Alex Papson would never last on the TV reality show "The Biggest Loser."

But his actions through hard work over the past offseason could ultimately end up making the North Allegheny football team the WPIAL's biggest winner.

After Papson rushed for a team-high 1,088 yards and scored a team-best 13 touchdowns last season when he was only a sophomore, a spring and summer of tireless workouts -- particularly in the weight room -- have pushed the weight of this 5-foot-8 running back from 152 pounds to a few potatoes shy of 180.

That's 28 extra pounds of punishment for WPIAL Class AAAA opponents to endure ... if, of course, they can catch Papson and get their hands on him, that is.

"I made it a goal for myself to put on some extra weight this year," Papson said. "I was able to do that through some hard work lifting and, also, in the process I got faster, so it's kind of the best of both worlds there."

Papson worked through a program with the team and coach Art Walker and also on his own. He is one of the WPIAL's top returning running backs and will make his season debut 7 p.m. tomorrow when the Tigers open their season with a non-conference game at home against Altoona.

"He's a worker, he's the kind of kid who dedicates himself to improving but he doesn't want to take the spotlight away from anybody," Walker said.

"He wants the team to do well, and he proves that with his work ethic in practice and how he goes about things during games. He's a hard-working kid who really cares about the team first and will do whatever he can to help us win."

Papson got on the field as a freshman in some select packages and on special teams -- no small feat at the Class AAAA level -- and that helped ease his transition into the featured ball-carrying role he seized last season following the graduation of Karl DeCiantis, who acted as a mentor for Papson.

"It was real important for Alex to get on the field so he could learn some things and understand the offense," Walker said Papson's role two seasons ago, when the Tigers had an undefeated regular season and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals.

"The biggest adjustment from middle school to the varsity level is the speed of the game," Papson said. "And that gave me a look at the speed of the game and what I needed to do to prepare for it."

Ahead of the curve of most sophomores at that level, Papson is striving for a 1,500-yard season this year. It's still early, of course, but he has a shot at some lofty career numbers if he stays healthy.

"I think 1,500 is an attainable goal because the guys up front [on the offensive line] are so good and our fullback is great and the wide receivers block so well, anything is possible," Papson said.

What might be seen to some as the biggest knock on Papson, ironically, might be one of the things that makes him most effective. At 5 feet 8, Papson's low center of gravity, quickness and shiftiness are his strengths as a runner, and often linebackers have a difficult time picking him up as he runs through the offensive line.

Walker noted that he has coached a few diminutive backs over the years who became premier performers. Perhaps the most striking example is 5-foot-5 Kent State University running back Eugene Jarvis, who has already accumulated 3,268 yards to rank second among active Division I-A players in career rushing yardage heading into the season.

Walker coached Jarvis at Central Catholic.

"Eugene did a lot of great things, and Alex has a lot of similarities to him," Walker said. "They use their size to their advantage, and Alex sets up his blocks very well.

"His balance is very good, and he's improved his size form last year. He had a good year in the weight room, and that should make him a lot more durable in our conference. And we think we have a pretty tough non-conference schedule, too. He knew he had to be a little bigger to get through that."

And what drove Papson through it all this past offseason was the thought of helping North Allegheny reach its full potential and attain its lofty goals.

"The goal this year for NA is to win a WPIAL championship," Papson said. "We're not aiming for anything less than that."