinquish, as the Bulldogs made it 25-12 with another TD pass from Green to Penn on the following drive.
Jaylen Stanford then broke loose for an 81-yard catch-and-run to set up a 3-yard TD run by Dameon Hill early in the fourth quarter, then Penn capped off the scoring with a 37-yard TD reception to punctuate his career-defining performance.
“It’s my last ride,” Penn said. “I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else.”
Despite the loss, the Dragons put up a valiant effort while playing with the same unbreakable spirit Haslett instilled in each of his teams over 15 years at the helm. That speaks volumes to the phenomenal job Matson and the rest of his staff have done under unfathomable circumstances, guiding a group of heartbroken players to a five-win season and a 10th championship appearance in the past 16 seasons after losing their longtime coach less than a month before the start of the season.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Matson said. “What they went through, not just today, but the whole season — the way they held it together is just incredible. … I’m proud of [Westinghouse], too. They worked hard. They’ve overcome a lot, too.
“I hope they go get it in states and win one for the city.”
Both teams will now venture off into the state playoff bracket, with Allderdice attempting to play its way into the PIAA Class 5A tournament while Westinghouse aims at a PIAA Class 1A crown. And after back-to-back trips to the state championship game resulting in runner-up trophies and tear-filled bus rides home, these Bulldogs aren’t settling for anything less than the ultimate prize in 2024.
“We’re not a team. We’re a family,” Penn said. “We set a higher standard for ourselves. … We just had to lock in and be us.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
