It's a good thing the free weekend minutes on Bill Morton's cell phone started Friday night. Coaching a high school football game from a hospital could've run up a hefty bill.

Morton is the defensive coordinator for Woodland Hills and the story of his role in the WPIAL Class AAAA title game Friday has to go down as one of the most bizarre -- and heartwarming -- in championship history.

He watched the game on television and made calls to Woodland Hills' coaching staff from a hospital room in Oakland. Woodland Hills' defense turned in a tremendous effort as the Wolverines defeated Gateway, 10-0, to win the title at Heinz Field.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but someone said they doubted whether anything like this had been done before," Morton said.

The 61-year-old Morton became light-headed, dizzy and ill Wednesday after practice. He went to his Churchill home, where his wife, Karen, and daughter, Korie, urged him to go the emergency room. Morton went to the VA Hospital in Oakland, where tests revealed he had four blood clots in one lung, two in another and one in an artery.

He was hospitalized "and the first thing that came to my mind was I couldn't coach. I didn't want to let the kids down," Morton said.

Doctors would not release him from the hospital for the title game. But Woodland Hills coach George Novak and defensive line coach Gene Donofrio had an idea. They talked with Morton and suggested he watch the game on TV and still make the defensive calls.

"I told George that the game plan was already in and the kids knew what they had to do, with checks and everything else, so we decided to try it," Morton said.

For the game, Morton was on the phone with Donofrio, who was in a coaches booth at Heinz Field. Morton would tell Donofrio what defense to run, and Donofrio would relay the message to assistant coach Keelan Rozier, who was on the sideline.

The plan sounded great, but just when the game was about to start, Morton realized the FSN Pittsburgh television feed was about six seconds behind the actual game.

"At first I panicked," Morton said. "But Gene would say things like 'second and long,' before I actually would see it. We got it figured out as the game went on."

Morton's wife was by his side throughout the game.

"It was very strange because I had never been up in the coaches booth with him before," Karen Morton said. "It was just amazing how it all came together."

Ironically, Morton teaches social studies at Gateway.

He was released from the hospital Saturday and attended a coaches meeting yesterday, but he is not sure if doctors will allow him to coach Friday's PIAA quarterfinal game against State College.

For the second consecutive year, Gateway took an undefeated record into the WPIAL Class AAAA final -- and lost. The problem for the Gators in both losses was offense.

This season, Gateway was averaging 45 points a game but was shut out by Woodland Hills, 10-0. A year ago, Gateway was averaging 41 points a game heading into the title game, only to lose to Bethel Park, 10-6.

In the two games combined, Gateway had only 255 yards offense, including 85 on the ground.

With his team's victory against Gateway in the WPIAL title game, Woodland Hills coach George Novak became the third coach in WPIAL history to win six championships outright, meaning without a tie.

Chuck Klausing won six titles in a row at Braddock in the 1950s, but Braddock tied Midland, 7-7, in a 1954 WPIAL title game..

Phil Bridenbaugh (New Castle) and Art Walker (Mt. Lebanon and Shady Side Academy) are the only other coaches to win six outright. Walker won six, while Bridenbaugh won six and had one co-championship.

Kyle Smith, a senior quarterback at Lancaster Catholic in Eastern Pennsylvania, set a state record for passing yardage in a season in his team's 42-6 win Friday against Delone Catholic.

Smith completed 10 of 16 passes for 171 yards and now has 8,174 for his career, breaking the record of 8,162, set by Pat Devlin of Downingtown East.

Smith had broken the state record for career touchdown passes.

• Gateway quarterback Rob Kalkstein finished his career with 6,501 yards passing, third-best in WPIAL history. He completed 371 of 690.

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