Production and potential.

Jordan Shoop and Alyssa Deal, 2006 graduates of Knoch and Moniteau high schools, respectively, show plenty of both in athletics.

Both are multi-sport athletes and have been selected the Diehl Automotive/Butler County Male and Female Athletes of the Year for the 2005-06 scholastic season. Both received $500 scholarships from Diehl.

Deal scored 1,457 points in her high school basketball career at Moniteau, setting the school record. She ran cross country her freshman and junior seasons and qualified for the state meet both times.

In track and field, Deal qualified for the state meet in the 1,600 meters and 1,600-meter relay. She placed fifth in the PIAAmeet her sophomore year and seventh her senior year in the 1,600.

Deal averaged 16.1 points per game and sank 57 3-pointers in basketball her senior season. But she is headed to Jacksonville (Fla.)University to compete in track and field.

"I'm going to miss basketball," she said. "It was exciting winning a playoff game this past year.

"I'd consider walking on and trying to play (basketball) in college, but I doubt the track coach would allow it because of injury risk."

Shoop was forced to choose a sport for college as well. He scored 1,300 points in basketball during his career at Knoch — second to Aaron Faulx on the Knights' career scoring charts — and averaged 19 points and 4.3 assists per game his senior year. He also hit .300 as an outfielder for the Knights' baseball team last spring.

In football, he threw for more than 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 586 yards and eight TDs in his junior and senior years combined.

Shoop is headed to the University of Richmond to play quarterback.

"Playing my last basketball game was tough,"Shoop said. "We gave everything we had as a team, though, against General McLane (PIAAplayoffs) and that's the way you want to go out.'

Deal graduated from Moniteau with a 3.8 grade point average and ranked among the top 20 in her class of 116. She plans to major in nursing at Jacksonville, a Division I school.

The Dolphins' women's track and field team is the defending Atlantic Sun Conference indoor and outdoor champion.

The squad's coach, Ron Grigg, was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year last season.

"As soon as I went down there and saw the camps, I knew I wanted to go there,"Deal said. "My goal is to make it to the bigger meets, the regionals and ultimately, to nationals."

Jacksonville's nursing program is ranked among the top 10 nationally.

"Everything worked out well for me,"Deal said.

The same could be said for Shoop, who is joining a Richmond program that won the Atlantic 10 title last season and graduated its quarterback, Stacy Tutt.

Tutt, second on Richmond's career total offense list with 6,872 yards, signed as a free agent with the New York Jets.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Shoop graduated with a 3.2 grade point average from Knoch and plans to major in business management.

"They've told me I'll likely redshirt and I'm fine with that,"he said. "It will give me a year to get bigger and stronger and learn their West Coast offense.

"My goal is to be the starting quarterback in a year or two, leave there with a couple of Atlantic 10 championships and maybe a national championship."

Shoop will be one of four quarterbacks in camp at Richmond, joining two sophomores and a junior.

Richmond won the Atlantic 10 title and reached the Division I-AAplayoffs last year under second-year head coach Dave Clawson.

"He did the same thing at Fordham, winning the Patriot League title in his second year there,"Shoop said. "I'm looking forward to working with him and getting things started."