The dog days of summer are rapidly approaching. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little football in today’s edition of Morelli OnLion.
Today, we’ll take a look at the Big 33 Classic, which was held over the weekend in Hershey. We’ll also begin our top 10 countdown of the biggest moments of the year in Penn State athletics. We’ll also take another look at a future Lady Lion.
Let’s start with the Big 33.
Matt Stankiewitch played for Pennsylvania in the Big 33 Classic.
(Photo courtesy of BW Illustrated).
Pennsylvania thumps Ohio
The Pennsylvania squad defeated Ohio, 31-16, in the annual Big 33 Classic, which was held before 7,000 fans at HersheyPark Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the third consecutive win for Pennsylvania.
“We played great, it’s just an unbelievable group of kids,” said Pennsylvania coach Jim Morgans, the coach of Parkland High School. “I thought that maybe it would take them a little bit to settle down, but once we got into about the second quarter or so, they just couldn’t handle our kids.”
Pennsylvania QB Tino Sunseri led Pennsylvania, tossing three touchdowns in the contest. Sunseri is headed to Pitt to play his college ball. However, the game’s MVP award went to Harrisburg’s Adrian Robinson, who racked up three sacks in the game.
Pennsylvania jumped out to a 24-0 lead and held off Ohio for the win.
Pennsylvania got on the board early in the first quarter. On its first offensive play, Sunseri connected with wideout Jonathan Baldwin for a 37-yard gain. Just a couple of plays later, Sunseri spotted Baldwin again for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
PA’s first drive went 93 yards and was helped along by a pair of Ohio personal foul penalties.
Two drives later, Pennsylvania struck again as Sunseri hit Cameron Saddler for a TD to put the Keystone state squad up 14-0 with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
Future Penn State placekicker David Soldner hit a 39-yard field goal to give Pennsylvania a 17-0 edge. Pennsylvania’s lead swelled to 24-0 when Bishop McDevitt running back scored from three yards out.
Ohio would whittle Pennsylvania’s lead to 14 points in the second half, but that was as close as it would get on this night.
A total of four Penn State players were selected for the game:
Placekicker Soldner (Manheim Central), offensive lineman Matt Stankewitch (Blue Mountain), tight end Mark Wedderburn (Cardinal
O’Hara) and linebacker Michael Zordich (Cardinal Mooney).
Justin King fell in the NFL Draft, our No. 10 story of the year.
(Photo courtesy of BW Illustrated).
Moment No. 10: King and Connor Fall
Our No. 10 moment of the year in Penn State athletics is a bit of a downer. It’s the fact that two Penn State football players fell in the draft.
In the 2008 NFL Draft, Penn State’s Dan Connor and Justin King were considered potential first-round draft choices. But things didn’t work out that way.
Connor slipped to the third round, when the Carolina Panthers selected the former Nittany Lions captain with the 74th overall pick. King fell all the way to the fourth round, where the St. Louis Rams grabbed the cornerback with the 101st overall selection.
Despite falling, Connor said he was excited to be in Carolina, reunited with former teammate Tim Shaw.
“There’s a ton of talent there and it’s going to be great to be able to learn under a bunch of great linebackers,” Connor said. “There are some guys with a lot of experience. I’m just looking forward to that and taking it all in and learning from these guys who prove themselves every week on Sundays.”
King, who watched the draft with his family and friends in Pittsburgh, was hoping to get a call from his hometown Steelers. But that call never came and King kept waiting and waiting and waiting.
“I still have no idea why (I fell to the fourth round),” King said. “I talked to (NFL) coaches, they told me I’d go early. GMs, they told me they saw me going anywhere from mid- to late first round to late second round at the latest. These are NFL GMs telling me this.”
King left Penn State with a season of eligibility remaining.
Future Lady Lion: Renee Womack
Renee Womack, a 5-foot-10 guard from Methacton High School in Lansdale, Pa., is ranked as the 82nd player in the country, according to hoopgurlz.com. She led Metchacton to its first-ever playoff win during her junior season and averaged 15.6 points per game during her senior year.
Although she is still learning the finer points of the game, Penn State coach Coquese Washington was impressed with what she saw.
“She’s just a tremendous athlete. She’s 5-10, but she plays bigger than her size. She’s a good on-the-ball defender and she also excels in the transition game,” Washington said.
Overall, Womack has great athleticism that she uses to run the floor and defend. She could be the sleeper of this class.
“She’s working on her three-point range; she’ll be there soon. She’s going to give us more depth at the three (guard) position. I see her impacting us on the rebounding front because she goes after the boards,” Washington said.
During her junior season, Womack pulled down 234 rebounds, an average of 9.0 per game.
Womack was a first-team all-state selection by the Associated Press.
According to Washington, all three Lady Lion recruits face the same challenges.
“The biggest challenge is that mental hurdle in terms of not being the best player on the team, but still being able to maintain your confidence,” she said. “Things won’t be easy.”
In addition to writing for gantnews.com, Chris Morelli is the editor of Blue White Illustrated, a magazine devoted to Penn State sports. He is also a regular on “Front and Center,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com.
