Sprint Football to host Army

"A man with no fear belongs in an institution or else on special teams."

This audacious -- if not accurate -- quote from legendary Penn State football coach Rip Engle will be especially salient to the Penn sprint football team this weekend.

On Franklin Field on Saturday night, the annual battle of two CSFL titans -- Army (1-1) and Penn (2-0) -- will probably hinge on the always important, yet frequently overlooked, special teams.

On Oct. 20, 2001, at West Point, the Cadets' and Quakers' defenses were equally stingy, each killing one drive after the next.

With Penn leading 3-0 in the second quarter of an ostencibly low-scoring affair, one of the Cadets made two very -- well -- special plays on special teams.

Army sophomore Austin Wilson returned a punt 38 yards for a score, and then, three minutes later, returned one 77 yards for another TD, breaking open a game that Army would develop into a rout, 35-3.

"One big addition we didn't have last year, that's Evan Nolan's field goal kicking," Penn head coach Bill Wagner said.

"And we have a punter that can give us great field position."

Nolan has hit all three field goal attempts this year, including a 43-yarder in the opening win over Cornell.

More good news for the Red and Blue comes in the form of Cadets' promotions, but not graduation.

Since last year, both Wilson and QB Steve McKeon have since moved up to heavyweight football, affectionately referred to by coach Wagner as "the fat-boy team."

All weight jokes aside, even without those two, Penn's defense again has a tough job ahead to stop Army's offense.

Last week, freshman quarterback Patrick Hall led the Cadets in a 29-0 thrashing of Princeton.

To complicate matters further, Army runs a Wishbone offense, involving all the misdirection of a Barry Sanders' run.

"Usually, their QB, halfback or fullback will run counters, and if we stop that, they have a very talented tight end," Wagner said.

The offense may have even more work to do, as they must determine how to continue the dominance they have exhibited to this point in the season.

With defenses swarming last year's running champion Mark Gannon, QB Jimmey Donapel and his receivers -- especially Jeff Bagnoli and Pat Monaghan -- have stepped up.

"We want to be able to dictate what we do with Mark," Wagner said. "That probably won't happen this week. But he always gives every ounce of energy, and we need him to win."

Penn will utilize Gannon in a somewhat unconventional way, often using play-action to create favorable matchups for Donapel and his receiving corps.

"We'll run plays where it looks like he's the main guy," Wagner said. "We must keep Army's offense off the field, and score."

When asked about how he motivates his team for their first tangible test of the year, Wagner responded without hesitation, as if he knew the question was coming.

"The leaders," Wagner answered. "The Gannons, Bagnolis, Willards, Pintos. They instill the importance of this game through their leadership."

Maybe their words can even drive some of the special teamers crazy.

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