Clairton is the eighth-smallest school in WPIAL football, in terms of enrollment. But the tiny Class A school features a player who has been the WPIAL's biggest playmaker the first four weeks of the season.

Kevin Weatherspoon, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior receiver/defensive back/kick returner, is having an unforgettable season. In four games, he has eight touchdown receptions and one score on a punt return. The average length of those nine touchdowns is 44.7 yards.

"He's doing some special things," Clairton coach Tom Nola said.

This is special: Five touchdown catches of 50 yards or more, one punt return of 54 yards and a 37.8 yards-per-catch average on 11 overall receptions. He also has returned a fumble 10 yards for a score.

Weatherspoon had touchdown receptions of 70 and 63 yards in a 51-0 victory against Bentworth Friday. He went into the game as the WPIAL's second-leading scorer.

"You don't see many receivers in the WPIAL scoring leaders. That's mostly running backs," Nola said. "He has good speed -- not exceptional. But he runs really good patterns. He's also one of the most coachable kids I've ever had."

Pitt apparently likes Weatherspoon's big-play ability because the Panthers recently offered him a scholarship.

"I was surprised Pitt offered because he's only a junior," Nola said. "But he's been doing so well. Ever since Pitt offered him, it seems like everyone is watching. He's getting a lot more letters now from colleges."

One of the top WPIAL games for the fifth week of the season will be Thursday night when Highlands (4-0) plays at Mars (3-1) on FSN Pittsburgh's Game of the Week.

Highlands is the Post-Gazette's No. 3-ranked team, while Mars has been a slight surprise since moving up from Class AA to AAA. Two of Mars' victories have been against Class AAAA teams Plum and Fox Chapel.

Zach Barket, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior running back at Schuylkill Haven High in Eastern Pennsylvania, rushed for 413 yards on 25 carries in a 54-19 victory Friday against previously unbeaten North Schuylkill. It was the most yards rushing gained in a Pennsylvania game this season.

Barket had more than 4,000 career yards rushing coming into the season, but he has taken his production to another level. He has rushed for more than 200 yards in every game and now has 1,183 on 99 carries (12.2 average). He also has scored 21 touchdowns for the Class A school.

Barket's performance against North Schuylkill was even more impressive when you consider he had only 25 yards on nine attempts after the first quarter.

Central Catholic is starting a freshman at running back. Andrew Ehrenberg, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound ninth-grader, got his first start in Friday's 10-9 victory against Upper St. Clair. He started because he earned it.

"Our coaches have been telling me, 'He's moving up the [depth] chart, he's moving up the chart,'" Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. "He's been running the ball solid for us since camp. He's hard to get off his feet and he has great instincts. He's only a freshman, but man he's tough."

Ehrenberg rushed for 49 yards on 14 carries against Upper St. Clair. He is the son of former Steelers running back Rich Ehrenberg.

• Beaver handed Aliquippa its second consecutive loss, 21-14, Friday. This is the first time Aliquippa has lost two in a row since 2001 when the Quips were defeated by Beaver Falls and New Brighton.

• Jeannette is the only team in the state that has not allowed a point so far this season. On offense, the Jayhawks have scored 178 points. Jeannette's 20-game winning streak is the longest in the state.

• St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia dropped out of the Post-Gazette's Class AAAA state rankings after losing to LaSalle, 31-17. The loss broke St. Joseph's Prep's 55-game Catholic League regular-season winning streak.