Willie McQueen lost both of his legs in a 1994 train accident, but that hasn't stopped the seventh-grader from playing football at Flint Northwestern (Mich.) middle school.

The most remarkable thing is that the 14-year-old doesn't use prostheses on the gridiron. As a defensive lineman on the team this past season, he registered three sacks using only his arms and torso to move around the field.

"You've got to actually see it to believe it," says Flint Northwestern middle school athletic director Jeff Blanchard. "It's incredible."

	Willie McQueen plays for the Flint Northwestern (Mich.) middle school football team without the use of his legs.

McQueen lost his legs on Aug. 13, 1994, when he was visiting a family member in Montgomery, Ala. His shoestring got caught on a train after he crawled underneath it to get to the other side of the tracks. When the train began moving, McQueen was dragged for about 50 yards.

"The doctors said it was a miracle he survived after losing so much blood," says his mother, Meltrina.

McQueen lost one leg in the accident and had to have the other amputated at the hospital. But the youngster rarely wonders what could have been.

"I don't feel sorry for myself," says McQueen. "And I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me."

When McQueen signed up for the team this past season with the rest of the squad, his coach, Adrian Phillips, was immediately concerned. But those worries were erased almost immediately.

"He got on the practice field and showed he could hit," says Phillips. "He showed he could move just as fast as the other players who had their legs.

"I put him in the game, and the first play he got a quarterback sack."

McQueen began the season as a role player who saw spot duty, but he concluded the year as a starting defensive lineman who was on the field for virtually every snap.

"He earned his position," says Phillips. "I wasn't doing it because of sympathy or anything. He just made plays and really sparked us."

It's no wonder that he has raised the play of the entire team, which ended its season a few weeks ago with a 3-2 mark.

"He showed so much heart, desire and courage, and it made the rest of the team really pick it up," says Phillips. "He's been a great inspiration for all the kids, as well as the coaching staff."

McQueen is a quiet kid who is getting used to the media attention. He was recently interviewed by a German television station and has been hounded by the local press.

He will turn 15 next Sept. 6 and will be too old to play another year of middle school football, despite being in the eighth grade. However, Blanchard isn't worried about getting a waiver so McQueen can play one more season at the middle school level before trying to make the adjustment to high school.

"I don't think it will be a problem playing in high school," says McQueen, who uses a wheelchair when not on the football field. "But first I want to play one more year of middle school."

And don't be surprised to see McQueen make the middle school basketball team, either.

Says Blanchard, "That's the latest rumor I'm hearing."