10 I Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010
Out
From Page 8.
Molinaro was able to run without
any noticeable limp, and said that
he hopes he will be ready for
Sunday’s season opener against
Bloomsburg.
Pataky’s timetable for return is
not as clear as Molinaro’s. Nittany
Lions coach Cael Sanderson said
Pataky is day-to-day coming off his
knee sprain.
Unlike Molinaro, Pataky still
has a noticeable limp, and it is
unlikely he will be ready for the
opener.
"My knee is coming along very
well, but it’s up to the coaches
right now,” Pataky said. "They
want to make sure that I am com
pletely healthy.”
Pataky said the coaches are
aiming for his return to come this
month, but added that could be as
early as this Sunday's match
against Bloomsburg, or a match
Scrimmage
From Page 8.
freshmen of coach Cael
Sanderson’s coveted recruiting
classes, it also means an opportu
nity to represent Penn State for
the first time.
"It's pretty exciting just with the
big crowd," freshman Andrew
Alton said. “I'm excited to see
what it's like wrestling in front of a
big crowd like that."
Sanderson and his coaching
Persa
From Page 8.
quarterback] Evan [Watkins] if he
was going to be too anxious."
Northwestern coach Pat
Fitzgerald said. "He looked at me
like he wanted to fight, so I kind of
left it alone."
Persa. whose older sister is also
a Penn State graduate, grew up a
Nittany Lion fan, and during his
first couple seasons at Liberty’
High School, he said he hoped to
one day play for Joe Paterno.
But Penn State showed very lit
tle interest in Persa from the start.
He opted for Northwestern over
his second choice, West Virginia.
"What they had to do in recruit
ing was their business and that's
fine." Persa said. "I’m not gonna
hold any grudges. I'm really look
ing forward to playing this game."
Persa has thrived this season,
with a 162.74 quarterback rating
and he has completed 77.4 percent
of his passes, good enough for sec
ond in the nation.
He has been the kev factor in
Success
From Page 8.
only the slimmest of margins, the final
scoreboard didn't tell the true tale of
the contest.
The Lions outshot Indiana 28-3, out
chanced them in penalty corners 14-2
and goalkeeper Ayla Halus had to
make only two saves compared to
Hoosier goalkeeper Becky Panv who
was forced to make 11 stops.
“I thought that as an opening Big
Ten game," head coach Char Morett
said. "We pressured the ball well and
didn't give them opportunities to
attack."
But sophomore forward Kelsey
Amy said early season wins only
mean so much.
The team scoring leader said the
early season win will bring confidence
to the Lions heading into the match
up. but since they beat Indiana by only
one goal, Amy said the Lions need to
make sure they aren't overconfident.
"We definitely- can't just sit back and
be like. Oh, we beat them. This should
be an easy win,' " Amy said. "We just
at the end of the month.
Sanderson said he is not wor
ried about Pataky, and added that
the team does not need to rush
him back from injury too soon.
“We need Pataky' to be at his
best,” Sanderson said. "Thinking
big picture, we need him to be his
best in March. The national tour
nament is why we are here even'
day.”
Just because Molinaro and
Pataky are not suiting up for the
Nittany Lions in this match does
not mean they will not be involved.
Molinaro said he considers this
meet to ust like anv other.
He said he still plans to make
weight for the match, and he will
prepare as though he is going to
wrestle.
Pataky' said he will be another
set of eyes for the team during the
match.
"If I see anything going on out
there, I will try to give my input
back into the practice room." he
said.
staff have made it clear that the
lineup for tonight's meet isn't set
in stone and could change leading
up to the first match.
However, of the 11 matches that
are scheduled tonight, there 1 are
several that could potentially be
decisive in determining the Lions'
starting lineup.
One of those matchups is the
bout at 125 pounds.
With senior Brad Pataky out for
tonight's meet with a knee sprain,
true freshmen Frank Martellotti
and Nate Morgan will battle at 125.
the Wildcats' 6-2 start this season
He hopes to carry that success
on Saturday, but not because Penn
State overlooked him in the
recruiting process.
"Once you get into proving peo
ple wrong, you kind of just get
yourself in trouble," Persa said. "I
play for my coaches, my players
and the people around me not
the people who said I couldn't do
stuff."
Paterno said he doesn't remem
ber why the Lions passed on
Persa. but he was certainly ready
to praise the Pennsylvania native
for what he has done this season.
"Maybe we decided there was
somebody else around that would
be a little bit better." Paterno said.
"I don't know. But he certainly has
become one of the better quarter
backs in the country. He's a good
student, a good kid and a hard
worker."
Ultimately. Jane Persa said
she's very pleased with the way
everything turned out.
But she did have an idea why
the legendary coach and his staff
passed on her son.
“I'm the only coach in the conference who wants to
play three days in a row, I’d rather play Friday,
Saturday, Sunday."
need to look at it as any other game.
Look at it like it's the championship
and just play all out. Sitting back is not
going to get us a wan. it's not going to
make us better for the next rounds if
we do happen to win. "
But sitting back is not something
the Lions have done very often this
season and Morett doesn't foresee
her team doing much of any silting
this weekend.
The veteran coach had preached to
her team all season about needing to
be one of the fittest teams in the
nation. Morett has emphasized condi
tioning all year and said being physi
cally fit gives the Lions an extra edge
going into the tourney.
"I think it gives us a great advan
tage." Morett said. "I'm the only
coach in the conference who wants to
SPORTS
Although Molinaro will wrestle
at 149 pounds through the year,
freshman David Church and soph
omore James English will battle
at 149 during the intrasquad
match.
Freshmen Frank Martellotti
and Nate Morgan will wrestle at
125 pounds in place of Pataky to
round out the matches for the
meet.
Wth spots on the team left up
for grabs during the intrasquad
match, Sanderson does not have
to worry about either of his star
players.
He said Pataky has done plenty
to earn his spot on the team with
out having to wrestle in the match.
He shared the same opinion of
Molinaro.
"Molinaro has done a great job
for us and has ranked right up
there to challenge for the national
championship," Sanderson said.
"He has his spot locked up.”
To e-mai! reporter: bmgso94@psu.edu
It's unknown when Pataky will
return to competition.
Martellotti is excited for the
chance to prove to the coaches
that he has what it takes to start.
"I just want to show the coaches
what I want to do," the freshman
said. "And basically through hard
w ork, just show them that.”
Despite competing with each
other in practice, the Lions know it
won't be easy to take on their
teammates with high stakes such
as starting positions on the line.
Rcdshirt freshman David
I think they didn’t really come
after him because of his height,"
Jane Persa said. "They said he is
too small. It worked out for him. In
the recruiting process you have to
know where you're going to fit,
and what's right for you, and I
think he knew Northwestern was
right for him."
Dan Persa, who is listed as 6-
foot -1-inch, constantly reiterated
he has no hard feelings toward
Penn State. But Jane Persa said
there may some be hard feelings
stemming from last season’s
The Lions were trailing 10-3 in
the second quarter when starting
quarterback Mike Kafka suffered
a leg injury.
Penn State outscored the
Wildcats 24-0 in the second half,
cruising to what looked like an
easy 34-13 victory' on paper.
Following the loss, Paterno
deflected credit for the victory
because Kafka was injured, and
he referred to Persa as “some
other kid." Jane Persa said she
thought that may motivate him for
this year's game, but as is typical
play three days in a row, I’d rather
play Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So I
have confidence in my team and their
conditioning factor."
When the Lions begin tournament
play on Thursday they will be looking
to have two wins against one oppo
nent in the same season for only the
second time in four years. And assis
tant coach Lisa Bervinchak-Love said
overlooking Indiana is not something
the Lions cannot afford to do.
"I think Indiana has been playing,
they got stronger as the season went
on," Bervinchak-Love said. "We've
got to just look ahead and continue to
play good hockey, put two good halves
together and play a good defensive
game."
To e-mail reporter: jrms4ol@psu.edu
McGloin
From Page 8.
that passed up on him out of high
school.
Boston College, Virginia and
Pittsburgh all recruited him, but
no Division I-A teams offered
him a scholarship. McGloin said
Pittsburgh was the closest to
giving an offer, but after Terrelle
Pryor decided on Ohio State, the
Panthers chose Tino Sunseri,
who is now McGloin's friend.
Choosing a college took a toll
on the Scranton native, but the
decision to go to Penn State as a
preferred walk-on was his and
not anyone else's. McGloin had
some doubts about himself but
continued to work hard and
prove his worth.
“As a walk-on. you try to prov e
yourself maybe more than the
scholarship guy would."
McGloin said. "But you need to
do that anyway. You need to
Taylor, who will compete for the
157-pound spot, is looking for the
team to get experience in a com
petitive environment.
"Whenever you have to wrestle
your teammates, it 's kind of a lose
lose situation." Taylor said. "But
it's good for us to go out and get a
match with the crowd and the ref
eree, all that stuff, and just get
used to that environment."
Though the results of tonight's
meet could potentially decide the
Lions' starting lineup, redshirt
freshman Ed Ruth realizes there
of Persa's shy personality, he only
spoke of how much he grew from
the game.
“When I was thrown in there it
was a really good experience for
me." the quarterback said. 1 did
n't think I played too well, but at
the same time I needed the expe
rience.”
Penn State linebacker Nate
Stupar remembered last season s
game and said he has already
seen progression from Persa on
film.
“He can run the ball, and he can
throw the ball." Stupar said "He
has a lot of skills, and he has a lot
of talent. You gotta make plays on
defense [to stop him] '
Persa's statistics have come
under some scrutiny this season
because of the Wildcats' u:;rd
ranked strength of schedule.
Their four nonconference oppo
nents have a combined nine w ins
this season, and their only two
conference victories came against
Indiana and Minnesota, neither of
which has won a Big Ten contest.
But Stupar saw Persa's talents
firsthand three years ago. when
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prove you can play the game,
and the coaches are going to see
it.”
McGloin must validate his
capabilities again and said the
competition is more intense now
than it was in training camp
because he and Bolden are
preparing for a game.
Who the quarterback is and
how many quarterbacks play
has yet to be decided. When
asked Wednesday who the quar
terback would be, wide receiver
Brett Brackett laughed.
“I wish I had an inside scoop,”
Brackett said.
McGloin said other students
have congratulated him on his
recent performances, but there
is one question that constantly
gets asked.
" You starting this week? You
starting this week?' " McGloin
said. "Right now, I really don't
know."
To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu
will be more opportunities for
everyone to prove themselves.
The intrasquad meet is just
another chance to wrestle and
there will be more chances to
improve later in the season.
"Go out there, wrestle your
teammate and whoever wins,
wins," Ruth said.
"But really it's just a match,
that's all it is. Because you have
time to come to the room and get
better."
e-man reporter: massB6o@psu.edu
the two were on the brink of enter
ing their first season in college,
competing in Pennsylvania's Big
33 All-Star Game.
"He was my quarterback and I
was playing defense." Stupar said.
"I know how he can pick apart a
defense. He's that dangerous."
Penn State's reshuffled second
ary will be Persa's next target.
The Lions are dealing with
injuries to a pair of safeties and
arc easing in Chaz Powell to cor
nerback from wide receiver.
He'll get that chance in a famil
iar setting. Except now the fans he
used to sit with will be rooting
strongly against him.
But there will be at least one
section of Pennsylvanians dressed
in purple in Beaver Stadium on
Saturdav.
"It's an exciting thing to get to
play in front of them at least one
more time." Persa said. "For now
though I'm really focused on the
game. I'm not really worried about
the amount of people I have
watching me"
To e niai! reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu
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