Larger text
Smaller textGateway playmaker Bey picks Miami (Ohio)
Orne Bey
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review
Local news, sports, discussion, events and the Times Express at YourMonroeville.com
Contact information for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's staff can be found here.
Orne Bey will have a friend with him when he and Gateway teammate Dayonne Nunley enroll at Miami (Ohio) next year.
That's nice, but it's not the main reason Bey decided to make a verbal commitment to the Mid-American Conference school.
Bey, one of a talented stable of playmakers on Gateway's top-ranked Class AAAA football team, said Miami coach Michael Haywood painted an inviting picture he could not ignore.
"He wants to do a lot of new things," said Bey, who informed Haywood and his staff of his decision Saturday. "That's pretty good for me, seeing I am an offensive player."
Haywood's background didn't hurt his chances of successfully recruiting Bey. Haywood is a former offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and running backs coach at LSU and Texas.
Bey also was recruited by Toledo and Syracuse, but both schools wanted him as a cornerback. Akron, Bowling Green and Miami see him as a versatile athlete who also may get a chance to return kicks.
"They want to put the ball in my hands and see me in different formations," Bey said.
That's not far from the role he plays with unbeaten Gateway, which plays Woodland Hills on Friday in the Class AAAA championship game at Heinz Field.
Bey leads the team with 769 yards and shares the starting job with Brendon Felder (669, 12). Felder's lead in touchdowns has created a friendly rivalry.
"I'm always trying to catch him. It's all fun and games," Bey said.
How does coach Terry Smith choose the starter?
"Some weeks it's him, some weeks it's me," Bey said. "Whoever has the better week in practice and depending on the game plan."
• Aquinas Academy a small Catholic school in Gibsonia, will join the WPIAL for basketball for the first time this season and compete against Clairton, Geibel, St. Joseph, Leechburg and Serra Catholic in Section 3-A. The coach will be 13-year veteran Dick Geier, who was the head coach at Avonworth for the past four seasons after serving as an assistant at Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland and Freedom.
DIGITS
4 — Victories without a loss Woodland Hills has earned against Bethel Park in the WPIAL playoffs in 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2009. Each time, Woodland Hills scored at least 31 points: (35-14, 35-0, 31-17, 38-35).
6 — Area high school softball players who have been added to the Queen of Diamonds Showcase North on Jan. 9-10 at Kent State University. Competing among 264 athletes are pitchers Alyssa Frankenfield (Thomas Jefferson) and Nina Italiano (Hempfield); catchers Amanda Wrobleski (Thomas Jefferson), Angie Comilla (Hempfield) and Alyssa Bates (Hempfield); and second baseman Caitlin Tobin (Hempfield).
