the almanac M AY 3, 2026
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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MT. LEBANON GRAD DRAFTED BY STEELERS
By Eleanor Bailey ebailey@thealmanac.net
The NFL could not have scripted a better amateur draft in Pittsburgh. During the record-breaking, three-day event April 23-25, the “local boy does good story” unfolded as Eli Heidenreich of Mt. Lebanon was selected by his hometown Steelers in the seventh and final round. Wiping away tears, he walked from the Green Room and onto the stage to be greeted by more than 200,000 fans. He stopped briefly to tap the Steelers emblem on the wall and to don a baseball cap with his new team’s logo. During a post-draft press conference posted on X by the Steelers, Heidenreich said he was “overwhelmed with emotions” but thankful for the opportunity. “It was pretty incredible,” he said. “I turned that corner and you see the city skyline and the background and then
Eli Heidenreich
the crowd, which is 90% black and gold. It’s all Steelers fans out there. It was such a cool moment.” Heidenreich added that many memories flashed through his mind and he is thrilled to have the chance to play for his hometown team. “Thinking back to all the games that I have been to growing up all throughout my life, being at Heinz Field, and watching those games go down and now I have an opportunity to go out and play for the Black
and Gold. It’s just a fantastic feeling. Nothing like I’ve ever felt before.” Heidenreich was the 230th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Along with Landon Robinson, who went to the Cincinnati Bengals four picks earlier, Heidenreich became the first Navy duo to be selected in the same NFL draft since 1956 (George Welsh and Ronald Beagle by the Chicago Cardinals) and just the second duo in program history. They are the 20th and 21st Naval Academy graduates to be drafted by the NFL. Heidenreich finished his career with 3,206 all-purpose yards (1,157 rushing, 1,994 receiving and 55 on punt returns). His 1,994 career receiving yards and 941 receiving yards this year are both school records. Heidenreich matriculated to the Naval Academy after leading Mt. Lebanon to a WPIAL championship and PIAA state title in 2021. During that undefeated 15-0 season, Heidenreich caught 54
passes for 1,330 yards and 20 touchdowns while claiming All-State accolades and Almanac Player of the Year laurels. He also threw for one score out of the Blue Devils’ Wildcat offense. He rushed for an additional 647 yards and seven more touchdowns. On defense, he spearheaded a unit that limited the opposition to 11.5 points per game, by recording a team-high 60 tackles with four interceptions, including one for a touchdown. He added a fumble recovery. On special teams, he returned 14 punts for 223 yards and another score. He had five kickoff returns for 66 yards. “Eli’s athletic ability in high Eli Heidenreich of Mt. Lebanon was selected by the Pittsburgh school was phenomenal,” said Steelers in the 2026 NFL Draft Marty Spieler, who coached Heidenreich at Mt. Lebanon before moving on to South Fayette. “His work ethic and extremely high character are what make me proudest that he gets a chance in the NFL. A true role model for WPIAL high school athletes,” added Spieler.
Eli Heidenreich (8) hoists the PIAA trophy with his teammates Joe Daniels (3) and Alex Tecza (back).
Eli Heidenreich’s image appears on the screen during the NFL draft.
PITTSBURGH ROCKS NFL DRAFT See page B1
Eli Heidenreich shakes off a tackler during Mt. Lebanon football action his senior year of high school.
Western forts played pivotal role South Fayette breaks ground on new in lead-up to American Revolution
Editor’s note: The first few weeks of our America 250 series has focused heavily on the early career of George Washington, the nation’s first president and, prior to the American revolution, an officer in the British Army. We touched briefly two week ago on Washington’s campaign through Western Pennsylvania — a campaign that ultimately led to the French and Indian War. This week’s installment focuses more deeply on those conflicts and the forts involved, and how after the war’s end the British crown
more heavily taxed the colonists to pay its war debt, one of the actions that led to the revolution. We also look at Fort Henry in present-day Wheeling, W.Va., at that time a frontier fort on the western front in the state of Virginia. It was the Siege of Fort Henry in September 1782 that many historians believe served as the site of one of the Revolutionary War’s final battles, as news of the British surrender at Yorktown had not fully reached all British commands. It was at Fort Henry where Betty Zane made her famous run to a nearby blockhouse to secure gunpowder and help the defenders repel the British and Indian troops.
By Mike Jones
mjones@observer-reporter.com
Twenty-two years to the day before the signing of the
LOCATION USC students bring smiles, tech support to seniors PAGE A6 School News, B3
elementary school
By Brad Hundt
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
FILE PHOTO
Re-enactors fire off cannons during a celebration event outside the Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh.
Declaration of Independence, a young George Washington penned his name in defeat as he surrendered for the first and only time in his storied military career. It was at Fort Necessity in the Pennsylvania mountains of present-day Fayette County in
the early hours of July 4, 1754, that the 22-year-old lieutenant colonel signed a document he couldn’t read, admitting to the assassination of a French officer weeks earlier before he surrendered and marched his SEE FORTS PAGE A2
SPORTS Steelers invite Tecza to minicamp PAGE B2 Classifieds, B4
SOUTH FAYETTE – Construction of a new elementary school in the South Fayette School District officially got underway Tuesday with an early evening groundbreaking ceremony. It was the culmination of a yearslong process – for almost a decade, administrators and school board members have been contemplating building a new elementary school on the South Fayette campus on Old Oakdale Road to meet growing enrollment and replace a structure that was built in 1970. The new $85 million school is scheduled to open in August 2028, if construction proceeds on schedule. It will house stu-
dents in kindergarten, and first and second grades. “We are not just preparing to open a building,” said Dr. Michelle Miller, the district’s superintendent. “We are opening the door to opportunities.” Addressing preschoolers who were at the ceremony and are due to be among the first students enrolled at the school, Miller said, “This school will be built for you.” She also explained that the school has been “thoughtfully designed to reflect who we are as a district.” It will have three stories and hold a little more than 1,000 students. Spaces within it will be dedicated to students learning English as a second language, occupational therapy, STEM classes and more. SEE GROUND PAGE A2
SCHOOL NEWS Upper St. Clair advance teams to Odyssey World Finals PAGE B3 Real estate transactions, A5