Nicole Maddox sometimes refers to her son, Jordan, as a miracle, and it has nothing to do with his grandfather being Smokey Robinson from the Motown singing group Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

Jordan Maddox is a junior running back/linebacker on the Keystone Oaks football team and is one of the reasons the Eagles are 8-1 heading into the WPIAL playoffs tonight. It doesn't matter if Keystone Oaks goes far in the postseason, because Jordan Maddox already has one giant victory in his lifetime.

He beat leukemia.

"I say he's a miracle because of what he's doing now and what he's overcome," Nicole Maddox said of her 17-year-old son. "He kind of has defied the odds. This is a kid who at one time was being given adult doses of morphine, had to go through all kinds of bone-marrow biopsies, spinal taps and years of chemotherapy."

Jordan was 4 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He had chemotherapy treatments and other medical procedures for six years. He wore masks to school as a child to protect him against infections. He was not allowed to play sports. Finally, at age 10, the disease went into remission.

Now look at him. He is a 5-foot-8, 180-pounder who surpassed 1,000 yards rushing Friday. He also is a standout on defense. Mom never misses a game or a play because she still remembers the days when she would wonder if her youngest of two sons would live.

Nicole Maddox gets emotional talking about it.

"He was very sick at once. The doctors never gave us a false sense of hope, because technically they don't know," Nicole Maddox said, holding back tears. "But there were children who went through the same course of treatment as Jordan -- and they didn't make it. They're not alive today."

Although Jordan was young when he was first stricken with leukemia, he has vivid memories of the 6-year battle. For a long time, he had a Mediport near his ribs. The device is implanted under the skin so that medications can be delivered directly into the blood stream.

"I just remember all the shots and going to school with a mask," Jordan said. "At times, I couldn't even walk. My mom carried me everywhere. It was rough. But somehow I got through it."

Jordan didn't start playing football until he was 11 and admits struggling with the sport at first.

Now he's on a team that was one loss away from a perfect regular season. Jordan's past medical struggles have made him appreciate football -- and life -- differently than his teammates. But his is a story that can inspire teammates. Jordan also runs on Keystone Oaks' track team.

"I just appreciate being here and living," Jordan said. "God gave me an opportunity to fight through something. He let me live. On top of that, he's given me the strength to be a good athlete. Sometimes, I think to myself, 'Wow, I might not even be here.' "

As for the famous grandfather, Smokey Robinson has attended a game or two and a few practices the past few years. Robinson, who is Nicole Maddox's stepfather, lives in California but also has a house in North Park.

But do high school kids even know Smokey Robinson?

"Some of the kids know who he is, just because of their parents listening to him," Jordan said, with a laugh.

Music and singing run throughout the Maddox family. Jordan's other grandfather is Walt Maddox, who was a member of the popular doo-wop group The Marcels, who had a big hit "Blue Moon."

"I'm just really blessed with everything that has happened to me and my family," Jordan Maddox said. "You have to make every day count and thank God for just being here."

Chartiers Valley standout quarterback Wayne Capers had surgery recently for a broken foot. Not only will he miss the rest of football season, but he also will miss the entire basketball season. Chartiers Valley is expected to have one of the top basketball teams in WPIAL Class AAA, and Capers, a sophomore, was projected to be one of its top players.

Franklin Regional's Nico Megaludis is only a junior but already has decided he wants to wrestle at Penn State. Megaludis, one of the top wrestlers in the state with an 83-1 career record, recently made a verbal commitment to Penn State. He is one of two from the WPIAL to choose Penn State. West Mifflin senior Sam Sherlock also committed to the Nittany Lions.

• Marcus Lattimore, ranked the No. 2 running back in the country by Rivals.com, will make an official visit to Penn State this weekend for the Ohio State game. Lattimore, who plays at Byrnes, S.C., visited Auburn last weekend and has a trip planned to Oregon.

• Football teams that don't make the WPIAL playoffs can play a 10th game if they want. But of the 59 teams that did not qualify for the postseason, just 12 decided to play a 10th game.

• Gateway had back-to-back perfect regular seasons for the first time in school history.

Coaches can do some funny things to get ready for an opponent. Take for instance what Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac did Sunday.

Although the WPIAL pairings did not come out until Monday night, Zmijanac was pretty sure he would play McGuffey in a first-round game.

"So Sunday afternoon, I told my wife, 'Michelle, you doing anything? Let's go for a drive.' "

So Zmijanac and his wife took a nice Sunday afternoon drive to ... McGuffey, located near Taylorstown, Washington County. And sure enough, the WPIAL put Aliquippa at McGuffey in a first-round game tonight.

"All my years of coaching, I had never been to McGuffey," said Zmijanac, who lives in Mt. Lebanon. "So I wanted to see what it was like, what the stadium was like. I like to get to know anything I can about the other team."

Whenever he can, Zmijanac will closely examine a game program of an upcoming opponent.

"You know how they have pictures of the players? I like to look at those," he said. "Just to see if all the players are dressed the same, are they together, are there some of them maybe with bandanas on, or some who look like knuckleheads. Just try to find out as much I can."

Having a large student enrollment can certainly be a factor in building successful sports teams. The more students to pick from, the better the chance of getting talented players.

But bigger doesn't mean better in WPIAL football. Three of the top seven schools in terms of boys' enrollment are not in the playoffs: Butler (No. 1 in enrollment), Hempfield (No. 5) and Connellsville (No. 7).

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.