Mt. Lebo Beats Baldwin, 38-7

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Call it bad luck. Or call it mistakes. Either way, in its 38-7 loss to visiting Mt. Lebanon High School on Friday night, Baldwin High School did plenty to hurt itself.

It would be hard to imagine Baldwin still winning this football game even if it played mistake-free, but the job was certainly made easier for Mt. Lebanon, which turned four turnovers into 20 points to run away with a WPIAL AAAA Great Southern Conference win.

“Tonight, I don’t think that that team was that much better than us,” Baldwin’s Head Coach Jim Wehner said after his team fell to 3-3 overall this season and 0-2 in the Great Southern.

Mt. Lebanon improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

“We made crazy mistakes that took us out of the game,” Wehner said. “I don’t think the score shows how the game went. You can’t turn the ball over against a well-coached team like Mt. Lebanon.”

Despite holding an edge after two quarters in both total yards with 183 to Mt. Lebo’s 178 and time of possession with 13 minutes, 27 seconds to the Blue Devils’ 10:33, the Highlanders found themselves trailing at halftime, 24-7. 

“When you turn the ball over, that’s what happens,” Wehner said. “(When) you give up a special teams long run (68-yard punt return in the second quarter) and you turn the ball over, you can’t compete with Mt. Lebanon.

“Last week’s loss () was a discouraging loss, but they were a better football team than us. This week, maybe they (the Blue Devils) were better, but they weren’t 31 points better than us … Come on.”

Wehner’s tone then changed.

“My kids quit, and if my kids are going to quit, they can go play another sport because I don’t want them.”

Mt. Lebanon used a punishing rushing attack by senior running back Luke Hagy, who was as good as advertised, to wear down Baldwin throughout the game. Hagy came into the game ranked sixth in the entire WPIAL this season in rushing yards with 888 on 119 carries (7.5 yards per carry) and picked up 208 more yards against the Highlanders on 25 attempts (an 8.3-yard average).

He is now 16 yards shy of 4,000 for his career.

“We thought our advantage was up front with our lines matching up against theirs,” Mt. Lebanon’s Head Coach Chris Haering said. “Once we got a chance to establish ourselves, I think that kind of took over a little bit.”

Wehner agreed that Mt. Lebanon’s interior line play was a difference-maker.

“When the right side of their (offensive) line’s 300 (pounds), 300, 250, and the right side of my line is 190, 180, 170, there’s your answer.”

Baldwin was poised to score on third-and-goal during the opening drive of this game, but sophomore quarterback Luke Smorey, who has replaced freshman Doug Altavilla as the Highlanders’ starting quarterback for now, threw an interception in the end zone for a touchback.

Mt. Lebanon then went 80 yards over the next nine plays, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Patrick Goff, for a 7-0 lead.

Baldwin came right back on the next possession, though, with a 10-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a two-yard TD run by junior running back Dorian Brown, who finished the game with 22 carries for 110 yards. 

Mt. Lebanon then took the ball 43 yards over 10 plays on the ensuing possession before junior placekicker Dimitri Orfanopoulos converted a 33-yard field goal try for a 10-7 lead.

On the next Baldwin possession, Smorey fumbled after being hit by Mt. Lebanon’s big and mobile senior defensive lineman Arthur Goldberg (6-4, 280). The ball was recovered by the Blue Devils’ senior defensive back Daniel Graziano at the Baldwin 21-yard line, and four plays later, Hagy’s four-yard TD run gave the Blue Devils a 16-7 lead. (Orfanopoulos’ extra-point try went wide right.)

The teams then traded fumbles before Baldwin was forced to punt from its own 44 late in the second quarter. Graziano fielded that punt at the Mt. Lebo 25 and returned it 68 yards to the Baldwin 7. Hagy then ran for a seven-yard TD on the very next play and added a two-point rush to up the score to 24-7.

While it was still 24-7 in the third quarter, Smorey threw his second interception of the game at the Mt. Lebanon 32. Junior defensive back Thomas McGraw returned that interception 40 yards to the Highlanders 28, and Hagy scored his third and final TD of the game eight plays later with another seven-yard rush.

Mt. Lebanon added one more score in the fourth quarter when Goff connected with junior tight end Mark Buda on a 13-yard TD catch to complete a six-play, 86-yard drive.

Goff went 8-for-12 passing against Baldwin for 95 yards and no interceptions. Smorey finished 7-for-13 for 83 yards and two picks.

Four receivers each caught two passes from Goff—Buda for 33 yards, senior running back Samuel Pitcairn for 30, Hagy for 17 and senior tight end Timothy White for 15. Senior running back Tarief Green led the Highlanders with three catches for 24 yards.

Altavilla did not appear under center for the Highlanders but did see some action on the defensive side of the ball, even finishing with two solo tackles, including one for a loss of four yards.

“I didn’t move Doug up (from Baldwin High’s freshmen team) to sit on the sideline … ,” Wehner said. “Doug’s moving up; Doug’s going to play somewhere.

“We’ve got two young quarterbacks that we’re trying to move around. It’s going to benefit us in the years to come, but right now, I can’t wait for years to come. I want to win now.

“Luke (Smorey) throws the ball a little bit better (than Altavilla). He’s doing some good things for us. He’s starting to feel confident. We’ve got to come up with a system, and we’ve got to stick with it.”

Baldwin’s senior quarterback Cory Phillips, who hasn’t played this season as he recovers from concussion symptoms, continues to take snaps in practice, but Wehner stressed that Phillips will have to earn his way back onto the field for games after not playing for so long.

Goldberg was a menace for the Blue Devils, leading them with six tackles against Baldwin, including a team-high five of the solo variety. His forced fumble came seven yards in the backfield during a Smorey rush.

Not to be outdone, Mt. Lebo’s senior defensive lineman Taylor Dean made five tackles (four solo), including a forced fumble that he also recovered.

Sophomore defensive back Jay Morrison led all players with 13 tackles (10 solo), many of which came against Hagy after long runs. Morrison forced a fumble, which was recovered by Green, who made seven tackles of his own (five solo).

Baldwin’s senior defensive lineman Joe Persichetti picked up the game’s only sack, a four-yard loss that was part of a two-tackle night.

Mt. Lebanon ended up leading Baldwin after four quarters in total yards, 380-253, and in time of possession, 28:13-19:47.

Mt. Lebanon will again travel to take on conference opponent Bethel Park High School (3-3, 2-0) on Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Baldwin stays at home to play conference foe (2-4, 0-2) that same night at 7:30.

Baldwin played the Mt. Lebo game without senior wide receiver/defensive back Jeremy Joyce, who missed practice during the week with an illness. However, senior defensive lineman Andrew Bannister returned to play against the Blue Devils after missing one week with a lower-body injury.

“We’re 3-3. We can’t jump off the bandwagon just yet,” Wehner said. “(The playoffs) are our goal; 6-3 is much better than 3-6, which is what we were last year.”