Winning WPIAL and PIAA championships in impressive fashion is the only way to be revered and remembered. It's the only way to earn a spot in WPIAL lore.

At least that's the message coach Ray Reitz has been preaching to his Jeannette High School football team. He insists greatness is bestowed upon teams only at the end of the postseason. But in terms of the regular season, the bus that is the Jeannette offense already has gotten off at the greatness exit. It wouldn't be an overstatement to call Jeannette's offense the greatest in the WPIAL in the past half-century, and at least one of the greatest in the 101-year history of the league.

The WPIAL playoffs begin tonight, and Jeannette heads into them averaging 57 points a game. That statistic is not impressive. It is astronomical. Think of it this way: Jeannette is averaging more points than 75 WPIAL boys' basketball teams averaged last season.

The WPIAL doesn't keep records, but John Smonski is a self-made WPIAL historian who has scores of all teams back to the 1950s. He said Jeannette averaged more points this regular season than any WPIAL team in the past 50 years.

According to Roger Saylor, who has won-loss records for every team in the state, one of the highest-scoring teams in WPIAL history was Mount Pleasant Hurst, which scored 615 points in 1927. But that was for an 11-game season, which comes out to a 55.9 average. Jeannette's average is higher.

Jeannette, which has a 9-0 record, could be the highest-scoring team in WPIAL regular-season history. Reitz has put together an offense that seemingly has everything -- excellent speed at running back, a bruiser at fullback (Mike Matt) who also is quick, and a multitalented quarterback (Terrelle Pryor) who might go down as one of the best players in WPIAL history.

"When I look back at our game with them this season, it was like we were under attack at Pearl Harbor," said Washington coach Bill Britton, whose team lost to Jeannette, 52-12. "Their offense was something."

On the state level, the highest-scoring average for a team in a season is 75.1 by Jersey Shore in an eight-game schedule in 1922. That also is the national record. That same year, Harrisburg Tech scored 701 points in an 11-game season. That mark is believed to be a state record for points in a season.

If Jeannette goes all the way to the PIAA championship game, it would play seven more games, which would give the Jayhawks a good shot at breaking Harrisburg Tech's record. Jeannette has 513.

Rod Frisco of the Harrisburg Patriot-News has been tracking scores of all teams in the state since 1988, and he said this is the most points any team in Pennsylvania has averaged in the regular season since then.

"What makes them so good is their efficiency," said McGuffey coach Derek Bochna. "They'll come out and run a wing-T and run it well. Then they'll line up in spread formations and run it perfectly."

And sometimes, Jeannette will run a power-I offense.

"They're so fast," Bochna said. "Then you add the element of Terrelle Pryor leading the whole thing. So who do you try to stop?"

A defensive coordinator's best strategy is pray. Consider:

• Jeannette has outscored opponents by an average of 57-3.4.

• Jeannette's first-half scoring borders on ridiculous, as it has outscored opponents, 367-6. Those 367 points are more than every WPIAL team has scored this season with the exception of Central Catholic, Serra and Clairton.

• Jeannette has forced the PIAA mercy rule in all nine games. Under the rule, the clock runs continuously when a team goes ahead by 35 points or more in the second half.

• Jeannette is averaging 395.6 yards a game to 99.1 by opponents.

• Jeannette has attempted only seven punts all season and not once in the past five games.

• Pryor has rushed for 696 yards and thrown for 1,012. He is averaging 14.8 yards on the ground and 22.5 per completion.

Matt, Jordan Hall and James Derry make for a potent running game while Kenny Grant and Greg Williams are speedy receivers.

But don't forget about the excellent offensive line of Jason Marquis, Matt Gabris, Chris Hall, Sam Moore, Nick Campbell and Adam Locke. And the defense is staunch, too.

Reitz knew coming into the season that this offense would be good. But this good?

"This really has been incredible," Reitz said. "The thing we tried to do this year was just to have balance. My first year here, I implemented the wing-T, and that was my fault, because I realized after the season that we had to develop more of a passing game. I think we've done that.

"Then you have Terrelle, which gives you a totally different dimension."

Reitz has tried to impress upon his team that all the numbers won't mean much if the Jayhawks don't win WPIAL and PIAA championships. He knows the Jayhawks could simply have a bad game.

"Greatness can't be judged until after a season," Reitz said.

Britton believes the "great" term fits now.

"Some people have made the comment that they could win in any classification," Britton said. "They might be a little mismatched on the lines in Quad-A, but their team speed is incredible and at least as good as any team.

"I don't see how any Class AA team in this state can match them. I'd have to see it to believe it."