Gateway's B.J. Stevens wears jersey No. 21, an unusual number for a defensive end.

Stevens also has an unusual number of sacks this season. They match his jersey number.

Stevens, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior, has 21 sacks after getting two more against Penn Hills in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals Friday night. Twenty-one? In only 12 games. That's hard to believe.

"But it's legit," Gateway coach Terry Smith said. "It's even more impressive when you look at some of the teams we've played. Some of the teams threw five or less balls.

"I've never heard of a player from around here get this many sacks. Obviously, I've seen some players get 10 or 12, or even 14 or 15. But 21 is just remarkable."

When the subject of Gateway's top players comes up, most talk about star linebacker-running back Dorian Bell. Or they mention running back Brian Williams, receiver-defensive back Corey Brown or even quarterback Rob Kalkstein. Stevens is rarely in the limelight, but he is in the opposing quarterback's face a lot.

"He's kind of quietly doing his job, but he's doing it tremendously," Smith said.

Stevens also plays tight end, but he is at his best on defense. He has made a verbal commitment to Miami (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference.

"I was talking to a couple Penn Hills coaches before the game," Smith said. "Their biggest concern was him. I don't know if there is any one guy who can block him. Most teams send a lineman, plus a running back at him. If you single block him, he's going to defeat you.

"He's athletic, he's fast, he gets to the ball and he's relentless to get there."

The 382 yards rushing for Thomas Jefferson's Brian Baldrige against New Castle Friday could be a WPIAL record for most yards in a playoff game.

The WPIAL doesn't keep statistical records. The Post-Gazette knows that only nine players in WPIAL history have rushed for 400 yards in a game, but none of those players did it in a playoff game. Baldrige was only 18 yards short of 400.

No one is known to have run for 382 yards in a WPIAL playoff game in recent history. And it's hard to believe it would have happened back in the "olden" days because teams didn't score as much and didn't ring up such big offensive numbers as today.

• It has been a remarkable season for running back Zach Barket of Schuylkill Haven, an undefeated Class A team in Eastern Pennsylvania. Barket, a 5-10, 205-pound senior, scored five touchdowns in a 43-7 victory against Williams Valley Saturday to set a state single-season record for touchdowns with 56. Barket broke the record of 53, set by Parkland's Austin Scott in 2002.

But Barket also is closing in on another state record. He has rushed for 3,543 yards, which is only 310 away from the state single-season record of 3,853, also set by Scott in 2002.

Schuylkill Haven plays Communications Tech in the PIAA playoffs this weekend.

• Steelton-Highspire's Jeremiah Young rushed for 192 yards on 15 carries in a 43-7 victory against Millersburg Friday. Young, a senior, is 65 yards away from the state career rushing record of 8,432, set by James Mungro of East Stroudsburg from 1992-95. Steelton-Highspire plays Camp Hill in the District 3 Class A final Friday.

The WPIAL was criticized for seeding Upper St. Clair 14th in the Class AAAA playoffs, but give the league credit for its seeding of the top teams in each classification. The WPIAL was almost right on in those seeds.

The top four seeds in Class AAA and A made it to the semifinals. In Class AA, three of the top four seeds made it to the semifinals. The only one that didn't was No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic, which lost to No. 7 seed Aliquippa in the quarterfinals.

In Class AAAA, the top three seeds made it to the semifinals. No. 4 seed North Hills was defeated by No. 5 Penn Hills in the quarterfinals.