17 The Daily Collegian
Weather and injuries hampering Lions' preseason
By JORDAN HYMAN
Collegian Sports Writer
Joe Paterno does not know how
good his football team is, and he
has 10 days to figure it out.
At his weekly press conference
yesterday, Paterno said sweltering
practice temperatures have taken a
toll on his team, adding that player
fatigue has prevented him from
taking a full account of his team's
talent.
"I think we've done about as well
as we can do," Paterno said. "These
are always dog days. We had a long
scrimmage on Monday and took off
yesterday and took off today
because we're really dog tired. The
kids have worked hard. They've
been out there all business. But I
really don't know how good we are
because we're so tired."
Lame Lions
The impact has been felt the
Running wild
Enis expected to carry Lions' backfield
Editor's Note: This is the third story in
an eight-part series previewing Penn
State's football team. This story pre
views the running backs.
By TIMOTHY HYLAND
Collegian Sports Writer
Penn State running backs
Aaron Harris, Chris Eberly,
Anthony Cleary, Kenny Watson,
Jason Sload and Cordell Mitchell
understand the situation in Penn
State's backfield quite clearly.
They don't expect too many
carries and plan on doing lots of
blocking. With that in mind, they
hope to make the most of their
offensive opportunities.
Opportunities are going to be
hard to come by, they know,
because of this simple fact
Curtis Enis is "the man" this sea
son.
"Everybody knows who he is,"
said Nittany Lion coach Joe
Paterno. "He is going to go out
there and people are going to be
gunning for him."
Enis, a junior from Union City,
Ohio, is already hyped as a Heis
man candidate in the wake of an
outstanding sophomore season.
The tailback ran for 1,210 yards
and scored 13 touchdowns, aver
aging 5.4 yards per carry and 110
Penn State tailback Chris Eberly tries to avoid Purdue's Jamel
Coleman during the Nittany Lions' win last season. Eberly spent part
Eberly is not just a Lion reserve
By TIMOTHY HYLAND
Collegian Sports Writer
A struggling Curtis Enis, in pain and inef
fective against Indiana last season, trudged to
the sideline and told Penn State coach Joe
Paterno to put Chris Eberly in the game.
Paterno listened and Eberly went on to
prove he might be the best backup tailback in
the Big Ten after running for 110 yards on 15
carries and scoring two touchdowns.
The Penn State offense needed a boost and
Eberly provided it. The senior from Beverly,
N.J. should be expected to play a similar role
iPPcLterrto's
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most on the offense, where certain
key players have had injury prob
lems.
Third-string quarterback
Rashard Casey pulled muscles on
his right side and has not thrown a
pass since the third day of prac
tice. An MRI done this week
showed no damage, and Paterno is
optimistic Casey will throw today
or tomorrow.
"(It's) along his side and under
his right arm. There's nothing
there except it's a muscle prob
lem," Paterno said. "He's way
behind."
yards per game to lead Penn
State's offensive attack.
With a relatively unproven
corps of receivers and a suspect
passing game, Enis will again be
asked to carry the offensive load
for the Lions. After such a suc
cessful season in 1996, Enis does
n't plan on changing his running
style this year.
"I just continue to run hard, -
Enis said. "Like the old saying, 'lf
it isn't broke, don't fix it.' "
Though Enis will undoubtedly
get the most offensive opportuni
ties, the Lion backfield has sever
al other weapons most notably
fullback Harris.
"I think a lot of kids are going
to play (in the backfield)," Pater
no said. "Curtis should be the
leader of the group, but Aaron
Harris, in his own way, is a big
time running back."
Harris rushed for 587 yards on
105 carries last season second
best on the team and he scored
11 touchdowns. In Penn State's
31-14 victory over Purdue, Harris
led the team with 88 yards rush
ing, and proved to opposing
defenses that Enis is not the sole
threat in the backfield.
"Our backfield has a lot of tal
ented people," Harris said. "\Ve
have three good people at both
for the top-ranked Lions this season.
"We don't put Chris in a game where he
doesn't play well," Paterno said. "I think he
has got to be a big player on this team."
After Enis' outstanding sophomore season,
in which he ran for 1,210 yards, there is little
doubt the preseason Heisman candidate will
get the majority of the team's carries.
In a backfield that also includes the power
ful Aaron Harris, the redshirt junior figures
to get four or five carries a game which
doesn't bother him a bit.
"It's just going to go game by game, what
ever [the coaches] feel," Eberly said. "I mean,
Casey has continued to run
through drills without throwing
passes, but the injury has slowed
his challenge for the No. 2 quarter
back position.
The fullback position for the
Lions is also in question. Senior
Jason Sload has not practiced at all
because of a lingering knee injury
and might not play against Pitts
burgh this weekend.
"I think he was working out and
he twisted it a little bit. When they
scoped it they thought it would be
fine," Paterno said. "Sload could
not play a football game tomorrow,
or next week."
Third-string fullback Anthony
Cleary is banged up as well. The
junior missed three practices with
a pulled hamstring. Paterno said
senior tight end Bob Stephenson
played some fullback in practice in
case Sload and Cleary are unable to
back up starter Aaron Harris
Yards gained by Penn State
last
running .ac s
Source - Media Guide
spots, so we should be able to
wear some people down.-
When Enis needs a breather,
Paterno has at least one proven
backup in Eberly, who came to
prominence with an impressive
performance against Indiana last
season.
With Enis sidelined due to
injury, Eberly stepped in and
picked up where Enis left off.
Eberly tallied 110 yards on just 15
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of his Penn State career as a defensive back but now provides a
spark off the bench for the Lion offense.
"I think we've done about as well as we can do.
These are always dog days. We had a long
scrimmage on Monday and took off yesterday and
took off today because we're really dog tired."
against Pittsburgh Sept. 6.
Also yet to play a down in prac
tice is tailback Kenny Watson. Wat
son, who returned kickoffs for the
Lions as a freshman, has been out
with an ankle injury.
"He had an ankle injury that was
not responding," said Paterno of
Watson, who has been home in Har
risburg receiving treatment. "We
may end up, if he hasn't come
around, we may end up redshirting
him."
Aaron Harris
Collegian Graphic'Kara Heermans
carries, helping the Lions to a 48-
26 win
Eberly said he is comfortable
with his position as backup.
"If things are going good, why
change?," Eberly said. "I mean, if
I get my opportunity, I've just got
to go out there and make the most
of it."
Cleary and Sload should see a
good deal of playing time, but will
Please see ENIS, Page 28.
Collegian Photo/Michael L. Palmier
if they put me in, they put me in. I they don't,
I'll just cheer the team on."
Eberly is not the least bit uncomfortable as
a backup, which could be attributed to the
fact he spent most of his first two seasons
moving from one position to another.
He began his career as a tailback, then
moved to defensive back in hopes of seeing
more playing time.
When former tailbacks Stephen Pitts and
Ambrose Fletcher became unavailable, Eber
ly returned to the backfield. Three days
before the season opener against USC last
Please see EBERLY, Page 28.
Chris Eberfy
eason
Joe Paterno
Paterno said he will wait a few
weeks to make that decision.
Enis on target
Ideally, Paterno would like to see
his star tailback Curtis Enis weigh
ing in at 230 pounds. Yet, at 232 or
233, Enis is anything but over
weight.
"Curtis ought to be under 235.
He's about 232 now, 233, 231,"
Paterno said. "He'll go up and
down. He doesn't have a lot of body
fat on him. He'll eat two hamburg
Lady booters make
history in
By AARON BASTIDE
Collegian Sports Writer
The Penn State women's soccer
team made history Aug. 3 when it
became the first American
women's squad to play in London's
historic Wembley Stadium.
The Lady Lions were defeated 3-
2 by the English National Team in
front of about 40,000 spectators in
the opening game of its European
tour.
Junior Carole Dutchka became
the first American woman to score
a goal at Wembley when she tied
the score 1-1 late in the first half.
"It was by far the single greatest
experience of my soccer career,"
Dutchka said of playing at Wemb
ley. "There was so much to take in,
the crowd, the fans, . . . it was just
awesome."
Sophomore Shari Pickett tied the
score at 2-2 midway through the
second half, but a late goal by the
English squad sealed the win.
Wembley Stadium is undoubted
ly one of the world's most famous
sporting arenas. The stadium is to
English professional soccer what
Lambeau Field, Boston Garden and
Yankee Stadium are to their
respective sports. In England,
Wembley is treated almost as a
religious landmark. One would
have a hard time locating a young
boy in England who doesn't dream
of one day scoring a goal on its hal
lowed pitch.
Senior tri-captain Lauren Miller
described playing at Wembley as
an incredible experience.
"It was breathtaking. The grass
is nicer than carpet," she said. "We
just tried to go out there and have
fun. It was an honor to play there."
The Lady Lions' English debut
was a prelude to the Charity Shield
Cup, a match featuring Manchester
United and Chelsea, two of Eng
land's top professional teams. At
the beginning of Penn State's
game, the stadium was nearly
empty. However, by the end of the
match, most of the seats were
filled with rowdy, soccer-hungry
fans.
"It was a pretty responsive
crowd," Miller said. "They were
kind of curious and interested to
see how we played."
Bump decides to stay
another year with Lions
By ANDREW DEBES
Collegian Sports Writer
Nate Bump had a feeling he
would pitching at Penn State again
this year when Wayne Britton, the
Boston Red Sox head of scouting
operations, left the stands during
the third inning of a Scranton
Wilkes-Barre Twins game in late
July.
"He left the game early and
never even introduced himself to
me," Bump said. "I realized then, I
didn't want to play for someone
who wasn't interested in me."
Bump, who started the Atlantic
Collegiate Baseball League game
for the Twins, was not in top form
that night. The night proved to be
the beginning of the end of his con
tract negotiations with the Red
Sox.
Boston drafted the Nittany Lion
ace in the 23rd round of the 1997
Amateur Baseball Draft. Bump and
his family were disappointed with
the outcome of the draft.
"It was a shock," said Bump's
father, Louis. "We were told by dif
ferent teams that he would proba
bly be taken between the third and
eighth rounds, so we were pretty
surprised."
Thursday, Aug. 28, 1997
ers and go up three pounds."
Starting quarterback Mike
McQueary said Enis has looked
quicker on the field, and more like
a leader off.
"He's doing a great job not only
as a player," McQueary said, "but
with leadership qualities on the
team right now."
Can you spare any tickets, Joe?
Lion coach
Tickets are all sold out for the
season opener against Pittsburgh,
but don't tell some of Paterno's
friends.
"It's amazing the demand I've
had for people who want tickets for
the Pitt game. I've probably had as
many people after me for this
game as any game on our sched
ule," Paterno said about all of the
requests he has received.
"I mean all of them are Pitt fans.
And all are friends. 'Hey Joe, you
remember you said come up and
see a game?"
England
Senior Malisa Sallade noticed a
difference between American and
English soccer fans.
"Here people just cheer when
you score a goal. Over there they
cheer just to get you going," she
said. "To play in front of that gives
you so much energy."
Besides playing in its most
revered stadium, the Lady Lions
learned a great deal about the cul
ture of England, where soccer is
king.
"We have so many sports over
here, over there its just soccer.
They call it football, and that's all
there is. Miller said. "We just
enjoyed being there. They do soc
cer right over there."
The purpose of the European
tour was to prepare the Lady Lions,
who enter the 1997 season ranked
No. 8 according to the
NSA/Umbro coaches Top 25
poll, for their Aug. 31 opener
against James Madison.
In addition to its match against
the English national team, Penn
State notched a 4-2 win over the
Millwall Football Club, the top
ranked club team in the English
Premier League. The team also
participated in an exhibition match
against a league champion from
Belgium and a tournament in Ger
many.
"It was absolutely amazing to
have an opportunity like that,"
Salade said. "It was a great experi
ence."
During Bump's sophomore sea
son, he was one of the best college
pitchers in the country. Bump's 8-5
record and 93 strikeouts helped
earn him Big Ten Pitcher of the
Year honors.
However, last season was not
nearly as successful. Plagued by
problems with mechanics, Bump
struggled through the season, post
ing a 5.12 ERA.
The lackluster season dropped
Bump's value, leaving him unse
lected until the second day of the
amateur draft. Negotiations with
Boston were hindered when the
two sides could not find common
ground.
"It's a tough situation for a
scout," said Phil Rossi, the Red Sox
scout that followed Bump. "You
obviously believe in the guy or you
wouldn't have drafted him.
"I think Nate was a little sour
after he didn't get drafted during
the first day. He was waiting for
steak and lobster, and got offered
hamburger instead."
The Red Sox said Bump showed
no real interest in signing with
them, but the 6-foot-3 Lion pitcher
felt it was Boston which left him
with no other choice but to return
Please see BUMP, Page 28.
Courtesy of Penn State
Carole Dutchka
Lady Lion forward