COMMERCE CITY - The two massive Offensive Player of the Year trophies sit on a table in Jason Gilham's tiny office.

Gilham, the director of communications for the Colorado Crush, might need more space if Damian Harrell continues his record-shattering production.

Harrell has seen the anvillike trophies, but he has his eye on a different prize. It's the Arena Football World Champions trophy, won by the Crush in 2005, that provides his motivation.

"I don't want to come into the season looking at personal goals," said Harrell, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound receiver. "I want us to get back to where we were two years ago and bring that trophy back."

No player ever has won the Offensive Player of the Year award in three consecutive seasons, and only the legendary Eddie Brown has won the award three times.

"Honestly, I really don't worry about stats," Harrell said. "I feel that if I do my job, at the end, all of that will be there."

That formula has been successful for Harrell. But his startling numbers have been impossible to ignore, even in a league known for gaudy statistics.

In 2005, Harrell caught 122 passes for 1,486 yards and 41 touchdowns as the Crush won the arena football championship and he won his first of two successive Offensive Player of the Year awards.

Last season, Harrell was better, catching 152 passes for 1,920 yards and 61 touchdowns to help the Crush win the Central Division title with an 11-5 record.

His 61 touchdown receptions shattered the previous single- season record of 46, set by Mike Horacek in 2000.

Like most Arena Football League players, Harrell, 32, had dreams of playing in the NFL.

But two knee injuries while playing at Florida State wrecked those aspirations. He came to the Arena Football League in 1999 as Eddie Brown was winding down his remarkable career.

"Touchdown" Eddie Brown won the Offensive Player of the Year award in 1994, 1996 and 1999.

"I watched the way he ran his routes and how aggressive he was catching the ball out of the air," Harrell said. "I just tried to add the things he had to my rep (repertoire). I definitely learned a lot from him."

Like Brown, Harrell's abilities seem to be custom-made for the tighter dimensions of the arena game. His body control allows him to make catches along the walls and around defenders, and the forward motion allowed in arena football allows him to get an extra step on the defense. In the end zone, nobody has been better at bringing down the ball.

"In critical situations, he's our guy," Crush quarterback John Dutton said. "I know I'm going to him, and the defense knows we're going to him, and he still comes down with the ball."

Crush coach Mike Dailey says Harrell makes amazing catches look routine. After Harrell makes a play, he'll joke with assistant coaches, saying, "That's just good coaching right there."

"He has made some unbelievable circus-type catches," Dailey said. "The really spectacular catches. A lot of receivers catch it when it's within their frame, but to do what he's done consistently, every game it seems like, is really amazing."

But many players come to arena football with talent and ability. It doesn't guarantee success. Harrell attributes his accomplishments to a commitment he made in 2003, the year his brother Diondi died in a motorcycle accident.

"It all came at the same time," he said. "During my first year (with the Crush) in 2003, my brother died at the tail end of the season. My kids, my son mainly, started to get into arena football, and I had a life-changing moment. The way my son responded to me playing football, when he would come to the games, it just triggered something. I was just like, 'If I'm going to be playing arena football, then I want to be the best.' "

Mission accomplished.

Taking off

Damian Harrell's career has flourished since he arrived in Colorado. His season statistics since 1999:

Year Team Rec. Yds. TDs

1999 New England 25 362 9

2000 New England 61 809 18

2001 Toronto 98 1,340 20

2002 Toronto 92 1,277 19

2003 Colorado 97 1,426 38

2004 Colorado 114 1,715 43

2005 Colorado 122 1,486 41

2006 Colorado 152 1,920 61 Broken records Harrell set three AFL records and tied one during the 2006 season:

• Scoring: 366 points.

• Receiving touchdowns: 60.

• Total touchdowns: 61.

• Consecutive touchdown receptions in regular-season games: 65*.*Tied With Albany'S Eddie Brown. Harrell Can Break The Record In Week 1 This Season.

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