'08 PA DB Marvase Byrd (Akron Verbal)

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McKeesport (PA) McKeesport

Ht: 5-foot-8
Wt: 179 lbs
Forty: 4.56 secs

Akron Verbal, Cincinnati Indiana Minnesota Purdue Syracuse And West Virginia show intrest

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WPIAL Class AAAA: McKeesport flexbone tramples North Hills

McKeesport running back Marvase Byrd ran for three touchdowns last night against North Hills.

The McKeesport offense is as predictable as rain when you forget your umbrella -- but the results are downright torrential.

Last night, North Hills (0-1) got rained on as visiting McKeesport (1-0) rolled to a 36-14 win, racking up 358 rushing yards in a WPIAL Class AAAA non-conference game at Martorelli Stadium.

Using its calling-card flexbone, triple option attack, the Tigers ran through the middle, around end and pretty much at will. McKeesport senior running back Marvase Byrd had 153 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, quarterback James Eckels, in his first game as a starter, rushed for 114 yards and junior fullback Nico Price accumulated 74 yards.

Continued...

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QB Green drives Gateway to victory

Gateway's win gave Green some bragging rights on his half-brother, McKeesport running back Marvase Byrd.

Although Byrd rushed for 111 yards on 12 carries and although McKeesport outrushed Gateway, 302-180, McKeesport couldn't find the end zone until Darien Robinson scored in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run.

Byrd and Green talk on the phone just about every day but didn't speak at all this week.

"He'll still talk smack because that's what McKeesport does," Green said, laughing.

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WPIAL Class AAAA Roundup: Last-minute kickoff return lifts Gateway

McKeesport 47, Penn Hills 19

Quarterback James Eckels ran for two touchdowns and Marvase Byrd, Nico Price and Gabriel Patterson one each in the first half as the Tigers breezed to a home victory.

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Post-Gazette NOW - High School Sports

Byrd watching

It's hard to question McKeesport's Smith about his offensive strategies. The guy has won two PIAA championships since 1994 and his flexbone offense has been highly productive over the years.

But you might scratch your head sometimes over why Smith doesn't give Marvase Byrd the ball more often. Byrd had 115 yards on 10 carries against Bethel Park. For the season, he is averaging 9.5 yards a carry. But he averages only nine attempts a game.

This really is nothing new, though. It's the way McKeesport's offense goes. A year ago, Byrd rushed for 1,022 yards and averaged 10 yards a carry. But he only got the ball 9.1 times a game.

Two years ago, McKeesport's Travis McBride rushed for 1,672 yards and averaged 10.5 yards a carry. But he averaged only 9.9 attempts a game. All McKeesport did that year was win WPIAL and PIAA titles.