Cortazzo is a distinguished football name in the Turtle Creek Valley. Lots and lots of Cortazzos -- three generations' worth -- have played scholastic football in that region. Played at impressive levels, too.

"I'm the first receiver among them," said Tim Cortazzo, a senior at Penn-Trafford. "I'm the tallest. The rest are pretty short Italian guys."

Tim Cortazzo also may be the fastest runner in his family -- 40 yards in 4.39 seconds. And possibly the best prospect coming out of high school.

The WPIAL may have never had a deeper corps of blue-chip receivers than it does now, and Cortazzo -- a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder -- could be THE gem in the bunch. He has the requisite "tools," and more.

"Tim has exceptional speed and very good hands," said Penn-Trafford coach Art Tragesser. "He makes tough catches, runs good routes, and is a very good runner after he catches the ball.

"He's put up big numbers against some of the best teams in Quad-A -- Central Catholic, Woodland Hills, Penn Hills. They have some of the best defensive backs."

Cortazzo's statistics are, indeed, impressive. Playing in the ultra-competitive Quad East Conference the past two years, he totaled 69 receptions for 1,460 yards, an average of 21.2, and scored 17 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, he caught 32 passes for 734 yards (23.0) and scored nine touchdowns. Last year, despite missing one game and half of another because of a concussion, he had 37 receptions for 726 yards (19.6) and eight TDs, and made first-team all-conference.

His proficiency extends beyond offense, though. Cortazzo averaged 18.7 and 22.8 yards per kickoff and punt return, respectively, in 2005, and is a quality cornerback.

He looks good in his genes, of course.

His father, Tim, likewise was an outstanding player. The elder Cortazzo was a 1,000-yard-plus rusher as a senior at East Allegheny in 1976, then was a record-setting back at West Liberty State College.

The athletic lineage doesn't end there. The younger Cortazzo's grandfather, Frank, was a quality player in his day and was a longtime football coach and athletic director at East Allegheny and/or its predecessors, Wilmerding and Westinghouse Memorial.

In recent times, cousins Matt and Johnny Cortazzo were top-flight athletes at Penn-Trafford.

The lineage doesn't end here, either, but space prohibits.

Both Tims are now united on the field. Last spring, the dad quit as East Allegheny's head coach after seven seasons, partly to watch his son play.

He'll be seeing it up close, as Penn-Trafford's defensive line coach. This is his second go-round as a Warriors assistant, as he helped Tragesser in his first three seasons with them, 1996-98.

There was a time when they were on opposite sides of a still-pulsating rivalry. That was 1976, when Tragesser was a Jeannette assistant and Cortazzo a scholastic star.

"All our games with East Allegheny were battles," Tragesser said. "One rainy night at their place, it was 0-0, late in the fourth quarter. And I'm thinking, this Cortazzo kid will do something to beat us.

"Well, he broke a run of about 40 yards and we lost, 6-0 or 7-0. The kid was a competitor."

So is that kid's kid, although the younger Cortazzo isn't as fiery. Chuckling, the teenager likes to tell you that -- outside of performance -- he and his namesake are quite different.

"I always tell my dad I'm faster than he ever was, and taller," he said. "I tell him he was never as good as I am. He says he'll always be able to beat me up.

"My dad's intense, but positive. He never gets down on me at practice."

As for next year, the son hopes to rise in a Division I program. He has gotten scholarship offers from I-A Akron and Temple and I-AA New Hampshire, all pursuing him as a receiver.

Cortazzo, who has a 3.5 grade point average, is considering education and sports management as possible majors.

"I'd love to coach," he said. "Love to coach and teach."

Another family tradition.