Orne Bey was a reserve on the Gateway football team last year, but he showed enough talent and potential as a senior to earn a Division I college scholarship.

Bey, a senior running back-defensive back, made a verbal commitment yesterday to Miami of Ohio of the Mid-American Conference.

"He was just a special teams guy last year and he was just a guy waiting his turn," Gateway coach Terry Smith said "The last few years, all of my guys in the secondary have been scholarship guys. So he was waiting his turn. He took advantage of his senior opportunities."

Bey (5 feet 9, 175 pounds) is Gateway's leading rusher and also starts at cornerback. He was recruited to play slotback or running back. Gateway will play in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship Friday against Woodland Hills.

Bey is the second Gateway player to choose Miami in recent weeks. Receiver-defensive back Dayonne Nunley also committed to Miami.

Some are calling Woodland Hills' 38-35 victory against Bethel Park one of the best Class AAAA playoff games in recent history. If point totals mean anything, then it was one of the best.

The 73 points scored were the second-most in the history of the Class AAAA playoffs (the classification was formed in 1980). The highest total is 81, set in 2006 when Penn Hills beat Gateway, 44-37.

City League champion Schenley (10-1) will take on Erie Cathedral Prep (10-2) in a PIAA Class AAA playoff game Friday at Veterans Stadium in Erie. Schenley had an impressive PIAA victory Friday, shutting out Punxsutawney, 54-0. But things will be a lot different for Schenley this week.

Erie Prep is regularly one of the top teams in the Erie area and used to play Class AAAA until moving down to AAA last year. Erie Prep won a PIAA Class AAAA title in 2000.

Erie Prep's only two losses are to Erie McDowell (14-7) and St. Edward, Ohio, 12-8. In nine of its other 10 games, Erie Prep has scored 45 points or more.

Schenley must find a way to control Erie Prep quarterback Shyquawn Pullium, who has more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing.

• Penn Hills defensive back Cullen Christian will announce his college decision tomorrow night. Michigan, West Virginia and UCLA are his final three choices and he is expected to pick Michigan.

• Wilmington is the only defending PIAA champion still playing. The Greyhounds play Sharon for the District 10 Class AA title Friday at Slippery Rock. Two defending champions -- Thomas Jefferson (Class AAA) and Steelton-Highspire (A) -- lost last weekend. Liberty, the defending PIAA Class AAAA champion, lost two weekends ago.

Quarterback Derek Buganza of Brockway (near Du Bois) set a state record for passing yardage in a season in a 42-40 loss to Karns City in the District 9 Class AA championship game Friday. Buganza, a junior, completed 256 of 423 passes this season for 3,824 yards, breaking the Pennsylvania record of 3,674 yards, set by Mechanicsburg's Zach Frazer in 2004.

Two quarterbacks from eastern Pennsylvania named Smith were chasing the state record for passing yardage in a season, but only one is still playing. Kyle Smith of Lancaster Catholic threw for 232 yards in a 48-0 victory against Middletown Friday and has 8,003 yards. Lancaster Catholic will play Delone Catholic for the District 3 Class AA championship Friday night.

Tyler Smith (no relation) of Wilson Area threw for 277 yards Friday, but his team lost to Allentown Central Catholic, 49-21. Smith finished with 8,033 yards. The state record for career passing is 8,162 yards by Downintown East's Pat Devlin.

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