The Pittsburgh Steelers, Pitt Panthers and Penn State Nittany Lions all lost games over the weekend, but it was a picture of success for another Western Pennsylvania football powerhouse.

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The Garfield Gators qualified teams in four of five age groups for Sunday's Allegheny County Midget Foootball championships at Cupples Stadium on the South Side.

Gator Saturdays are an institution in the Pittsburgh neighborhood. The sun has barely begun to rise before players carrying helmets and shoulder pads begin walking up Hillcrest Street to The Swamp, an appropriately squishy field next to Fort Pitt Accelerated Learning Academy. The crisp fall air is punctuated by the smell of barbecue cooking next to the concession stand.

The Gators play in a league founded 13 years ago that now includes teams from Pittsburgh's Lincoln, Homewood, North Side and Hill District neighborhoods, a team sponsored by the Kingsley Association, based in East Liberty, plus clubs from suburban Clairton and Wilkinsburg. The players are grouped by age, ranging from the Baby Twerps (5-6), to the Twerps (7-8), Termites (9-10), Mighty Mites (11-12) and Midgets (13-14).

Players have gone on to play in high schools, small colleges and even Div. I Notre Dame.

This video provides a look at the Gators on the final day of the regular season, with commentary from league co-founder and Gator Midgets head coach Tone Walls, super fan Jackie Clemm and announcer Kevin McClary. The opponents that day were from Pittsburgh's Lincoln neighborhood.

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Reporters from the Post-Gazette's documentary project, City Shots, followed the Garfield Gators through the 2001 season, producing stories that focused on the team from the perspective of the coach, the ref and players on the big team.