It's a small world -- one that seems even smaller when a football field is shrunk to 50 yards, as it is in the Arena Football League.

But two hours up the turnpike in Cleveland, two former rivals from the same WPIAL football conference often share the same huddle as members of the AFL's Cleveland Gladiators.

Gateway High School alumnus Josh Rue is a fullback and linebacker for the Gladiators, who will play the Philadelphia Soul for the National Conference championship 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

Penn Hills graduate Brandon Hefflin is a defensive back on the team.

"We came up to camp, and I didn't know who he was, but once we found that out, I realized we played against each other," said Rue, who also played at Duquesne University.

"When he was a junior and I was a senior at Gateway, we won that game, 7-6, so we laugh and joke about that. We talk about Pittsburgh in general, the things we have in common, the things we did around the city. It's cool playing with a guy who was in the same conference as you in high school. It made me feel more at home."

Both Hefflin and Rue have found a home in the AFL, where they are only one victory from playing in Arena Bowl XXII on July 27 in New Orleans after a 73-70 win against the Georgia Force Monday.

Each has played a key role in a playoff win. Rue rushed for two touchdowns Monday in Georgia, and Hefflin was named AFL defensive player of the week for the wild card round of the playoffs two weeks ago. He had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in a 69-66 win against the Orlando Predators. Hefflin also had a team-high seven tackles.

"It's been a good season," said Rue, who played for Duquesne through 2002. "It's only my second year playing [AFL] football, so it's been a learning process. But it's also been a good experience for me."

"It's playoff time, so it's go hard or go home," said Hefflin, who started all 49 games of his career at the University of Toledo. "We're working hard, trying to make plays so we can go down to New Orleans."

Rue's path to Cleveland -- which is in its first year as home to an AFL team -- began when the Miami Dolphins signed him out of college. He would spend the 2003 season on the Arizona Cardinals' roster before being referred to the indoor game. Rue played for the Memphis Xplorers in 2005 and '06. The Xplorers are part of afl2, the AFL's top minor league.

He played for the Las Vegas Gladiators last season and was one of the lone holdovers when the franchise relocated to Ohio this past year.

Even though the AFL is transitioning into a league in which players are not playing both ways any more, Rue plays offense, defense and special teams for the Gladiators -- depending on what personnel package the team is using on a given play.

That wasn't too much of a stretch for Rue, however. He also played offense and defense at Duquesne.

Rue said that as much as the indoor game differs from the regular outdoor one, football is still football.

"When it comes down to it, my position is pretty much blocking, and that's still football, that's part of the game that doesn't change," Rue said. "It was an easy adjustment as far as that goes.

"The speed of the game is a little faster with the smaller field. Things happen quicker, so your reaction time has to be a lot faster than in the outdoor game."

Hefflin is in his fourth season in the AFL since graduating from college, having played for Columbus the previous three years. Having played in Ohio his entire career, that has made it easy for him to make it back home regularly to visit family.

"Really, I never thought I'd be playing [arena ball]," he said.

"Coming out of college, your hopes and dreams are of playing in the NFL. That didn't work out, but I went to the next-best option and worked out for some arena teams. I learned the game pretty quickly, and it's working out for me."