NICOLE MANNELLA

SCHOOL: Penn-Trafford.

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-8 senior soccer forward.

THE PAST WEEK: Mannella scored two goals Saturday in a 4-0 victory against Latrobe and three Monday in a 12-1 triumph at Greensburg Salem. Going into last night's Section 1-AAA match with Hempfield, Mannella had 32 goals, tops among girls in the WPIAL and City League. She has led Penn-Trafford (13-0-1, 10-0-0 through Monday) to No. 1 in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class AAA rankings.

CAREER: A four-year starter, Mannella has scored more than 90 goals. She had 29 last year as the Warriors were WPIAL and PIAA runners-up, and 17 as a sophomore midfielder. Mannella played defense as a freshman. Through Monday, Penn-Trafford was 74-14-2, a record that reflects three WPIAL and three PIAA tournament appearances.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Mannella said team chemistry has been a major factor in the Warriors' success this season. She is particularly close to one of her teammates, Erin, her twin and only sibling. Erin is a center midfielder who also has started for four seasons, and is a captain along with her sister and Meghan Borden. Otherwise, Nicole said, these twins aren't much like twins. "We don't look much alike. She has brown hair, I have blond. We're both captains so we talk about soccer a lot."

A TRUE ATHLETE: Derek Cuthbert, a native of Scotland and a former Point Park College player, is the Warriors' first-year coach. He was the boys' coach at Biglerville, in eastern Pennsylvania, last season, but he is not new to Penn-Trafford, where he coached the middle school girls several years ago. Mannella was one of his players. "She is just a standout athlete," Cuthbert said. "She gets a lot of goals off set plays. Teams know about her so she gets a lot of double teaming."

VERSATILE: Mannella is a striker, but that might change. Cuthbert said he likes to move players around, and that could be the case with his top scorer. "Right now, I'm very happy with where she is. But if I ask her to move, she'll do it. She's a good team player."

FUTURE: The goal crease isn't the only place where Mannella uses her head. She has a 4.3 grade point average and is seventh in her class academically. She hasn't made a decision on college.

QUINTON MARTIN

SCHOOL: Monessen

WHO IS HE? A talented 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior running back and defensive back for the Greyhounds (5-0), who are the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked football team in WPIAL Class A.

LAST WEEK: Martin rushed for 237 yards on 14 carries Friday and scored three touchdowns in a 36-0 victory against California.

SEASON: Martin is 16th in the WPIAL in rushing with 569 yards on 63 carries and sixth in yards per carry at 9.0.

CAREER: A starter since his freshman season, Martin had 1,101 yards as a sophomore and more than 600 as a freshman.

INCREASED LOAD: In the first three games of the season, Martin averaged only 10 carries and had 113 yards total. In the past two games, he has averaged 16 attempts and rushed for 456 yards. "He never got to get many carries because we've always had some other tailbacks with talent," said Monessen coach Joe Fischer. "But because of injuries and other things, he got the ball more and really started to come into his own the past two weeks."

CALIFORNIA'S LOSS: Martin lived in the California district until he was in the eighth grade, when he and his family moved to Monessen. "The reason why we moved was because we knew Monessen had a good football organization," he said. "They pull in some college coaches. I think I have a chance at making it in college if my grades are good enough."

MOTIVATION FACTOR: Martin said young kids motivate him because he has realized some in Monessen's community look up to him. Martin said his older brother, Shawn, also motivates him. Shawn was a freshman football player at the University of Akron last year but left the school because of academic problems. "He's my biggest role model," Quinton said. "He's a person who stays on me as far as grades. Grades were his only mistake."

HEAD GAMES: Martin's favorite school subjects are English and psychology. Why psychology? "I like to nitpick peoples' minds and get inside them. I also like to study peoples' behavior to see who's true and who's fake."

-- By Mike White