Matt Wixon

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Some people don't know how to react when they see Steele Downing's prosthetic leg. "They don't know if I'm sensitive about it," the Lovejoy junior said.

Downing isn't. He's happy to show how the leg attaches below his left knee and talk about how he has one artificial leg for everyday use and one specifically for sports. He's used to the questions, and sometimes the surprised looks on people's faces.

"It's always the best at church camp," said Downing, a 6-3, 240-pound lineman. "I wear jeans the first couple of days, and then when it's sports day, I wear shorts."

After that, Downing explains to the campers that he had congenital pseudoarthrosis in his lower left leg, which led to leg fractures and holes in the bone. "It was like Swiss cheese," says Downing, who suffered seven leg fractures before finishing the fourth grade.

That meant Downing spent a lot of time with a cast on his left leg. Bone grafts and placing a steel rod in a leg bone didn't help, and he often walked with crutches and his left leg constantly hurt. Until, that is, the day when he was 9 years old and getting treatment at the hospital.

"I saw a kid with a fake leg and he went running down the hall," Downing said. "I thought, 'What if I could do that?'"

Downing, his parents and his doctor decided amputation was a good option. After the skin healed, it only took three weeks for Downing to learn to walk, and then run, with the prosthesis. He was able to play sports for the first time, and in seventh grade, he tried the sport that would become his favorite: football.

"I like just being a team and getting your aggression out," said Downing, who plays on the offensive and defensive lines. "Being able to unite and go after a goal."

Lovejoy (5-5), which is located just east of Allen in Lucas, has already achieved one goal by making the playoffs in its first varsity season. Lovejoy plays Van (9-1) tonight in a Class 3A Division I bidistrict game at Mesquite's Hanby Stadium.

Winning the first playoff game ever might be an inspiration to future Lovejoy teams. An inspiration is also what Lovejoy coach Jim Bob Puckett calls Downing. But Downing doesn't feel that way.

"Whatever," he said, shaking his head.

YEARBOOK MOMENT: During this week in 1994, Plano's Derrick Williams, Scooter Asel and John Spae combined to rush for more than 400 yards in a 28-14 victory over Duncanville in the second round of the playoffs. A month later, Plano won its seventh state championship by beating Katy, 28-7, in the Class 5A Division I title game.

HOME AGAIN: Because Garland won a coin flip with Richardson Berkner, their first-round playoff game Friday will be at Williams Stadium in Garland. It's hard to believe, but it will be the first time since 1969 that Garland has played a playoff game at Williams Stadium. "We've been in the playoffs a lot," Garland coach Jeff Jordan said. "We just haven't won a lot of coin flips."

NORTHERN DOMINANCE: In the last three seasons, teams from North Texas have won more 4A and 5A state football titles than the rest of the state. Euless Trinity (two titles), Southlake Carroll (two), Cedar Hill, Highland Park and Hebron give North Texas a 7-5 edge over the rest of the state. The area's best finish came in 2005, when Trinity and Carroll (5A) and Highland Park and Hebron (4A) swept the four biggest titles. Celina also won the 2A Division II title that year.