Gateway youth football teams contending for Big East Youth Football League titles

Gateway was one of only two programs in the Big East Youth Football League — Penn-Trafford was the other — to have all four of its teams make the playoffs in 2023.

The Gators’ flag (ages 5-6), Termites (7-8), Mites (9-10) and Midgets (11-12) teams turned in successful regular seasons and took part in the postseason, and the Midgets capped the BEYFL season by defeating rival McKeesport, 14-12, in the 11-12 championship game at Penn-Trafford’s Warrior Stadium.

The teams again are battling for playoff berths as the 2024 regular season has entered the stretch run, and Gateway Midget Football and Cheerleading Association president Kip Stewart is energized with what the teams have done so far and what they can do in the final few weeks before the playoffs.

“With these kids and the coaches, it’s all about championship-minded football,” Stewart said.

“That’s what we do at Gateway. We pride ourselves in the kids working hard, the coaches coaching them up and doing their homework, and everybody coming ready to put the time in to being the best. It is a family environment where everyone supports each other and we make sure the kids have the best time every week.”

Numbers, Stewart said, are strong again this fall with 285 kids — 160 football players and 125 cheerleaders combined.

“It is special to see the interest these kids and the families have in the program,” Stewart said.

“There is stability within the organization. We’ve had some of the same board members for a number of years now. People know who we are. When we first took over several years ago, there were five presidents in six years. It was a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up and secured. We needed to get the community, vendors, the schools and administrators connected.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have (Gateway varsity head coach) Don Holl here for the same time. We didn’t have to do much in terms of connectivity with him.”

Stewart said the connection with Holl at the upper football levels at Gateway has created a level of uniformity in terms of systems and plays that are worked on in practice and executed in games.

“It is watered down obviously at (the youth level), but it is a lot of the same things in terms of terminology and how the plays are run,” Stewart said.

“Our coaches do classroom work with the coaches at the high school. We’ve done that for the past eight or nine years. It comes down to making sure schematics match up and we’re all on the same page.”

Stewart said he’s proud to have the number of cheerleaders who put the time and effort into their routines and are energetic supporters when it comes to game time each week.

“It is the most cheerleaders we’ve had in over a decade,” Stewart said.

“There’s nearly 40 girls at the flag level alone. All of the cheerleaders at all levels are loud and energetic and create a pretty cool environment on game day.”

Gateway was to face Woodland Hills on Sunday.

Four teams in the 11-12 age division — Gateway, McKeesport, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills — entered Week 7 tied for first place, while Kiski Valley was one game off the pace at 4-2.

The top eight teams in each age division qualify for the playoffs, which start with the quarterfinals the weekend of Oct. 27.

“Unity has been the key,” Midgets coach Tayon Mitchell said.

“We had a lot of seniors (age 12) return from last year. The kids have a lot of trust in the (coaching) staff. It is a great group of guys to work with. Some of them know what it feels like to win a championship.”

The league semifinals will be the weekend of Nov. 2 with the championship games Nov. 10 at Franklin Regional.

The Mites went into their game with Woodlands Hills in a three-way tie for first with Franklin Regional and Jeannette at 5-1. Lower Burrell and Penn-Trafford checked in tied for fourth at 4-2.

The Termites came into Week 7 in the No. 8 spot in the 7-8 standings at 2-4, one game behind Penn Hills (3-3) and one game ahead of Lower Burrell (1-5).

“They’re just young,” Stewart said of the Termites.

“When they’re young like that, it can take them a little longer to get started. But we’ve seen a lot of bright spots with them. Everyone wants this microwave society. We’re more of a crock-put process where it’s a slower build into something that hopefully turns out really good.”

Both the Mites and Termites saw their 2023 BEYFL playoff runs as No. 1 seeds end at the hands of Penn-Trafford. The Mites fell to No. 2 Penn-Trafford, 6-0, in the 9-10 championship game, while the Termites lost 8-0 in the semifinals.

Records, Stewart said, are not kept in the flag division, but the team, he added, is playing well after making it to the championship game of the BEYFL preseason tournament.

“No matter if we win or lose on the field, at the end of the day we are winning in other categories such as building life skills, mentorship, personability and connections with the kids and coaches,” Stewart said.