Butler falls to Westinghouse at home, 36-7
BUTLER TWP — After 12 minutes, Butler trailed by 24 points.
Not the kind of numbers you want on homecoming — or in any other football game.
“Not a good start at all,” Golden Tornado coach Eric Christy allowed. “But our defense hung in and played well. Not all of the points were on them. I’m proud of their effort. We had some injuries tonight, some young players out there, and we put (the defense) in bad situations at times.”
Westinghouse (6-0) did not score again until five minutes remained in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs had a comfortable lead throughout in grabbing a 36-7 victory Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.
Ty Abrams scored on a 50-yard run on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the night. On the ensuing kickoff, Kyshawn Robinson stripped the kick returner of the football and raced 28 yards for a touchdown. A 42-yard run by Abrams set up Laimon Bates’ 3-yard scoring run on Westinghouse’s next possession and the visitors led 22-0 less than nine minutes into the game.
A punt snap skittered past Tornado punter Nicholas Baggetta, who ran the ball down in the end zone and had to throw it away. He was called for intentional grounding — resulting in a safety — and the Bulldogs had their 24 early points.
“We play the way we practice,” Westinghouse coach Donta Green said. “We start off great, with a lot of intensity, then we fizzle out. That’s what our practices were like all week and that’s the way we played tonight.”
While the Tornado (2-5) buckled down defensively, the offense struggled to get going. Butler was limited to 103 net yards offensively and did not get inside the Westinghouse 30 until its final drive of the game.
Butler used three quarterbacks — Landon Lacey, Alec Teff and Tyson Pino — in the game.
“We were trying different sets with different guys,” Christy said. “There’s a battle for our quarterback job right now. We’re hoping it develops into a serious competition. We’ll see how it plays out down the road.”
The Bulldogs tacked on two more touchdowns in the second half. A 56-yard run by Robinson set up Bates’ 21-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Khalil Green hit Jaylen Stanford in stride for a 52-yard touchdown pass that upped the lead to 36-0 and got the mercy clock running.
Terrell Holderman played a standout game for Butler defensively, making numerous tackles and registering a quarterback sack. Matthew McCombs recovered a fumble for the Tornado.
“Butler’s kids kept playing hard,” Coach Green said. “They made some adjustments defensively and gave us a lot of trouble. All the penalties we’re taking … We’re damaging ourselves.”
The Bulldogs were flagged 10 times for 100 yards on the night.
After McCombs’ fumble recovery, Butler drove 50 yards on eight plays for its lone touchdown. Mark Klemz had a 27-yard run and Braylon Littlejohn caught a 16-yard pass to set up Evan Reinsel’s 1-yard TD run with 12 seconds left.
“We fed Evan the ball three straight times down there,” Christy said. “He was homecoming prince tonight, he plays in the band … We wanted to reward him tonight.
“Westinghouse is ranked third in the state in 2A. They are all advertised. We played them tough. That first quarter really hurt us.”
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Butlers Terrell Holderman (51) rips Westinghouse quarterback Khalil Green (1) to the ground for a sack during the second quarter Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butler band performs during half time of their game vs Westinghouse Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butler band performs during half time of their game vs Westinghouse Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butler band performs during half time of their game vs Westinghouse Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butler wide receiver Ian Wilson (4) catches a pass and tries to make Westinghouse corners Kyshawn Robinson left (2) and Khalil Mitchell right (4) miss during the second quarter Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Brennan Michael (45) of Butler pushes out Westinghouse Jordan Reid (8) with ball during a kick return Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butlers Terrell Holderman (51) rips Westinghouse quarterback Khalil Green (1) to the ground for a sack during the second quarter Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butlers student section watches on as their team takes on Westinghouse Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
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Butler cheerleaders show the youth cheerleaders what its like cheering for their team under the Friday night lights. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle. 10/6/23
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Butler football players come out of the locker room and high five their fans before getting ready to take on Westinghouse Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium. Brandon Croney/Special to the Eagle 10/6/23
Westinghouse 24 0 6 6 — 36
Butler 0 0 0 7 — 7
First Quarter
W —Ty Abrams 50 run (Jaymir O’Neal run), 8:03
W — Kyshawn Robinson 28 fumble return (run failed), 7:49
W — Laimon Gates 3 run (O’Neal run), 3:38
W — Butler called for intentional grounding in end zone for safety, 2:34
Third Quarter
W — Bates 21 run (pass failed), 5:24
Fourth Quarter
W — Jaylen Stanton 42 pass from Khalil Green (pass failed), 8:52
B — Evan Reinsel 1 run (Christian Mortimer kick),: 12
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Westinghouse, Khalil Green 3-(-6), Ty Abrams 11-148, Kyshawn Robinson 6-69, Laimon Bates 11-71, K’shawn Hawkins 1-(-2), TEAM 1-(-6). Butler, David Graef 3-4, Landon Lacey 11-36, Mark Klemz 7-33, TEAM 3-(-53), Alex Catalfano 2-(-3), Evan Reinsel 5-(-2).
Passing: Westinghouse, Khalil Green 4-8-69-0. Butler, Landon Lacey 0-4-0-0, Alec Teff 10-27-62-0, Tyson Pino 1-3-16-0.
Receiving: Westinghouse, Taymir O’Neal 1-12, Diop Jones 2-2, Ty Abrams 1-2, Jaylen Stanford 1-52. Butler, David Graef 3-14, Landon Lacey 2-5, Braylon Littlejohn 1-16, Ian Wilson 2-12, Mark Klemz 1-17, Zane Summerville 1-3.
