Home >  Sports >  High School Sports >  Athlete of The Week

Thursday, November 23, 2000

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SCHOOL: Woodland Hills.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-1, 158-pound junior quarterback on the Woodland Hills football team that will face Mt. Lebanon for the WPIAL Class AAAA championship Saturday.

LAST WEEK: Breaston rushed for 93 yards on seven carries, scored a touchdown and completed 5 of 8 passes for 134 yards in a 41-21 semifinal victory over North Allegheny.

SEASON: Breaston is the team's second-leading rusher with 825 yards on 79 carries (10.4 average). He has completed 32 of 64 passes for 570 yards for the 12-0 Wolverines.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: In the first three games this season, Breaston played only defensive back. He was the No. 2 QB behind Adam Curry. But when Woodland Hills trailed Central Catholic, 23-7, in the first half of the fourth game, Woodland Hills Coach George Novak was looking for a spark. He turned to Breaston.

Breaston gave Woodland Hills more than a spark. He gave them a bonfire as he rushed for 214 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 37-29 Woodland Hills victory. Breaston has been the starting QB ever since. It makes you wonder why Novak waited so long to play Breaston?

"To be honest, Adam was better in practice," Novak said. "Adam earned the job, plus he was a senior. There are days now when Adam still does better in practice."

But Breaston undoubtedly is the No. 1 QB.

"He gives teams another dimension to worry about," Novak said.

Breaston is an excellent runner and scrambler, plus his throwing has improved the past few games.

FROM THE MOVIES: Woodland Hills' players have tagged Breaston with the nickname "Willie Beamen," a character in the movie "Any Given Sunday," which started playing at theaters a few months ago. The movie stars Al Pacino as the coach of the Miami Sharks. Pacino loses his first two QBs to injuries and No. 3 QB Beamen, played by Jamie Foxx, takes over.

BIG-PLAY SPECIALIST: Breaston has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, and the average of those TDs is 36 yards.

FROM RB TO QB: Throughout midget leagues, Breaston played running back. But he was moved to quarterback on Woodland Hills' ninth-grade team.

"I thought I'd play receiver or something, but they kept putting me at quarterback," Breaston said. "I've had to get used to being a quarterback. I've realized you can't always run the ball. I still have the running-back mentality, but now I know my last option is to run."

WHERE'S THE BEEF? Breaston has three older brothers. Michael was a 6-foot, 260-pound lineman for Woodland Hills a few years ago. Brian is 6-6, 300 pounds and played rugby at Pitt. David is 5-11, 260 pounds. But Steve doesn't have the girth of his brothers. "I really don't know why," he said with a laugh.

THE FUTURE: Division I colleges probably will be interested in Breaston next year, simply because of his athletic ability.

"It's always been a goal of mine to play Division I. You always want to go to the highest level," he said. "I don't know about quarterback, though. I think I'd like to play wide receiver. I think I can do well there."