PENNSYLVANIA Brinkley eyes rushing mark for Philadelphia

The West Catholic High senior neared the all-time rushing record.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia West Catholic coach Brian Fluck knew Curtis Brinkley was special when he watched him carry a football for the first time as a sophomore. He didn't know how special.
Brinkley, now a senior, is 174 yards away from becoming Philadelphia's all-time leading high school rusher. He has 5,949 yards after gaining 235 yards on 28 carries and scoring six touchdowns in a 56-7 victory against Cheltenham. The record of 6,122 yards was set by Eddie Gaskins, who finished his Frankford career in 1997.
Brinkley went for the record Saturday when West Catholic played North Catholic -- fittingly enough, at Frankford's field.
Brinkley has carried 147 times for 830 yards and scored nine touchdowns this season. Last year, he gained 2,813 yards on 324 carries and scored 28 touchdowns as West Catholic went 9-4.
"He just has great vision and the ability to make people miss," Fluck said. "There was one play this season where he made three guys run into each other. There was a cornerback on one side of him and one on the other and the safety was coming, and he just gave them a side step and hip fake and ended up going 65 yards on the play."
Scholarship offers
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Brinkley has scholarship offers from Boston College, Syracuse, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but has not yet qualified for NCAA freshman eligibility.
Brinkley gets his yardage even though opponents know that, on most plays, he'll be getting the ball.
"We give him the ball 25 to 30 times a game and all he needs is a crack," Fluck said. "The fact people are trying to stop him has opened up our passing game. We only throw eight or 10 times a game, but most of the completions go for big gains."
Streak ends
Pittston had lost 19 consecutive games to Berwick until beating the Bulldogs 31-7 last week. It was Berwick's first loss following seven consecutive victories.
Coach resigns
Chester football coach Damond Warren resigned, with defensive coordinator James Howard chosen to serve as interim coach for the rest of the season.
Warren was in his second season at Chester. The Clippers are 2-6 overall, 1-2 in the Del-Val League. Warren's two-year record was 5-13.
Warren cited internal conflict with the school administration as one of his reasons for stepping down.
Still rolling
Johnstown junior running back LaRod Stephens continues to pile up yardage and records.
Stephens rushed for 328 yards on 25 carries in a 41-14 victory against Martinsburg Central. The 328 yards gave Stephens 1,746 yards for the season and broke Johnstown's single-season rushing record of 1,499 yards, set in 1975 by Artrell Hawkins Sr.
Stephens also broke the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference single-season record of 1,487 yards set in 1993 by Artrell Hawkins Jr., the son of the former Johnstown record holder and a former Bishop McCort player.
Stephens has carried 125 times and is averaging 14 yards per carry.
Record setter
Fort LeBoeuf's Beth Kowalczyk scored five goals in a 10-1 soccer victory against North East to become the District 10 and Erie County League single-season scoring leader with 51 goals.
The record of 49 goals was set by Amy Hazen of Iroquois in 1995.
Lots of offense
Southern Columbia (7-1) piled up 438 yards of offense in a 55-14 victory against Crestwood, the fifth game in a row it has gained 400 yards or more.
Southern Columbia's only loss this season is to Mount Carmel, the No. 1-ranked team in PIAA Class AA.