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Thursday, November 07, 2002

By Mike White and Rich Emert, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Schenley.

	Marisha, left, and Mandela Schumacher-Hodge. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette)

WHO ARE THEY? Sisters who led Schenley to its third consecutive City League girls' soccer championship. Mandela is a senior and Marisha is a sophomore.

LAST WEEK: Mandela and Marisha both scored two goals as Schenley defeated Brashear, 6-0, in the championship game.

SEASON: Marisha had 31 goals for Schenley (18-3-2) and Mandela had 26.

CAREER: Mandela has been a varsity starter since her freshman year and finished her career with 95 goals. Marisha also has been a starter since her freshman year.

ANOTHER SOCCER SISTER: Melantha Schumacher-Hodge also played soccer for Schenley a few years ago and now attends Syracuse. Mandela played two seasons with Melantha.

"Ever since we've all been younger we were involved with a lot of sports -- gymnastics, swimming and even ballet," Mandela said. "It just got to be too much and too expensive, so we had to make a choice. We all picked soccer. For me, it's been a special feeling because I got to play with both of my sisters."

ONE OF THE BEST? Mandela is a strong candidate to make the Post-Gazette All-Area team, which includes the best 10 players in the WPIAL and City League. No City League girl has ever been selected to the squad.

GIVING WAY: Mandela was Schenley's leading scorer the past few seasons, but Marisha turned into the Spartans' main goal scorer this year. Marisha played mostly midfielder as a freshman but was moved to forward this season. "We used to argue at times last year," Mandela said with a laugh. "But I didn't mind her playing up at forward this year. We worked well together."

Marisha said: "My sister gave me a lot of nice passes this year. It wasn't just me that scored the goals. I just had to finish off her passes. I'm kind of scared about next year. We have a lot of players back, but it will be hard without Mandela."

DISAPPOINTING END: Mandela and Marisha said one of their main goals was to win a PIAA playoff game this season, but Schenley lost to Penn-Trafford, 5-2, in a first-round game Tuesday. Schenley led, 2-1, at halftime. "I think we all learned a lot of lessons from that game," Marisha said. "We know we should've won."

THE FUTURE: Marisha has two more years of high school soccer. Mandela plans to play in college and is being recruited by Pitt, Dayton and North Carolina State. Both girls have grade point averages close to 4.0.

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: Franklin Regional

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior running back/defensive back who is one of the leading rushers in the WPIAL this season.

LAST WEEK: McAfoose carried 37 times for 210 yards and scored on runs of 61 and 15 yards as Franklin Regional upset Upper St. Clair, 28-21, in the first round of the playoffs.

SEASON: He has been a workhorse, rushing 235 times for 1,371 yards and 11 touchdowns, despite missing one game and part of another with a knee injury.

MAKING THE SWITCH: Last season, McAfoose was Franklin Regional's leading receiver with 37 receptions for 531 yards. An outstanding athlete, he was switched to running back in training camp when Sean Locklin was injured.

"We thought he'd make a good back because he has great vision on the field and that's what we need with our zone blocking," said Franklin Regional Coach Greg Botta.

McAfoose said he would have tried to gain some weight last summer had he known he would be at running back. He did play running back on the junior varsity team. "Yes, I guess I am a little surprised at how well I've done, but I've had some pretty good blocking. I went to a couple of camps last summer but as a receiver."

UNUSUAL SPELLING: That's not a typographical error. McAfoose's first name is spelled with a "y". "Everybody in the family has a 'y' in their name, and there were not a lot of options in his first name," said his mother, Wendy. "It is different, but I like it," McAfoose said.

BOUNCING BACK: When he was 6, McAfoose was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. Two bones in his left leg were broken, and the thigh bone injury was a compound fracture. He spent six weeks in a body cast and still has a nasty looking scar. "He tells little kids that he was bitten by a shark when they see it," his mother said.

A HIT IN BASEBALL: McAfoose is an outfielder for the baseball team and hit better than .300 last year. He also scored the winning run when the Panthers defeated Mt. Lebanon, 9-8, in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game at PNC Park in 2001.

THE FUTURE: McAfoose wants to play football in college and has been getting interest from Division I-AA and Division II schools.

-- By Rich Emert