Mt. Lebanon wraps up football season with playoff loss
Mt. Lebanon saw the future of its football program. It stared the Blue Devils in the face on the opposite side of the line as Pine-Richland delivered a 46-16 defeat Nov. 9.
In Lebo’s season-ending loss, the Rams, who are the defending WPIAL and PIAA champions, racked up 39 points in the second stanza.
“Our kids ran in to a buzzsaw, particularly in the second quarter of the game, but Pine-Richland can do that to you when they get it going,” Lebo coach Mike Melnyk said. “That is where we want to elevate our program to, and despite what the score may indicate, our kids closed the gap this year and will continue to work their tails off until we get there.”
After being 3-5 at one point during the season, the Blue Devils finished 5-3 in the conference, qualified for the playoffs with a first-round home field advantage and finished 6-6 on the season with just 13 seniors on the roster.
“I was very proud of the resiliency that our players showed this year. The players kept working hard and rallied their spirits. There is no quit in these kids and a lot of pride in themselves and the program,” Melnyk said.
Lebo did not experience much success against the Rams, who will play Seneca Valley (9-3) for the WPIAL Class 6A championship Nov. 17 at Heinz Field.
“We have a young and talented team returning next year, and we will continue to strive to bring our entire program up to the level of our competition in 6A,” Melnyk said. “There are only championship programs at the top of our league, so nothing less than that commitment will be good enough for the people in our program.”