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Wednesday, September 19, 2001

-- By Paul Zeise

Todd Harris

SCHOOL: Duquesne

WHO IS HE?: A 5-foot-9, 193-pound senior running back for the Dukes, who are currently ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class A.

LAST WEEK: Rushed 28 times for 249 yards in a 32-13 rout of rival Clairton. Harris also scored on touchdown runs of 53 and 13 yards.

SEASON: Has carried 76 times for 477 yards and has scored three touchdowns and four two-point conversions. He also is a standout at linebacker.

CAREER: A four-year starter, Harris has moved to the brink of the elite company of 4,000-yard rushers. Only 23 WPIAL players have reached that level. Harris has 3,988 yards and 36 touchdowns. During his career, he has led the team to a 19-14 record with two trips to the playoffs. He has been named first-team All-Eastern Conference twice, a PG South Fabulous 22 player once and last year was selected second team all-state in the small school division.

NOT A STAT MAN: Even though Harris is so close to a huge milestone and has an outside shot at the more elite5,000-yard club (only nine WPIAL players have reached that plateau), he hasn't really thought about his place in history.

"To be honest, I never worry about yards or anything like that," said Harris. "I'm interested in two things -- wins and titles. That's what I focus on. I really never thought it would be like this, though."

FAMILY AFFAIR: Harris doesn't have to go far to find people to play football with him. His four older brothers -- Shelby, Jody and Craig Harris and Mike Chaney -- are former Duquesne football players. He also has a cousin, Tom Taylor, who played for the Dukes.

COMPLETE BACK: Duquesne Coach Pat Monroe said Harris' strength is that he does everything exceptionally well.

"He is strong and durable, has great vision and is very quick," said Monroe. "You don't find that combination often. He is a runner who doesn't go down on the first or second hit, yet he can run away from defensive backs, also."

FUTURE PLANS: Harris is undecided on a college, but will definitely play football somewhere. He has scholarship offers from Colorado, Toledo and Buffalo. Pitt and West Virginia also have shown strong interest in him.

-- By Paul Zeise

Kelly Reed

SCHOOL: South Park

WHO IS SHE? A sophomore soccer forward and one of the top goal-scorers in the WPIAL.

THE PAST WEEK: Reed scored three goals Monday in a 13-0 victory against North Catholic, two Saturday in a 4-2 victory against Thomas Jefferson and two Thursday in a 4-0 triumph over Charleroi.

SEASON: Reed has 17 goals in nine games and is one of the main reasons South Park has an 8-0-1 record and is ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class AA by the Post-Gazette.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE: Reed was on South Park's varsity as a freshman, but she was not a starter. She played some at forward, but mostly as a midfielder, scoring only six goals. This year, she plays strictly forward. Why the big increase in goal production?

"I guess just because I'm playing the whole game this year," Reed said.

South Park Coach Shelley Thropp had another reason.

"I'm sure confidence certainly has something to do with it," Thropp said. "A lot of times with girls, they play down if their confidence is low. We've tried to be real positive with her this year, and I think she has a lot more confidence."

ON THE FAST TRACK: Ask Thropp what makes Reed a talented player, and the first-year coach doesn't hesitate to answer. "She's got wheels," Thropp said. "The kid can run like I've never seen before. The other thing is that we've got a couple of kids at midfielder who are very good feeders. They really look to get the ball to her."

SHOOTING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP: After losing in the WPIAL championship last year, Reed said the main goal this year is to win the gold trophy.

"I think this team has a lot more unity than last year," she said. "The underclassmen were kind of separated from the seniors last year. This year, we're more together."

-- By Mike White