2010 MSA SPORTS ELITE ELEVEN FOOTBALL ALL-STARS

By: Bruce Markey
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 | 12:00 AM

The most prolific passer in WPIAL history, the second-leading rusher in WPIAL history and two running backs with more than 4,000 yards rushing highlight the 2010 version of the MSA Sports Elite 11 team.

The Elite 11 team is made up of the top 11 players in the WPIAL, as picked by the MSA Sports staff. The most prolific passer in WPIAL history is South Fayette's Christian Brumbaugh, while Hopewell's Rushel Shell is the second-leading rusher in WPIAL history. The two other running backs who had more than 4,000 career yards are North Allegheny's Alex Papson and Mars' Austin Miele.

Here is a look at the Elite 11 as well as the MSA Sports Player of the Year.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

QB 6-4, 200 Sr.

No one in the history of the WPIAL has thrown the football like Brumbaugh.

He has one more game left Saturday in the PIAA Class AA championship, but he already has set the WPIAL record for career passing yardage. With 7,052, breaking the record of 6,741, set by 2004 Sto-Rox graduate Adam DiMichele.

But Brumbaugh has a number of other records also. He has a WPIAL record for single-season passing yardage with 3,615, which beats the mark of 3,310, set by Seton-LaSalle's Bill Stull in 2004. But Brumbaugh's impact hasn't been felt only in the WPIAL.

Brumbaugh has tied a state record for touchdown passes in a season with 50. He also set a PIAA playoff record for touchdown passes with six last week against Forest Hills. His 380 yards passing in a PIAA quarterfinal against Brockway was a playoff record, but has since been broken.

"We could see he had the ability to be pretty special when he was in eighth grade," said South Fayette coach Joe Rossi. "That's why we put in this [spread] offense when he became the full-time starter his sophomore year."

Overall this season, Brumbaugh has completed 226 of 339 passes (67 percent) for 3,615 yards. He has been intercepted only eight times.

Brumbaugh made a verbal commitment last week to William & Mary, an NCAA Division I-AA school.

LUKE HAGY, MOUNT LEBANON

RB-DB 5-11, 185 Jr.

Hagy is one of the WPIAL's best athletes, starting in football, basketball and baseball last year as a sophomore.

As a junior, he was one of the WPIAL's best football players, and in a number of ways. He was the driving force in Mount Lebanon's 10-1 season. The Blue Devils finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in 30 years.

Hagy rushed for 1,981 yards on 282 carries and scored 29 touchdowns. He also was an excellent kick returner and a standout on defense.

ALEX PAPSON, NORTH ALLEGHENY

RB 5-8, 160 Sr.

Even though his season was cut short by a dislocated collarbone, Papson still had a year to remember.

He rushed for 2,550 on 315 attempts this season before sustaining the injury in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship against Woodland Hills. Papson had 123 yards in that game before the injury. He rushed for more than 200 yards six times and more than 300 yards twice.

Papson, a member of the varsity since his freshman year, finished as one of only six running backs in WPIAL history to rush for more than 4,000 yards. He had 4,533 on 606 carries and finished as the 20th-leading rusher all-time in the WPIAL.

RUSHEL SHELL, HOPEWELL

RB, 5-11, 216 Jr.

Shell came into the season with a big reputation, and only enhanced it with a big junior year.

He rushed for 2,510 yards on 323 attempts and scored 27 touchdowns in only 11 games. He had three 300-yard games. He heads into his senior season with 796 attempts for 6,766 yards, good for second-best in WPIAL history. He needs only 880 yards to tie the WPIAL all-time record, held by Fort Cherry's Mike Vernillo.

Shell also has an impressive streak of 100-yard games, which ranks among the top five nationally. He has rushed for 100 yards or more in 29 consecutive games.

Shell has scholarship offers from colleges across the country. Pitt, Penn State, Alabama, Florida and Oregon are just a few of the schools that have offered.

DESIMON GREEN, CLAIRTON

QB-DE 6-5, 230 Sr.

Clairton's team has a Greenish tint to it this year.

Desimon Green has been a standout at both quarterback and defensive back, helping the Bears win a third consecutive WPIAL Class A title and back-to-back PIAA Class A championships after the Bears came back to beat Taylor Riverside on Friday.

Green has more than 2,400 yards offense. He has completed 72 of 120 passes for 1,756 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 688 yards on 98 carries and scored 13 touchdowns. In addition, he has done well at defensive end.

Green made a verbal commitment to Pitt last summer, but has since re-opened his recruiting. He is considering Texas Tech and Michigan State, but also will take another look at Pitt.

DELRECE WILLIAMS, STEEL VALLEY

RB 5-11, 185 Sr.

Williams beat out Hopewell's Rushel Shell to win the WPIAL regular-season rushing title. He finished with 2,149 yards and added 239 in a first-round WPIAL playoff game to finish with 2,388 yards on 246 attempts. That's a 9.71 yards-per-carry average.

But Williams also had a radar for the end zone, leading the WPIAL in scoring during the regular season. He finished with 34 touchdowns.

Williams is undecided on a college.

LAFAYETTE PITTS, WOODLAND HILLS

RB 6-0, 188 Sr.

Woodland Hills lived life in the Pitts this year, and it was pretty good.

After starting the season slowly because of a knee injury, Pitts came on strong and helped Woodland Hills reach the WPIAL Class AAAA title game. He finished with 1,758 yards on 222 carries. He was so valuable on offense that Woodland Hills stopped playing him at defensive back in order to save him for offense.

Pitts made a verbal commitment to Pitt last summer. He was recruited to play defensive back.

JULIAN DURDEN, MONTOUR

RB, 5-8, 170 Jr.

Durden transferred from North Catholic to Montour last summer and he had a gigantic impact on the Spartans, helping them reach the WPIAL Class AAA championship game.

Durden finished with 2,028 yards on 261 carries for the Spartans. He had few big efforts in big games to help Montour finish the regular season undefeated.

Although he's not big, Durden received a scholarship offer from Pitt near the end of the season.

DELVON SIMMONS, MCKEESPORT

OG-DT, 6-5, 262 Sr.

This Tiger earned his stripes as one of the best defensive linemen in the state. He is the only player from the WPIAL selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January. The game includes the top players in the country.

This should tell you how good he was: He led the team in tackles from his defensive lineman position.

Simmons has numerous scholarship offers, but has not made a college decisiion yet. He is considering Rutgers, Oregon, Floirda, Penn State, North Carolina and Michigan State. All have offered him scholarships.

ROB KUGLER, NORTH ALLEGHENY

TE-DE, 6-3, 245 Sr.

Kugler transferred from Buffalo to North Allegheny last spring when his father became the Steelers offensive line coach. North Allegheny benefited greatly.

Kugler became one of North Allegheny's top players. He has done well in the postseason, despite with a knee injury suffered in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

Kugler got his college decision out of the way in the spring when he made a verbal commitment to Purdue. West Virginia was one of the other schools that had offered a
scholarship.

AUSTIN MIELE

RB-DB, 6-1, 195 Sr.

The man from Mars was out of this world as a senior.

Miele had a big senior season, finishing with 1,703 yards rushing for a Mars team that made it to the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals. He set a WPIAL playoff record with 448 yards rushing in a first-round win against Hollidaysburg. He was only 7 yards shy of the WPIAL rushing record (playoffs or regular season).

Miele rushed for more than 1,000 yards three years in a row and finished with more than 4,000 yards. He is undecided on a college choice. Some schools are recruiting him as a defensive back.