Gateway was less than a half-minute away from loss No. 2 and a loss of their No. 2 rankings.

Enter Brian Williams, who returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown to give the Gators a 37-36 victory at Norwin last night in a game that had 10 lead changes.

Mere seconds before that, it appeared Gateway (3-1), No. 2 in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL and PIAA Class AAAA rankings, was going to falter. Alex Dennison and receiver Mike Shanahan connected on their fifth touchdown pass of the evening, an 18-yarder, to give the Knights (2-2) a 36-31 lead.

Two of the lead exchanges occurred when Gateways' Cameron Saddler returned kickoffs 90 and 82 yards for touchdowns. He also had a 12-yard scoring run.

Dennison was 10 of 14 for 234 yards and touchdowns of 31, 2, 7, 20 and 18 yards to Shanahan, who had eight catches for 159.

All WPIAL Class AAAA teams will begin conference play next weekend.

Other games

Central Catholic 45, Woodland Hills 7

Tino Sunseri fired three touchdown passes, two to David Myers, as the Vikings dealt the Wolverines their worst defeat at their home stadium. It eclipsed a 43-12 loss to McKeesport in 1994.

Woodland Hills is 0-4 for the first time in its 21-year history.

Sunseri was 11 of 15 for 198 yards, including scores of 10 and 14 yards to Myers in the first half, then 24 yards to Andrew Taglianetti in the third quarter. Taglianetti also had a 56-yard touchdown run for Central (4-0), which is No. 1 in the WPIAL and PIAA.

Baldwin 63, Seneca Valley 28

Jeff Joyce scored five touchdowns and gained 332 yards on only 10 carries, leading the host Highlanders past the Raiders.

Joyce scored on a 63-yard punt return and on runs of 64, 42, 35 and 85 yards. Baldwin (2-2) raced to a 28-7 second-quarter lead and Seneca Valley (2-2) got no closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Bethel Park 62, Butler 13

The visiting Black Hawks raced to a 35-0 halftime bulge and coasted to its third consecutive victory.

Jon Schademan put on a show for Bethel Park (3-1). He opened the scoring on a 49-yard pass from Erik Olson in the first quarter, then in the second half, he returned a kickoff 90 yards and a punt 80 yards for touchdowns.

Lyle March scored three times, on runs of 4 and 25 yards and on a 31-yard pass. Olson was 7 of 10 for 219 yards, including a third score to Zachary Hay covering 44 yards. Butler is 0-4.

McKeesport 47, Penn Hills 19

Quarterback James Eckels ran for two touchdowns and Marvase Byrd, Nico Price and Gabriel Patterson one each in the first half as the Tigers breezed to a home victory.

Price gained 120 yards on 16 carries and Darian Robinson 99 on six attempts for McKeesport (3-1), which scored the game's first 33 points.

Penn Hills (1-3) rallied, though, as quarterback Tom Fulton fired three touchdown passes to make it 33-19 in the third quarter. Fulton, 19 of 45 for 265 yards, threw 10 yards to Brandon Ifill, 21 to Stefon Thompson and 11 to Teddy Blakeman for scores.

Eckels responded with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Shadrae King in the third and a 5-yard run in the fourth for his third score.

Mt. Lebanon 48, Connellsville 7

David Offner was nearly unstoppable, carrying 20 times for 222 yards and five touchdowns as the Blue Devils rolled at home.

Offner scored from 3, 3 and 45 yards in the first quarter for Mt. Lebanon (3-1). He also had 60- and 6-yard touchdowns in the third quarter. Andrew Cappucci threw a 39-yard pass to Lance Dill and William Difenderfer ran 1 yard for Mt. Lebanon's other scores.

Lance Starughters scored on a 55-yard pass from Dustyn Pastors for the Falcons (1-3).

North Hills 14, Penn-Trafford 0

Ed Reith carried 26 times for 107 yards and a touchdown and the Indians' defense continually stifled the visiting Warriors.

North Hills (2-2) scored twice in the second quarter, on Jeremiah Murphy's fumble recovery in the end zone and Reith's 2-yard bolt. Penn-Trafford is 0-4 for the first time since 1994.

Kiski Area 22, Hempfield 21

Tarique Gadson's 60-yard punt return and Brett Gunn's 2-point conversion with 4:46 left gave the host Cavaliers a come-from-behind victory. They had trailed, 21-7, entering the final quarter.

Though he didn't have a strong game, completing 10 of 23 for 91 yards, Josh Vick became the career passing leader at Kiski (3-1) with 2,223 yards.

Nick Higinbotham (128) and R.J. Thomas (105) each topped 100 yards rushing and ran for one score for the Spartans (1-3).

Fox Chapel 27, Latrobe 23

Joe Donahoe was 14 of 23 for 262 yards and three touchdowns to spark the Foxes (2-2) past the host Wildcats (1-3)

Erie Strong Vincent 25, Plum 20

The Mustangs took a 14-13 halftime lead, but returned home with an "Erie" feeling following another close defeat.

Kyle Simmons was 16 of 32 for 240 yards and three touchdowns for Plum (1-3), whose defeats are by a collective 14 points. He threw scoring passes of 60 and 13 yards to Troy Besterci.

Strong Vincent, of District 10, scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter for a 25-14 advantage. Simmons rallied the Mustangs with a 5-yard score.