DESMOND BRENTLEY

SCHOOL: Perry.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior who has established himself as a rising star in area high school football.

LAST WEEK: Brentley completed 12 of 21 passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-12 victory against Oliver.

SEASON: Brentley is among the top 10 in the City League and WPIAL in passing yardage. He has completed 75 of 132 for 1,217 yards and 16 touchdowns and helped Perry to a 5-1 record (5-0 in the City League). He averages a touchdown pass every eight attempts.

LIKE DAUNTE: Brentley's teammates sometimes call him "Culpepper," in reference to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

"I guess because I'm kind of big, like him," Brentley said.

AIRING IT OUT: Perry has been blessed with some talented quarterbacks in the past decade, most notably Rod Rutherford (1996-98), who played at Pitt and is now on the practice squad with the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Scott Knapp (2001-03) is now at Duquesne University. But neither Knapp nor Rutherford threw as much as Brentley. Rutherford averaged 14 passes as a senior and Knapp 11. But Brentley is averaging 22 passes a game.

"One of the reasons is, besides Desmond, we're blessed this year with four or five outstanding receivers," said Perry coach Bill Gallagher. "Desmond spreads the ball around to those guys. They all have significant catches."

TUTORED WELL: Brentley and Gallagher said one of the reasons for Perry's talented quarterbacks is quarterbacks coach Brian Schipani, who played the position at Upper St. Clair and the University of Cincinnati.

"He's outstanding," Gallagher said of Schipani.

"BIG" BROTHER: Brentley's older brother, Mark, was a 2002 Perry graduate and was a starting offensive lineman on three City League championship teams.

"He beats on me a lot and toughens me up," Desmond said.

THE FUTURE: Brentley has a strong arm. With his size and his arm, he could be a Division I college prospect for next season.

"Brian Schipani thinks he has a strong enough arm," Gallagher said. "He's only going to get better, so I believe he might have a shot."

-- By Mike White

BRIANNA LIEBOLD

SCHOOL:Chartiers-Houston.

WHO IS SHE: A forward on the girls' soccer team and one of the top goal-scorers in the WPIAL.

THE PAST WEEK: Liebold registered all of the Buccaneers' goals a week ago in a 3-1 victory at Carlynton. She had a shoulder sprained in a pileup Saturday and didn't play in the second half of a 3-0 loss at Beaver.

Liebold did not practice Monday and Tuesday, but played last night in Chartiers-Houston's Section 2-AA finale against South Fayette.

She has scored 44 of her team's 55 goals.

CAREER: A junior, Liebold has started for three years and has 106 career goals. She scored 26 as a freshman, 36 last year.

"I didn't think [about 100 goals] until one of the boys' players mentioned it before the season," Liebold said.

She has been a linchpin in the rise of Chartiers-Houston's program. The Bucs have made the playoffs each of the four years they've been in the WPIAL, and their win at Carlynton gave them their first section title.

MULTI-TALENTED: John Liebold is more than Brianna's father. He is the Bucs' coach, and he calls his daughter "a complete player."

"She has speed, skill and a lot of power," he said. "She knows what is going on everywhere on the field. And this year, she is a much stronger finisher."

John Liebold was quick to compliment his team as well. The Bucs (13-4, 11-1) are No. 8 in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class AA rankings.

"I'm Brianna's biggest fan, but I'm very proud of the team," he said. "She's only as successful as the team that's behind her."

FAMILY TIES: Another member of the Liebold clan has distinguished himself in soccer. Brianna's brother, Brandon, played on the 2002 Chartiers-Houston boys' team that finished 19-2.

Brandon is a sophomore at South Carolina, after transferring from Washington & Jefferson. He is not playing varsity soccer.

BEST FEET FORWARD: Brianna Liebold competes in the fast lane of another sport -- track. She owns or shares school records in the 200-meter run, long jump, triple jump and 400 relay. Liebold qualified for the PIAA championships the past two springs.

FUTURE: Liebold, who has a 3.0 grade-point average, is leaning toward playing soccer in college.

-- By Rick Shrum