College recruiters hit the mother lode last year in Western Pennsylvania.

There were so many outstanding seniors with national-caliber ability that schools that haven't mined area talent recently sent representatives.

"Ones that hadn't been here for a while, schools like LSU, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, were in here," said Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting. "It was like the old days back in the 1960s and '70s because there were so many nationally ranked players."

Leading the Class of 2008 was Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who scored a touchdown in his first game with Ohio State. But there were others who had recruiters drooling: Aliquippa's Jonathan Baldwin (Pitt), Montour's Christian Wilson (North Carolina), Trinity's Andrew Sweat (Penn State), Thomas Jefferson's Lucas Nix (Pitt), Hopewell's David Posluszny (Notre Dame) and Greensburg Central Catholic's Chris Hayden-Martin (Boston College).

OK, so what about this year's talent crop?

Well, it's sort of like having a date one weekend with the prom queen or king and then going out with the girl or guy next door seven days later. It's nice, but the quality isn't the same.

"This year's class is a good group. There are some talented players, but it's just not the same as last year's," Butler said. "That's not a knock against anybody, it's just a class like last year's comes around once every decade or two."

What the WPIAL is loaded with this year are quality linebackers and linemen.

No surprise there. Those are the types of players the area cranks out year after year.

The linebackers who standout are Dorian Bell of Gateway, Dan Mason of Penn Hills, B.J. Stevens from Gateway and Todd Thomas from Beaver Falls. The top linemen are Tyrone Ezell from Steel Valley, Adam Gress from West Mifflin and Ryan Schlieper from North Allegheny.

As for players on the rise, Butler said one is Steve Mitchell, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound defensive lineman from Central Catholic.

"He missed all of last year with a broken leg, but people are going to find out this season just how good he is," Butler said of Mitchell. "I think he has a lot of potential."

Talk about being thrown into the fire.

Norwin opened the season Friday against Seneca Valley and gifted quarterback C. J. Brown who has verbally committed to Maryland. Getting their first varsity starts in Norwin's secondary were sophomores Tim Petro at free safety and Christian Bryan at cornerback. Their eyes probably were as big as pie plates as they watched Brown zip passes in pre-game warmups.

And you can bet that Seneca Valley coaches decided to test the 10th-graders early and often in the Class AAAA non-conference game. But the duo along with senior cornerback Nick Revis came through with flying colors.

"Those three guys really stepped up ... and we needed them to," Norwin coach Dan Conwell said. "They faced 42 passes and did a nice job against a very good quarterback."

The result was a 17-14 Norwin victory. Brown completed 21 of 38 passes for 301 yards but couldn't come up with the big completion when he needed it.

Seneca Valley got to the Norwin 15 late in the fourth quarter, but Brown then missed on four consecutive passes.

"Those three are the last line of defense and they did an outstanding job," Conwell said. "They had to grow up in a hurry and they did."

Things won't get any easier tomorrow night when Norwin entertains a Butler team that is coming off a big victory against rival New Castle.

Franklin Regional quarterback Anthony Vendemia gets the pass efficiency award for his effort in the Panthers 42-0 season-opening victory against Southmoreland.

Vendemia threw just four passes in the contest, completing three for touchdowns. His scoring tosses were of 22, 86 and 47 yards.

With the victory Friday against East Allegheny, Jeannette has won 17 consecutive games.

Not impressed? Well, try these number on for size.

Including the 2006 season, Jeannette is 31-2 with the only regular-season loss coming at Yough, 35-21. Go back to the 2003 season and the Jayhawks are 58-8 in that span. Jeannette's worst record during that time was 7-3 in 2004.

Haven't decided on what game to take in tomorrow night? Here are a few suggestions.

• Jeannette takes it high-octane offense to Brownsville, while Bethel Park travels to play Penn Hills in a Class AAAA non-conference contest.

• For those with no plans Saturday night, Canon-McMillan takes on Central Catholic at 7:30 at Carnegie Mellon University.