On their way to an unforgettable sports year, success has come easily for Terrelle Pryor and Jeannette.
They breezed to WPIAL and PIAA football championships. In basketball, Pryor and Jeannette had a few close calls, but Pryor had his way in the title game against Beaver Falls with 39 points, 24 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Now comes the PIAA tournament.
The Jayhawks are capable of winning a Class AA championship, but they aren't a favorite. Good teams are in the western region and the two top-ranked teams in the state -- Strawberry Mansion and Imhotep -- are in the East. If Pryor leads Jeannette to this PIAA title, it might be his greatest high school accomplishment.
"I think anyone in the tournament can win it," Pryor said. "Look at the NCAA tournament and March Madness. Teams you never heard of win games, like a Wyoming or something. Anything can happen."
In the West, North East High near Erie has a 26-1 record and the Grape Pickers (that's really their nickname) defeated North Allegheny earlier this season. Girard is 22-5 and also a threat. Beaver Falls is still around and a rematch with Jeannette in the semifinals is a definite possibility. And don't forget about South Fayette, which took Jeannette to overtime in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
In the East, Strawberry Mansion and Imhotep, both from Philadelphia, have Division I college recruits. Strawberry Mansion's Dwayne Davis will attend Morehead State and Imhotep Charter's Miguel Bocachica will go to Long Island.
A few weeks ago, Pryor guaranteed a WPIAL championship. Although he said he is "confident" about the PIAA tournament, there are no guarantees of a title this time.
"I can guarantee we're going to work," Pryor said. "I'm going to average 20-some rebounds a game, too."
While Pryor focuses on the PIAA playoffs, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to make a college decision for football.
Pryor said he has no timetable for choosing a college and that Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Oregon are still on his list. He attended Ohio State's basketball game Sunday, but said that was because he went along with teammate Jordan Hall. Ohio State invited a number of junior prospects to the basketball game and Hall was one of them. Hall is a running back who also plays basketball.
Much was made of Central Catholic, Jeannette and Serra winning WPIAL basketball championships after winning football titles in the fall. They are now among only 15 schools in WPIAL history that have won football-basketball championships in the same school year.
But don't forget South Park also became part of an elite group when it won the WPIAL Class AA girls' basketball championship. South Park also won a WPIAL girls' soccer title in the fall.
South Park is one of only four schools to win girls' soccer and basketball championships in the same school year. The others are Upper St. Clair (2002-03), Moon (2004-05) and Greensburg Central Catholic (2005-06).
Three of South Park's starters in basketball also were members of the soccer team -- Brittany Pfaff, Nikki Doria and Melissa Schwartz. Doria and Pfaff were the soccer team's leading scorers, and Doria is the basketball team's top scorer.
Blackhawk standout Antoine Childs, who led the Cougars to the WPIAL Class AAA championship, has decided to open his recruiting and look at other colleges.
Childs, a 6-foot-5 forward, made a verbal commitment to New Jersey Institute of Technology last fall but never signed a letter of intent. New Jersey Tech is in its second season of NCAA Division I basketball, but the team was winless (0-29) this season and coach Jim Casciano has resigned.
"Nobody else has offered a scholarship, but he's getting some calls and letters," said Blackhawk coach Andy Hedrick. "When he made that commitment, that kind of closed things off, so we'll see what happens."
Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park meet at 8 p.m. today in a showdown between two of the top Class AAA teams in the PIHL, but they will take their battle outdoors.
Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park will play outside at the South Park Ice Rink in the first Charity Outdoor Classic. The event was the brainchild of Bethel Park coach Jim McVay and Mt. Lebanon coach Paul Taibi and is being sponsored by Allegheny County.
Admission is $5 and children under 12 are free. Proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.