Five points.

That's all that separates back-to-back runner-up Gateway from being back-to-back champions.

That might put a lot of pressure on four-year quarterback Rob Kalkstein as he leads the Gators to a third consecutive WPIAL Class AAAA championship game.

Coach Terry Smith does not see it that way.

"We're here in 2009 trying to win that championship," he said.

The Gators will use lessons from its past two title game losses -- a 35-34 overtime defeat against Central Catholic in 2007 and a 10-6 loss to Bethel Park last year -- but they will not dwell on them, Smith said.

Gateway will have its shot at redemption tonight when the top-seeded Gators (12-0) play No. 2 seed Woodland Hills (11-1) in the WPIAL Class AAAA title game at 8 at Heinz Field.

Neither team has lost to a WPIAL opponent this season. Gateway is undefeated, and Woodland Hills' only loss came in the first week of the season against powerhouse Steubenville (Ohio).

Woodland Hills coach George Novak said he expects a lot of intensity from Gateway's players as they try to clear the title-game hurdle.

"It is an emotional game," he said. "You try to get your kids caught up in the emotion of it."

They will need all the focus they can get if they want to stop Gateway.

The Gators possess one of the best offenses in the WPIAL, and Novak said Woodland Hills has not played against a team as talented.

"The one thing that sticks out in everything they do is speed," he said. "It's like playing against a track team."

The second-best scoring offense in the league, and the best in Class AAAA, Gateway (45.3 points per game) is equally dangerous running or passing.

The Gators deploy four running backs who, combined, gained an average of more than 200 yards a game.

Kalkstein has 2,148 yards passing this season and more than 6,000 in his career. He is 358 passing yards away from the WPIAL career record.

"He's arguably one of the best players ever in the WPIAL," Novak said.

His Wolverines will try to disrupt Kalkstein with an aggressive pass rush.

Richard Gray and Khaynin Mosley-Smith are two of the most dominant defensive linemen in the WPIAL.

"Richard Gray is probably the best defensive end we've played all year," Smith said.

He said he wants Kalkstein to be patient so that he does not make mistakes. Eventually, Smith hopes his team can take advantage of mismatches in the secondary as a result of Woodland Hills' blitzes.

Offensively, Woodland Hills is not as balanced as the Gators, but the Wolverines have a top-shelf running back -- Dom Timbers.

A Syracuse recruit, Timbers has 1,414 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns this season.

"They're going to line up two tight ends and run the football right at you," Smith said.

Only sometimes, they don't.

Woodland Hills often uses a play-action pass as a knockout punch after setting up defenses to expect the run.

"We've got to do what we do best," Novak said. "It's no secret."

• Gateway's defensive coordinator, Mike Booth, was the last City League football player named to the Parade magazine All-American team. Booth played linebacker at Brashear and was named to the 1989 Parade team (for the 1988 season) before going on to play at West Virginia.

• Woodland Hills quarterback John Yezovich is one of 12 children and one of five Yezovich boys to play for Woodland Hills. Mike, Matt, Mark and Joe were the other four.

• Gateway quarterback Rob Kalkstein has thrown for 6,383 yards, third-best in WPIAL history. The WPIAL record is 6,741.

• Both Woodland Hills and Gateway have three seniors who are headed to Division I colleges. For Gateway, they are RB-DB Brendon Felder (North Carolina), RB-DB Orne Bey (Miami of Ohio) and WR-DB Dayonne Nunley (Miami of Ohio). For Woodland Hills, they are OL-DL Khaynin Mosley-Smith (Pitt), LB Mike Lee (Purdue) and RB Dom Timbers (Syracuse).

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