Rebecca Droke, Post-Gazette Duquesne's Malik Washington, second from left, laughs as he leaves his first voluntary workout with some of his new teammates at East Allegheny High School on Thursday. Click photo for larger image.

The grass is growing at Duquesne High School Stadium -- about shin-high now. And there's no need to cut it.

Duquesne Dukes football is no more.

"It is hard looking out there on that field knowing we're not playing on it," said Malik Washington, 17, stretched out in the bleachers of the ramshackle stadium, so weathered that one side of the seating area is condemned. "All I ever knew, from the time we were 5 playing [pee-wee] football, was playing for the Dukes. I never played for anybody else, ever."

On Saturday afternoon, Malik and his lifelong friend Darrale Dunn, born just a day apart in September 1989, sat in the stands of the empty stadium.

They recalled their first touchdowns.

They laughed.

They told of their now-defunct rivalry with Clairton.

And they reflected on the bickering and community opposition that followed a state-driven decision to close the high school and transfer its students to the neighboring districts of East Allegheny and West Mifflin.

"Everyone in the community is trying to fight this and it is kind of like they won't believe it," Darrale said. "But it is gone, and we ain't getting it back. The school is gone, there is no Duquesne and it ain't coming back and that isn't changing.

"That is why my focus is on moving on. I'm going to make new friends and get to know new people and turn this into a positive experience."

Colin Dunlap, Post-Gazette Daralle Dunn, left, and Malik Washington, two rising seniors planning to play at East Allegheny, visit the now-dilapidated field where many Duquesne High teams dominated the competition. Click photo for larger image.

This upcoming season, the two seniors, Darrale at quarterback and Malik at receiver/safety, would have been vital components and team leaders for Duquesne's football team.

Instead, the two -- and much of the rest of the Duquesne football team -- have chosen to attend classes their senior year at East Allegheny rather than West Mifflin.

When the decision came down that Duquesne students would be moved to the two schools, some residents in both districts were strongly against opening their doors to the Duquesne students.

For Darrale, it was words like those printed in the Post-Gazette on July 19 that stung him deepest. A West Mifflin resident was quoted as saying her daughter would be "scared to death of the first day of school" if Duquesne students were infused into West Mifflin.

"My mom and I were talking about everything and especially about the people from West Mifflin saying they didn't want us and calling us names and stuff," he said. "You know, that hurts, man.

"I wish people would realize we aren't a bunch of troublemakers and thugs, but we're just regular kids who have to work hard because a lot of us don't have a lot of money."

If teenage machismo won't allow them to readily admit it, the prospect of heading off to new surroundings scares these two young men a tiny bit. But, as is often the case for youngsters, the vehicle to acceptance and turning acquaintances into friends will be sports. At least that is the hope for Darrale and Malik.

"We've been up to East Allegheny for a workout," Malik said. "And the kids are cool with us. The adults think there is going to be like fighting or something between the Duquesne kids and the East Allegheny kids, but that is not going to happen. They welcomed us as their new teammates, and we appreciate that."

Darrale's two brothers, Courtney and Layton, both starred at Duquesne over the past decade, but it is the Washington surname that is cemented as deep as any in Duquesne athletic history. Malik's father, also named Malik, was a standout quarterback for the Dukes, graduating in 1990. The elder Malik had two brothers -- Yusef and Troy -- who also were quarterbacks for the Dukes and another brother, Sty, who played basketball.

"Here at Duquesne Stadium, you used to hear over the loudspeaker, 'Washington with the tackle' or 'Washington with the catch' or 'Washington with the touchdown,'" the younger Malik explained. "But you aren't going to hear that anymore and it is hard to realize that. Now, I gotta do my best and maybe, up at East Allegheny, you'll hear that Washington name through their loudspeaker."

On Saturday, a padlock married closed the two swing-out gates at the front entrance of the stadium at Overland and Fairmont avenues. Just before noon, a woman drove to a stop near where so many had funneled in to watch the Dukes bang helmets against their opponents on fall afternoons.

She poked her head out and said, "The Dukes ain't playing football there anymore. It is sad, ain't it? A sad day for Duquesne."

Some could look at it that way, and few would blame them.

But for a couple of 17-year-old kids about to push off on a new adventure, the negatives have been displaced by the anticipation of all that awaits.