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Thursday, October 24, 2002

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

	Chris Morgan: Needs 1 yard for 1,000. (Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette)

SCHOOL: Woodland Hills

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-11, 176-pound senior running back who is having a big impact on the Wolverines in his first season as a starter.

LAST WEEK: Morgan rushed for 187 yards on 28 carries as Woodland Hills defeated North Hills, 7-0, Friday. North Hills' defense had allowed an average of 41 yards rushing in its six previous games.

ONE OF THE FEW: For the season, Morgan has 999 yards rushing on 117 carries (8.5 average). If Morgan gains 1 yard tomorrow against Penn Hills, he will become only the fourth Woodland Hills player to rush for 1,000 yards in the regular season since the school opened in 1987. Brandon Payne did it in '97, Melvin Cobbs in '94 and Gerald Thompson in '91. Morgan also plays defensive back.

BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEES: Morgan did not play as a junior because of knee injuries. His left knee was hurt playing basketball in the summer of 2001. His right knee was injured in preseason football camp last year. Morgan had torn cartilage in both knees and had surgery on his left knee in September 2001. He had surgery on his right knee in March. Why didn't he have surgery on both knees at once?

"I didn't say anything to the doctor about my right knee until so many months went by," Morgan said. "I wasn't sure how bad it was."

Doctors didn't give Morgan clearance to play until August.

"We felt he was going to be one of our best defensive players, so we were going to use him on offense maybe 50 percent of the time," Woodland Hills Coach George Novak said. "But when we put him on offense, he just kept getting better and better. So we started using him less on defense."

NAME CALLING: Morgan hasn't been timed in the 40-yard dash since he ran it in 4.5 seconds as a sophomore. His nickname on the Woodland Hills team is "White Lightning."

TAKING NOTICE: Morgan's talents have caught the attention of some Division I colleges. Akron has told Morgan they probably will offer a scholarship. Other Mid-American Conference schools, as well as West Virginia and Pitt, have expressed interest.

"I think he's definitely a Division I player," Novak said. "I think he can play either side of the ball in college."

SCHOOL: Mt. Lebanon

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-7 senior midfielder and leading scorer on the Blue Devils' undefeated soccer team.

SEASON: Pascoli leads Mt. Lebanon in goals with 17 and also has 13 assists. She is one of the main reasons the Blue Devils have a 20-0-1 record. They tied Aquinas Institute (N.Y.), 1-1, in the second game of the season. Mt. Lebanon defeated Yough, 7-0, in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs Monday.

AMONG THE BEST: Pascoli has been a starter since her freshman year and as a junior was named to the Post-Gazette All-Area team, which is made up of the top 11 players in the WPIAL and City League.

"Lisa, Meghan Schnur [of Butler] and maybe one or two others are the elite players in this area this year," Mt. Lebanon Coach Pat Vereb said. "People like Lisa and Meg are not going to lead the WPIAL in scoring, but they do so many other things to make the team better."

SWEPT AWAY: Pascoli plays sweeper for Beadling in the off-season. As a freshman at Mt. Lebanon, she played sweeper until the end of the season when she was moved to midfielder. She has stayed at midfielder since then and had 15 goals as a junior.

"I've played sweeper in pretty much all my traveling teams and cup teams," Pascoli said. "I like midfielder a little more because you're a little more active and more involved with the offense."

IT'S NOT ABOUT GOALS: Although Pascoli didn't finish among the top 30 scorers in the WPIAL, Vereb said that doesn't measure Pascoli's talents.

"You look at all the leading scorers. They're almost all in Class AA," said Vereb, whose team is Class AAA. "The majority of our tough games are 1-0 or 2-1. It's all the other things Lisa does during the course of the game that may go unnoticed, but really make her a good player."

THE FUTURE: Pascoli, who has a 3.8 grade point average, is being recruited by Division I colleges. She believes she will probably play sweeper in college.