MARISA AND LAUREN GLEW

SCHOOL: Mars.

WHO ARE THEY? The Glews are identical twins, juniors at Mars and two of the top golfers in the WPIAL.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Marisa Glew, 16, left, and her twin sister Lauren, juniors at Mars High School, are picking up where they left off as two of the top golfers in the WPIAL. Click photo for larger image.

LAST WEEK: The Glews helped the Mars girls' team win its first two matches of the season against Blackhawk and Seneca Valley. Marisa shot a 39 at Black Hawk Golf Course and 40 at Rittswood. Lauren shot 43 at Black Hawk and 38 at Rittswood.

GLEWS STICK TOGETHER: Marisa and Lauren often have comparable scores. As sophomores last year, Marisa was fifth and Lauren seventh at the WPIAL championships. At the PIAA championships, Marisa was 14th and Lauren 24th.

The two also have excelled at tournaments outside the high school season. At a Callaway Golf PGA Junior Series tournament in Iowa this summer, Lauren was fifth in the girls' 16-17 age group and Marisa sixth.

At the Pennsylvania Junior Girls' Championship this summer outside of Philadelphia, Lauren finished 10th and Marisa 13th.

GOLF, ANYONE? The Glews played on the Mars boys' team as freshmen because the school did not have a girls' team. Their father, Gary, urged Mars superintendent Bill Pettigrew to start a girls' team. Pettigrew was able to convince the Mars school board to start a girls' team -- and Pettigrew decided to be the coach.

Last year, only six girls came out for the team and the Planets were 5-15. This year, 12 girls are on the team.

"A lot of the girls have really improved this year," Marisa Glew said.

Pettigrew said, "I think with what the [Glew] girls have done has stirred up interest in the sport at the school."

On top of their golf talent, Lauren has a 4.2 grade point average and Marisa a 3.9.

DIFFERENT STROKES: The Glew twins are 5 feet 3, but have different playing styles.

"Lauren's short game has been really, really good, and I've been driving it really well," Marisa said. "I've probably been driving it 210 consistently. That's pretty good for a little girl."

Marisa laughed at her "little girl" comment. Both Glews are well-spoken and outgoing. They once tried to switch identities in a class they took together.

"Marisa is more of the comedian. She likes to joke around a lot," Lauren said. "That kind of blew our cover in the class."

THE FUTURE: Both girls admit it would be a dream come true if they could finish 1-2 in the WPIAL. They also hope to play in college but not necessarily at the same school.

-- By Mike White

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CASEY WILLIAMS

SCHOOL: Moon.

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior quarterback.

THE PAST WEEK: Williams accounted for 234 yards of offense Friday as the Tigers stopped Ringgold, 29-15, in a non-conference season opener. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and gained 110 yards on 12 carries, including a 38-yard score.

CAREER: A running back last season, Williams gained 1,284 yards on 156 carries (8.2) and scored 22 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he was a backup quarterback who started once, in the playoffs, at defensive back.

BACK UNDER CENTER: Heading into the 2004 season, coach Mark Capuano had a yawning gap at running back. He inserted Williams, who responded with a big season. Then this summer, after the graduation of Matt Dowdell, Capuano returned Williams to quarterback and changed the offense.

"We want to get him the football as often as we could," Capuano said. "We put in a shotgun offense. We'll direct-snap it to him and we can do some things with him as a runner. At the same time, he is our best quarterback. He can throw a ball 70 yards."

ROCKY START: Though he had a productive game Friday, Williams initially had trouble adjusting to his old position. "In the first half, he threw a couple of interceptions and made a couple of bad decisions," Capuano said. "He played much better in the second half."

"I needed time to adjust," Williams said. "Actually, when I heard I was athlete of the week. I was shocked. I didn't think I played well."

CASEY AT THE BAT: Williams also employs strong-arm tactics on the baseball field, as he has been Moon's starting catcher since he was a sophomore. He hit several clutch home runs during the playoffs in the spring as Moon finished second in WPIAL Class AAA.

FUTURE: An exceptional student with a 3.98 grade point average, Williams wants to play college football. He has visited Bucknell and is being recruited by a number of other Division I-AA programs in the Patriot and Ivy leagues.

Williams is considering engineering, psychology and education as majors, and might try to get into coaching someday.

-- By Rick Shrum