I The Behrend Beacon
Cross
Students decked in clothing
proudly displaying their school's
colors. Adult fans traveling with
(heir teams to support them on
the road. Cheers and yells and
support from groups of fans.
At first thought, this sounds
like it could he a big-time foot
ball game at University Park, or
even a Behrend basketball play
off game. In truth: it was the
Behrend Cross Country invita
tional this past Saturday.
My first reaction attending my
first cross country invitational
Behrend sophomore Jenna Fatica.
This Weekend’s Schedule
Saturday, September 20 *
- Behrcnd's Mens Soccer Team(3-4) will take on Waynesburg at I :(X) p.m. Waynesburg erfters with a
3-4-1 record after a 1-2 loss to Laßoche college on Thursday and a 2-0 win over Hood College last
Saturday.
- The Behrend Women's undefeated Tennis team(7-0) will face Oneonta at 11:00 a.m. and La Roche
at 3:30 p.m. Oneonta boasts a 4-1 record after a win to Hartwick on Sept 17.
Thursday, September 25
- Behrcnd's Women Soccer Team( 1-4-1) will face Allegheny! 1-4-1) at 4:30 p.m. at the Behrend fields,
- Behrcnd's golf teams will host a Behrend invitational at Peak N' Peek at 12:00 p.m. In last year's
invitational, the Blue and White finished fourth overall: Daeman and Lake Erie finished in the top
two spots with Westminster's score only four lower than Behrend's.
And by 1 Beat The Experts
“Experts,” we NFL onnor mm Rachd R»
mean “People
* Miami (s' New England N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E.
who publish a
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neWSpaper Arizona (s ' Washington Was. Ari. Wash. Ari.
Weekly. Jacksonville (s' Indy. Indi. Indi. Indi. Indi.
New Olreans (« Denver Den. Den. Den. Den.
N.Y. Jets (s' San Diego S.D. N.Y.J. N.Y.J. N.Y.J.
We were pretty s , Lollis „ Sci „, c Sca . Sea . S ea.
last Week. Carolina <<L Minnesota Min. Car. Min. Car.
Oakland (s' Buffalo Buf. Buf. Buf. Buf.
Cleveland <«' Baltimore Cle. Balt. Balt. Balt.
But we were
Tampa Bay (s' Chicago Chi. Chi. Chi. T.B.
better than
Tic Breaker +4 +4 +3 +6
Behrend’s Pittsburgh (s' Philly Phi. Pitt. Phi. Pitt.
football fans. 7 ~ 5 ,|O - 2 7 ~ 5
NCAA
Temple @ PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU
That includes A | abama & Arkansas Ala Ala Ala Ala
you.
Wake Forest @ FSU Wake FSU FSU FSU
Try to out-pick LSU @ Auburn LSU Aub Aub Aub
US* Send a list of Georgia @ Arizona St. Georgia Az. St. Georgia Georgia
your weekend Last week: * 5 -° * 5 -° 41 * 5 -°
* denotes winner
picks to
cisso6o@psu.edu. Season Totals: 25-9
Behrend hosts 2008
Country
Cross Country Convert
surprise. Literally hundreds of
people were in attendance. Many
were from Behrend. but many
traveled with their team to sup
port them in their own runs.
Several times during the race, as 1
followed the athletes in their gru
eling runs. I had other schools'
fans shouting in my ear.
"Go Mercyhurst," cried a man
next to me. Glancing his way. I
waited for the next Behrend ath
lete to appear on the stretch and
yelled my lungs out. taking per
sonal satisfaction in the subse
quent silence of my neighbor.
The event was far more fun
than I thought it would be, easily
rivaling any other sports event on
campus. The crowd, much more
educated in the art of watching
cross country, moved between
several vantage points to cheer
the runners. At one point, nearing
the final streich of the race, the
athletes were expected to run up a
steep incline. This was in the
third mile - around at the point at
which my heart would have
exploded in my chest had 1 been
running with the athletes.
It was there that many fans
congregated, trying to provide
Confessions of a
first-person account by Connor Sattely
sports editor
cisso6o(o psu.edu
POET
r /
invitational
inspiration tor their athletes as
they neared the elimb. Coaches
yelled out times, instructions, and
commands to runners, and fans
screamed their loudest.
Behrend's Cross Country team,
whose men finished second and
whose women finished third
overall, ran great races. Coach
Greg Cooper reacted to the per
formance with optimism for the
rest of the season. “We really
Daniit. Smith / Thk Bkhrknd Bf.acon
Behrend junior Andy lams.
20-14 24-10 21-12 19-15
came together and came on
strong in the end,” says the sec
ond-year head coach. “We over
came some injuries and did really
well as a team. We have some
things to work on, and right now
getting healthy is a top priority."
With more than five Behrend
runners out with injuries and
sicknesses. Cooper knew that the
race would be a challenge. “It's
never easy to replace someone,”
he says. “But our guys and girls
stepped up and came together
very well."
Andy lams, one of Behrend's
best runners, finished first for the
school's men. He acknowledged
that the course is one of the
tougher that he's run on. “It can
mentally break you down,” says
lams, a cross country veteran.
“You have to will yourself past
the course, and pick certain
places to speed up and slow down
so you don't hit a wall.”
Though this invitational was
the last of the year at Behrend,
lams, like his coach and team
mates. knows there are plenty of
things to work on to improve.
Jenna Fatica, who finished
eighth overall in the women's
race and first for Behrend's team,
views the course somewhat dif
ferently than some of her team-
mates. “It's a good race to get
[personal records] on,” says the
sophomore. “It’s actually a very
quick course. Pretty tough, at
times, but not the hardest."
Fatica,v who transferred to
Behrcnti' this year ffbm Akron,
hadn't rari' a five-kilorn’eter race
since high school, but still man
aged to excel.
Behrend's cross country teams
are scheduled for the next few
weeks to travel to invitationals at
Allegheny (Sept 27) and Pitt-
Greensburg (Oct 4). Having the
entire team healthy will no doubt
keep Behrend in the winners cir
cle for the rest of the season.
Even more than that, the contin
ued support of the fans that con
tinue to cheer on Behrend will
fuel the athletes to victory.
Cl
yj
“Off the Wall”
Each week, sports editor Connor
Sattely picks a widely accepted
NFL view and disputes it in his
editorial column, “Off the Wall.”
Think he’s wrong? Let him know
and your rebuttal might make next
Arizona Cardinal quarterbacks Matt l.cinari (leftl anil Kurt Warner
The "T-Formation
"Power I."The“Aee formation
The "Tampa Two" defensive
seheme. All represented major
shifts in strategy in the NFL.
Some, like Dungy's Tampa Two.
were derived from schemes of
championship professional
teams. Others, and many current
schemes used in the National
Football League found their ori
gin from college football.
In Ohio State's Hop against
USC. we briefly saw the bril
liance of a well-executed two
quarterback system. The double
QB system normally features a
talented scrambler (in this case,
freshman Terrell Pryor) and a
comfortable-in-the-pocket. tradi
tional quarterback (Todd
Boeckman). The result has sever
al pros and eons for teams will
ing. or forced, to use it.
The positive side of the double
quarterback system was obvious
in the first Ohio State drive.
Pryor and Boeckman switched
off on almost every play, each
quarterback featuring a display of
both throwing and running.
Every time the defense grouped
up to face a run by Pryor, he
dropped back and usually experi
enced success in his throwing.
Boeckman was more predictable.
His rushing stats, according to
ESPN, rounded out at a stellar
eight attempts for -27 yards. His
throwing stats were equally dis
heartening: he completed 14 of
his 21 passes for two intercep
tions and only 84 yards.
Chris
And, as those of us who
watched the game saw, Ohio
State fell apart rather quickly.
What developed early as a
rhythm between the two quarter
backs dissolved into a pathetic
offensive effort that only resulted
in a field goal in the first quarter.
More case studies, such as in
Michigan (Tom Brady and Drew
Henson) and even in Florida sev
eral years ago (Chris Leak and
then-freshman Tim Tebow) prove
that with the right combination,
the double playcaller system can
be deadly. Until one of the quar
terbacks starts to slack.
Therein lies the major problem
in the NFL: quarterback consis
tency seems to sprout from a
week-to-week start, and familiar
ization with his offense. With two
quarterbacks, the offense is open
to confusing playcalling, rhythm
changing speed, and blown judg
ment calls.
Looking at the history of the
two-QB system in the NFL, the
most recent example that comes
Friday, September 19, 2008
week’s edition.
Bv Connor Sattelv
sports editor
cisM)0()(«' psu.edu
The rise of the
two-QB system
to mind is Ari/ona. Mall l.einarl
and veteran Kurt Warner com
binetl lor several impressive per
formances. includin'! a victors
against Pittsburgh's previously
impressive defense
Then, a less weeks later.
Lcinart went down ssitli a broken
collarbone and the sssteni was
However, this was a system
bom out of necessity and failed
competition. Though Oflensise
Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt pm
the two situs to good use. it was
simply because they had no sin
gular situ to hand control of their
team to. l or example. II Peyton
Manning were on the team, they
would hase started him rather
than have him share lime with
Warner.
What if. thoueh. the sssicm
were born out ol tin attempt to
usher in a ness era of change in
the NFL? The idea of Tim Tebosv
entering a situation like
Indianapolis, to follow the previ
ous example, brings up several
interesting scenarios. Dungy and
his staff could use lebow much
like he was used in his freshman
year at Florida; using Tebosv as
an option or draw runner would
allow Manning to reenter the
game and pick apart stumbling
defenses reeling from Teboss's
ground attack.
This can be used with any NFL
team and with any combination
of skilled quarterbacks. llowe\er.
the entire sy stem must depend on
the healthiness and continued
success of both players. If one
slacks, the other struggles. If one
gets hurl, the other gels the
offense shoved upon him.
But with a shift in strategy can
come a shift in preparation. Work
in both quarterbacks in preparing
plays for the next match's
defense. Combine their efforts -
maybe include both players in the
same play for some option pass
ing trickery.
The next development in strat
egy? Look for the two-quarter
back system to make a long-last
ing appearance in the NFL as col
lege runners look for jobs at the
next level. And remember this
column when Tebow is grabbed
in the fourth round and used to
bring in a new era of professional
football.
Submissions should be
mailed to cisso6o@psu.edu
and should contain no less
than 250 words. All sub-
missions will be considered
for publication.