BRENT WHITELEATHER

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Brent Whiteleather lead Rochester into the WPIAL Class A championship by rushing for 199 yards and three touchdowns in a semifinal victory against South Side Beaver. Click photo for larger image.

SCHOOL: Rochester

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior running back/linebacker who has led Rochester to the WPIAL Class A championship game.

LAST WEEK: Whiteleather rushed for 199 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 27-6 semifinal victory against South Side Beaver. Rochester plays Clairton for the title Saturday at Heinz Field.

SEASON: Whiteleather is a workhorse, averaging 21 carries a game. He has rushed for 1,578 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. This comes after rushing for 900 yards as a junior.

A RUNNING TRADITION: Rochester has won four WPIAL titles in the past six seasons and a strong running attack has been the staple of the Rams' offense every year. Whiteleather grew up watching Rochester running backs run for glory. He attended title games at Three Rivers Stadium and Heinz Field.

"When I was little, I remember watching guys like Essex Law, Reuben Jackson and Mookie Anderson," Whiteleather said. "It just seemed like they had so much fun being a running back. I remember thinking, 'When I get to high school, I have to be a running back.' Especially at Rochester because they don't pass much."

Whiteleather also wants to bring back a championship tradition to Rochester. The Rams lost in last year's semifinals after winning three WPIAL titles in a row.

BEAR HUNTERS: Clairton has scored 50, 48 and 48 points in its three playoff games. The Bears feature standout running back Dana Brown, who has rushed for 2,046 yards this season. Quarterback Andre Carr has rushed for 1,038. Clairton defeated Rochester, 21-19, in the second game this season.

Whiteleather is one of Rochester's leading tacklers on defense. "We just have to contain them and keep them from getting outside," he said. "They are very fast with their quarterback and running back. We can't let them get ahead by 14 points like they did the last time. If we let that happen again, it's going to be a tough game."

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Whiteleather said he is often asked the origin of his last name. "Everybody thinks I'm of Indian descent because of my name," he said. "Really, it's a German name. It used to mean wise leader."

THE OTHER SPORT: Whiteleather is the starting point guard on Rochester's basketball team and averaged 11 points a game as a junior. He also is on the Rams' track and field team.

-- By Mike White

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CHRISTA HARMOTTO

SCHOOL: Hopewell.

WHO IS SHE? A senior and one of the top girls' volleyball players in the WPIAL. Harmotto, a 6-foot-3 middle hitter, has accepted a full scholarship at Penn State, which has one of the top Division I programs in the country.

THE PAST WEEK: Harmotto was a linchpin in the Vikings' drive to the PIAA Class AA championship. They won the title Saturday at Robert Morris with a 3-1 victory against Holy Name of Reading. Harmotto had 19 kills, 24 digs and 8 blocks in that match.

Hopewell downed Titusville, 3-0, in the semifinals earlier Saturday.

CAREER: This was Harmotto's third year as a starter. "She was on the team as a freshman, but did not letter," Vikings coach Terry Borkovic said. "What was I thinking?"

BUSINESS MAJORS: After winning WPIAL titles but falling short of the PIAA title match the past two years, Hopewell players came up with a slogan this season: "Unfinished Business."

"That was our mind-set the whole year," Harmotto said. "At times, people doubted us. But we finished our unfinished business."

Harmotto often tried to envision how she and her teammates would react to securing a state title. "I wondered, when that 25th point went on the scoreboard, whether we would cry or be jumping on one another," she said. "We did both. We celebrated all night and it was a great feeling."

NET GAINS IN SUMMER: Harmotto played on the Junior National Team last summer and returned a stronger player.

"The biggest surprise was with Christa's back-row skills," Borkovic said. "Until this year, her back-row play was limited. We used her more there this year, and she led us in every back-row statistic. She has the school record for hitting percentage, which was close to .600 this year. She also had more than 400 blocks in her career, which is phenomenal."

FUTURE: After verbally committing to Penn State a year ago, Harmotto signed last week. She has a 4.1 grade point average and may pursue a career in which the sky is the limit.

"My senior project is on meteorology," she said. "Penn State is known for its meteorology major. I'm really interested in that."

-- By Rick Shrum