When asked exactly how big he is, Brian Williams said, "Put me down as 5-7."

He smiled, knowing that height might be a little generous. But it is no stretch to say Williams was gigantic for Gateway last night.

Williams rushed for 210 yards on 25 attempts and helped Gateway cruise past Penn Hills, 45-17, in an opening night clash of Class AAAA heavyweights.

Penn Hills came into the game as the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked Class AAAA team in the WPIAL and PIAA. Gateway was No. 2 in both. Guess who will be No. 1 next week?

"The pregame video that we watched was our loss to Penn Hills two years ago when they really handed it to us," said Gateway coach Terry Smith. "We wanted to get a taste of what losing feels like so we don't taste it again."

For Ron Graham, he tasted losing in his first game as Penn Hills' coach after taking over for Neil Gordon. The Indians were ragged and sloppy in the first half and trailed, 31-3, at halftime. Penn Hills had four penalties on its first 10 offensive plays and two other penalties were declined by Gateway in that span. Penn Hills also fumbled the ball away once and threw an interception in the first quarter.

Penn Hills showed some willpower in the second half, outgaining the Gators in yardage and scoring two touchdowns. It was an ironic twist for the coaches involved in the game. In 2002, Terry Smith lost his first game as the Gators' coach to Penn Hills.

After the game, Graham didn't talk to reporters.

"I really don't want to comment," he said.

Williams let his speed do the talking as he ripped through Penn Hills' defense for 275 yards of total offense.

Besides his rushing, Williams also had 65 yards in kick returns, including a 42-yard punt return for a touchdown. He also scored on a 62-yard run.

What is it with little guys at Gateway? Last year, Gateway had an outstanding running back in 5-foot-7 Cam Saddler, a freshman at Pitt who attended the game last night.

"We have terrific athletes here," Smith said. "I kept getting the question of how we were going to replace Cam and his yardage and electrifying plays. But I knew we had Brian Williams."

Williams' brother, David, is a former Gateway receiver and kick returner now at Michigan State.

"My brother is my inspiration," Brian Williams said. "He's the one who told me that I'll eventually get my chance to shine. He told me not to worry about anything else. Just play your game. And here we are now."

Smith said: "He's the best-conditioned kid on our team. He played every play on offense and defense."

But Gateway's offense was much more than Williams. The Gators used a variety of offensive sets, everything from two tight ends to four receivers. They got a nice performance from junior quarterback Rob Kalkstein. A starter since his freshman year, Kalkstein completed 9 of 16 for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 11 yards for a score. Kalkstein did most of his damage in the first half.

"That experience he has is invaluable," Smith said. "You can expand your offense so much more when you have a quarterback like him."

Gateway's lead kept expanding just about every time the Gators touched the ball in the first half as they scored on five of seven possessions. In the first quarter, Delbert Tyler scored on a 4-yard run and Jeff Parrish on a 37-yard pass from Kalkstein.

"I think those penalties they had in the first half helped get us some confidence," Williams said.

Kalkstein scored in the second quarter and hit Corey Brown on a nice 27-yard touchdown pass. Josh Lichtenstein also added a 24-yard field goal.