McKeesport quarterback Ty-Meer Brown has become adept at running the triple option play. Handoff to the fullback, pitch to a halfback or run the ball himself are Brown's choices.

Brown's future is turning into another option play. His choices keep multiplying.

Last weekend, Pitt offered Brown a scholarship. Not necessarily as a quarterback, but as an "athlete," meaning Brown could play a number of positions. Akron, Toledo and Bowling Green also have offered Brown, a 6-foot-1, 180-pounder, scholarships.

"Everybody is basically recruiting me as an athlete," Brown said. "I could play receiver. Most schools said I could start out playing quarterback, and if they like me there, they'll keep me there. But I could move somewhere else."

Although Brown said he will probably play football in college, he has another option. Basketball. Over the past year or so, Duquesne and Dayton have offered him scholarships for basketball.

"I haven't been talking to schools about basketball lately, but it's a nice option to have," Brown said. "It's a good thing to have all these options because I'm going to be at this place for four years."

The funny thing is, Brown wanted to quit football before his sophomore year.

"I was going to just focus on basketball," Brown said. "That's when I was getting a lot of interest from colleges in basketball. A lot of things have changed."

For someone who didn't play football last season because he thought he was too small, Alec Schram had a big opener for Canon-McMillan.

Schram, a 5-foot-6, 140-pound junior, had a team-high five receptions and also rushed two times for 84 yards.

"I told him that he's the poster child for kids who think they're too small to play," said Canon-McMillan coach Guy Montecalvo.

Schram starts at flanker, but also is the Big Macs' starting safety.

"I could understand why he didn't play last year because he was even smaller than he is now," Montecalvo said. "But the kid has a big heart."

Athleticism runs in Schram's family. His cousin is Taylor Schram, arguably the top girls' soccer player in the WPIAL and a Penn State recruit.

Avella broke a 27-game losing streak with a 44-28 victory against Geibel. And to think Avella scored only 62 points all of last season.

Hempfield's Dante Nania threw five touchdown passes in the season opener. He had only seven all of last season.

Patrick Leyland, a catcher on the Bishop Canevin baseball team, has made a verbal commitment to the University of Maryland. Leyland's other top schools were Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Leyland is the son of Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland. Dad and mom, Katie Leyland, preferred Notre Dame.

"Originally, both of my parents were leaning toward Notre Dame," Patrick Leyland said. "I guess I went against both of them, but they're both on board now. They're traditional Notre Dame people. They were a little disappointed at first, but when they saw what Maryland had to offer and how I liked it, they were OK.

"With Maryland, I just like the conference. The ACC is a great conference. Plus, it's only four hours from home. And being close to two cities fits my personality. I've always been around cities. That's the reason South Bend and Notre Dame kind of got ousted."

Patrick Leyland also is one of the top players on Bishop Canevin's golf team.

Fox Chapel's Nadia Luttner, the defending WPIAL girls' golf champion, is looking even stronger this season. Luttner has gotten off to a torrid start, shooting a 5-under-par 32 in a recent match at the Pittsburgh Field Club. The score was a school record and Luttner's round included one bogey, three pars, four birdies and one eagle.

Fox Chapel's team score in the match was a school-record 171.

Beaver's Kimmy Borza, a WPIAL Class AA semifinalist the past three seasons, will not have a chance at the title this year. Borza, a senior, is attending the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida until mid-October and will miss the WPIAL tournament. She hopes to return for the WPIAL team playoffs.

Bollettieri Academy alumni include Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

• Alison Riske, a Peters Township resident, decided to turn pro and forgo a scholarship to Vanderbilt. Riske played for Peters Township one season (2006) and won WPIAL and PIAA titles that year. She played USTA junior tournaments the other three years of high school.

Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette