—The Highacres Collegian
Bright outlook for 1981 season
returning starters at linebacker Blackledge must become a lot
and with a good spring, that posi- better at doing the little things
tion could be a strong suit for us." that will make us a consistent of-
Even though Penn State must Pensive football team."
replace more players on offense, Paterno also is optimistic about
Paterno is optimistic about that the kicking game, annually one of
phase of the game, because his Penn State's strong suits.
returnees are at the key posi- "I think our kicking game can
tions. be good again," he notes.
"We have some outstanding "Whether it can be as good as last
skill position people," Paterno year, I don't know. Ralph
explains. "Our wideouts and run- Giacomarro is back for his third
ning backs should be strong. Our season as the punter (43.3
offensive line has a lot of poten- average last- year) and Brian
tial. Franco has a chance to be a fine
placekicker."
Herb Menhardt, who kicked 15
of 21 field goals and was 26-for-26
in extra points, was the Lions'
other key loss.
Paterno had his rebuilding ac
complished by May 2, when the
Nittany Lions played their annual
Blue-White game in Beaver
Stadium.
He and his staff will spend the
summer preparing for a schedule
which includes four top 10 teams
Alabama, Nebraska, Notre
Dame and Pittsburgh from the
final polls last year. The Lions
open against Cincinnati Sept. 12
in Beaver Stadium.
Rebuilding the defense will be a
major priority for Penn State's
1981 spring football practice,
which began April 7, as the Nit
tany Lions prepared for their 95th
season of intercollegiate football.
Head coach Joe Paterno
welcomes back 39 lettermen from
last year's 10-2 team, which cap
ped an outstanding season with a
31-19 victory over Ohio State in
the Fiesta Bowl and an eighth
place ranking in both final wire
service polls. However, only six
defensive starters and five offen
sive starters are back from that
win over the Buckeyes.
"Our first concern will be to
rebuild the defense," says Pater
no, who is beginning his 16th
Penn State season with a 141-31-1
record. "We have lost a lot of fine
players on defense and we've lost
our defensive leaders. We have to
replace our down people and
defensive end Gene Gladys, who
was playing extremely well at the
end of the year."
Heading the list of returning
players on defense are defensive
end Rich D'Amico, linebackers
Chet Parlavecchio and Ed Pryts,
Hero (outside linebacker
strong safety) Matt Bradley and
defensive halfback Paul
Lankford, all of whom started in
the Fiesta Bowl win. Defensive
halfback Giuseppe Harris, who
alternated with senior Grover
Edwards, also could be counted
as a returning starter.
In addition to Edwards and
Gladys, the Lions must replace
safety Pete Harris, and down
linemen Frank Case, Greg Jones
and Pete Kugler.
"We have as strong a secon
dary as we've ever had," Paterno
notes. "Paul Lankford, Giuseppe
Harris and Matt Bradley return
as starters with some outstan
ding young players contending
for playing time. We have two
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"Sean Farrell is as good an of
fensive guard as there is in the
country, bar none; and he was
last year. Mike Munchak is a can
didate for All-American honors at
guard if he returns to his past
form; if Mike is healthy, then we
will have the best set of offensive
guards in the country.
"And certainly Curt Warner is
one of the top tailbacks in the
country."
Farrell and Warner lead the
returning offensive starters,
which also include tackle Dave
Laube, quarterback Todd
Blackledge and flanker Kenny
Jackson.
Warner rushed for 922 yards
and returned two kickoffs for
touchdowns last year as a
sophomore. Blackledge com
pleted 47.8 per cent of his passes
for 1,037 yards as a freshman and
his favorite target was fellow
freshman Jackson, the Lions'
leading receiver with 21 catches
for 386 yards and five
touchdowns.
Penn State loses tight end Brad
Scovill, tackle Bill Dugan, guard
John Wojtowicz, center Bob
Jagers, split end Tom Wise and
fullback Booker Moore to gradua
tion.
"On offense, we just replace
three key players on the line,"
Paterno says. "A lot depends on
how well Mike Munchak recovers
from his knee injury. And Todd
Member FDIC
Sports
Sophomore to become a
21 year old Army Officer.
Spring intramurals bloom
set up to allow for the most possi
ble playing time.
Mr. Young added, "Sustaining
interest in the program is
somewhat of a problem. There
are teams that, after losing a cou
ple of games, realize that they do
not have a chance to win the
championship and then do not
show up for the rest of their
games. This attitude is really go
ing against the total philosophy of
intramurals. Intramurals are
designed to provide all students
with a chance to enjoy their
leisure time in friendly competi
tion. Leagues are organized to
provide some structure to the
games. Competition is emphasiz
ed, but winning the championship
is not the only goal. Participa - -
lion, competition, and fun are the
main goals of intramurals."
By Donna Roberts
The Spring term intramural
program is underway! This year
there are approximately 300
students participating in the soft
ball and bowling programs.
Many of the students participate
in both sports.
Towards the end of the winter
term posters were hung announc
ing the program. A limit was set
as to the number of persons per
team and seventy five cents per
person fee was requested.
"Generating interest is not
really a problem for intramurals
at this campus," said Bruce
Young, director of the program.
For example, 19 teams signed
up to play softball. The schedul
ing of the games was done by ran
dom selection and divisions were
Tennis season draws to a close
This year's women's tennis
team, coached by Deidre Jago,
compiled an impressive winning
record despite the lack of inex-
perience of several team
members
The girls finished the season at
the C.C.A.C. Championships at U-
Park on May 8 and 9.
Last Call
fora 19 year old
The Army offers college sophomores the
opportunity to earn an officer's commission in two
years. The deadline for this year's class is soon.
Apply now and once you are accepted for the
special two year program, you attend a Mx week's
summer camp, for which you'll be paid
approximately $4OO. And that's not all. You may
find yourself in the best physical condition you've
ever been in.
Then back to college and the Army ROTC
Advanced Course in the fall. If you've lone
exceptionally well at camp, you may be heading
back to college with a full two-year scholarship.
For the next two years, you learn what it takes
to be an Army officer. You get the kind of
management and leadership and experience that will
be an asset to you in any career, military or civilian.
You will earn an extra $lOO a month up to 20
months. And when you graduate, you will have
earned your college degree along with the gold bars
of an Army officer.
C) The Army ROTC Two-Year Program
If this is the kind of challenge you arc looking
for, yoU are the kind of student .we are looking for
Learn what it takes to lead.
mens tennis
The squad consists of Bill Skor
tin, Bob Stein, Jon Liming, Pat
Pryzbyski, Jim Bagley, and Pat
McKinley at singles, with singles
alternate and doubles standout
Matt Brady filling out the star
ting team.