PITTSBURGH — It’s no secret how Westinghouse football plans to attack opposing defenses.

Stopping the Bulldogs is a completely different matter.

Their powerful rushing attack chewed up 413 yards, and all seven of the team’s touchdowns came on the ground in a 50-21 defeat of Karns City in Friday’s PIAA Class 2A District 8/9 subregional playoff game at Cupples Stadium.

Related Article: PIAA, WPIAL football playoff scores, final updates, recaps | Karns City, North Catholic’s seasons come to an end Related Article: See the 2026 WPIAL and District 9 football playoff brackets | Scores from Karns City, North Catholic

“They controlled the line of scrimmage and their guys were getting 4 or 5 yards before we even had a chance to tackle them,” KC head coach Joe Sherwin said.

Leading the way for Westinghouse (10-0) was Omar Pack (18 carries for 170 yards and three TDs) and Jordan Reid (23-131).

“It’s not just one guy. When you have five or six players running the ball successfully, it’s the line doing its job,” Bulldogs head coach Donta Green said. “We’re blessed to have capable guys up front.”

Unable to contain Westinghouse’s offense, KC (10-2) attempted to simply not allow it to have the ball. It worked in getting the Gremlins back in the game.

Trailing 35-7 in the third quarter, quarterback Cole Johnston hit Owen Kaufman with a 39-yard bomb for a touchdown on a play when the Bulldogs elected to use single coverage on the speedy receiver.

The Gremlins recovered an onside kick, and the Johnston-to-Kaufman connection worked again, this time from 47 yards on a post route identical to the first score.

Related Article: Defense leads Karns City to back-to-back District 9 football championships against Central Clarion

“I was a little surprised they had just one guy on me,” Kaufman said. “But he was playing me pretty deep off the ball. Those plays gave us a lot of hype.”

Incredibly, the Gremlins fell on another onside kick. With 3:21 to play in the third quarter, they trailed 35-21 and had possession.

“We’re not going to lay down in any game,” Sherwin said. “We worked on onside kicks in practice this week and saw chances to use it.”

“It is what it is, part of the game,” Green said. “We just needed to tighten up on defense.”

And that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did. They forced a punt after a three-and-out, and turned once again to the ground game to close out the Gremlins.

Pack capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive with a short scoring run to make it a three-score game with 6:47 left.

The game ground to a halt during the second half as the teams combined for 12 personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in that span.

“They were playing dirty and our guys retaliated,” Kaufman said. “It was tough to stay focused.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead before KC recovered a fumble on a punt return deep in Westinghouse territory.

Related Article: How Karns City football’s rebuilt offensive line paved the way for another District 9 championship run

Bryce Galan scored on a 5-yard run to cut the deficit in half, but Zahir Ishmail answered with another score for the Bulldogs in the final minute of the first half for a 21-7 lead.

The Gremlins’ season included a second straight District 9 title.

“Not a lot of people thought we’d get this far after the seniors we lost from last year’s team,” Sherwin said.

Karns City 0 7 14 0 — 21

Westinghouse 8 13 14 15 — 50

First Quarter

W — Zahir Ishmail 2 run (Ishmail run), 4:52

Second Quarter

W — K’shawn Hawkins 19 run (kick failed), 10:27

KC — Bryce Galan 5 run (Trevor Rumbaugh kick), 7:56

W — Ishmail 2 run (Kahlil Thomas kick), 0:55

Third Quarter

W — Omar Pack 30 run (Thomas kick), 8:59

W — Pack 1 run (Thomas kick), 5:56

KC — Owen Kaufman 39 pass from Cole Johnston (Brock Dittman kick), 4:15

KC — Kaufman 47 pass from Johnston (Dittman kick), 3:24

Fourth Quarter

W — Pack 1 run (Thomas kick), 6:47

W — Daejon Robinson 1 run (Jordan Reid run), 0:50

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Karns City, Bryce Galan 7-33, Cole Johnston 10-2, Bodey Anderson 3-3, Owen Kaufman 4-23, Tyson Frazer 2-1. Westinghouse, Jordan Reid 23-131, Omar Pack 18-170, K’shawn Hawkins 3-55, Zahir Ishmail 9-32, Daejon Robinson 4-27, TEAM 1-(-2).

Passing: Karns City, Cole Johnston 6-9-94-1. Westinghouse, Zahir Ishmail 2-5-3-0.

Receiving: Karns City, Tyson Frazer 1-(-2), Owen Kaufman 4-95, Bryce Galan 1-1. Westinghouse, Jamorrow Trowery 1-4, Jordan Reid 1-(-1).