Steel Valley coach Rod Steele went into the game Friday against South Allegheny hoping to get Delrece Williams to 2,000 yards rushing this season.Williams took the idea a lot further and ran right into the WPIAL record book.
Williams, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, rushed for 317 yards in a 42-13 win and broke the WPIAL record for most yards rushing in the regular season. Williams finished with 2,149 yards, breaking the mark of 2,112, set by Mars' Bill Bair only three years ago.
Williams came into the game with 1,832 yards. Only three other runners in WPIAL history had rushed for 2,000 yards in the regular season. Besides Bair, Hopewell's Rushel Shell surpassed 2,000 yards for the second season -- only one night earlier. Laurel Highlands' Jim Smith rushed for 2,026 in 1989.
"We knew he had an opportunity to get 2,000 yards," Steele said. "At halftime, we knew he had cracked 2,000. Then, one of my assistant coaches says he needed only 60 or 70 more yards to be the all-time leader [for the regular season].
"We weren't going to take him out of the game yet anyway because we wanted to get him some more playing time in order to get ready for the playoffs. Then, he ended up breaking a long run. The next thing you know, they're announcing he's the all-time rushing leader. It was kind of crazy."
Williams won the WPIAL regular-season rushing title while Shell finished second with 2,102 yards. Williams also won the scoring title with 31 touchdowns."He's a special kid," Steele said. "He's the kind of kid who, the more you feed him the ball, the better he gets."
Steele said Division I colleges are starting to show interest in Williams. Steele said a coach from Connecticut plans to visit Steel Valley today. Michigan State was at Steel Valley recently and West Virginia has requested tape of Williams.
"I believe in the next couple weeks, he might get a scholarship offer," Steele said. "He can run in between the tackles, in the open field and can even catch the ball. What's most impressive about him, though, is he's even a better person. He reminds you of Hines Ward. He's always smiling."
