Along with the Seton-LaSalle quarterback job comes a boatload of tall expectations.

Anthony Rizza is wasting little time living up to those expectations and carving his own niche in Rebels lore.

A 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, Rizza is making a name for himself in his first year as a starter for a program where winning and talented quarterbacks go hand in hand. Rizza has completed 55 of 96 passes for 765 yards and five touchdowns, while leading the Rebels to a 5-1 start overall and in the Class AA Century Conference. Rizza hopes to add to his success when the Rebels travel to Campbell Field in Munhall to play Steel Valley tomorrow.

"As the season has gone on, I've gotten more comfortable in the offense," Rizza said, "and things are going a lot better, especially the past few games."

It's in that most recent stretch of action where Rizza has found a comfort level, as his grasp of the offense has tightened. In those contests -- a loss to Sto-Rox, and wins against Quaker Valley and South Fayette -- Rizza completed 72 percent of his passes (36 for 50) for 477 yards and three touchdowns, while giving Rebels coach Greg Perry exactly what he expected of his rapidly maturing signal-caller.

"He's progressed very well, just as we thought he would," Perry said. "He has six games under his belt, and he's running the ball and throwing the ball well. He's really complemented himself."

It's the added dimension of running the ball that separates Rizza from most of the great Seton-LaSalle quarterbacks who have preceded him.

Rizza, who Perry said has run more than any other quarterback he has had, has maneuvered his way for 247 yards and five touchdowns, numbers which don't tell the whole story considering sacks take away yardage from a quarterback's rushing numbers and add attempts that really aren't rushing attempts, thus hurting his yards-per-carry average.

Rizza's versatility gives the Rebels a dual-threat at the position that they're not accustomed to.

"I didn't know he was going to be such a running threat," Perry said. "Sometimes it's like he's running downhill, and he's a nice-sized kid, so he can take some punishment."

Rizza's running exploits were at their best in last Friday's 21-10 win at South Fayette, when he was called upon to run even more than usual. Senior running back Dave Cortese, who Rizza called the team's leader, went down with a knee injury, and his backup, junior Jake Novicki, was knocked out with an ankle injury. With his team down to its third-string running back, freshman Kevin Hart, Rizza knew he needed to shoulder more of the carries, and he delivered, scampering for 89 yards on 21 carries.

"I knew I needed to take up more of the running load," Rizza said. "When [Dave] went down, our whole team went down [emotionally], and someone needed to step up."

Taking care of the ball has been one of Rizza's greatest strengths. The Rebels offense (22.8 points per game) isn't explosive like it typically has been in previous seasons, so they have instead relied on an aggressive defense and a methodical offense to pull out several close games.

Rizza comes from great bloodlines, too. His cousin, Matt Rodgers, was a former standout quarterback for the Rebels, and is now a redshirt freshman at Akron. The two usually talk a day or two before a game.

Rizza said he has also gotten a lot of advice from another former Rebels' quarterback, Anthony Doria. The tutelage from those two players who were once in Rizza's shoes has helped him carry on the exceptional quarterback tradition at the school.

"Yeah, [being the next in line] is real special," Rizza said. "There's not actually that much pressure because coach Perry has taught us well, and it's a good system we're in offensively."

With a 4.5 grade point average also in his arsenal, Rizza is more than smart to enough to realize the Rebels could be destined for some big things the rest of the way. And with his arms and legs leading their hopes, how can somebody not like their chances?

"We like the position we're in right now," he said. "If we win out, we have a good chance to win [or share] the conference [title] and maybe get a high seed in the playoffs. It's up to us."