On Campus
‘Brawl’ is special for WVU special teams standout Hathaway Planning a Thanksgiving dinner is always tough with a college football player like Bobby Hathaway in the family.
Not only did he eat his way into his linebacker position after playing safety two years ago, but then his West Virginia team scheduled archrival Pitt the last two Thanksgiving nights.
The Hathaways will again have one less seat at the dinner table at their home in Carmichaels today.
But one thing’s for sure, they’ll find a way to feed Bobby.
“Last year they had leftovers for me so hopefully I’ll get that again,” said Hathaway with a hearty smile.
Hathaway has a reputation among sportswriters as being the most polite and unassuming player on the team. But according to his father Oscar, even his soft-spoken son can pop off a four-letter word if he has to miss a meal, even if it’s to play Pitt, another four-letter word for WVU fans this time of year.
West Virginia (8-1) and Pitt (5-5) will meet for the 98th renewal of the “Backyard Brawl” at 8 o’clock tonight in Morgantown. ESPN will televise the game.
The game has special meaning for Hathaway, who’s the only Pennsylvanian on either team that comes from an area where the Mountaineer fans outnumber the Pitt fans. (Carmichaels is about 20 miles north of Morgantown.)
“It’s nice having friends and family able to come and support me and the team,” said Hathaway, whose maternal grandfather, the late Fred Stuvek, played tackle for the Mountaineers in the late 1940s.
Hathaway, a 6-1, 230-pound sophomore, is a special teams stalwart on punt, kickoff and kick return, and shares snaps at his outside linebacker position with starter Jeff Noechel. This is Hathaway’s second year playing linebacker, a position he played at Carmichaels, after spending his redshirt freshman year at safety.
“The coaches told me that when they recruited me,” Hathaway explained. “They said once I gained weight-which they knew I would-they’d move me to outside ‘backer.”
Two years of weight training and few turkey dinners later, Hathaway is on a gravy train with biscuit wheels as a member of the 12th-ranked and bowl-bound Mountaineers.
“It’s going pretty well,” Hathaway said. “I’m getting the chance to contribute and I’m happy with what I’m getting so far and our team is doing well.”
After posting 21 tackles last year, Hathaway has 17 this year with two games and a bowl game to go. He also has a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two sacks this year.
“Throughout this season, growing and gaining game experience is the main thing,” he added. “It’s a little different from practice. I’m playing with a little more confidence … (because I’m) getting to go out there and do a little more.”
Much like how close he is to making it home for dinner, Hathaway is just as close to having a seat at the table on the WVU starting defense.
But for now he’s eating up all the leftovers he can get.
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The football season may be over for local small college teams but a few local players will compete in all-star games.
Waynesburg senior defensive back Nick Emley and senior right tackle Craig Petrus were the only players from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference selected to play in the East Coast Bowl, which showcases players from NCAA Division II and III and NAIA schools in a north-vs.-south format.
The game takes place Saturday in Petersburg, Va.
A Belle Vernon native, Petrus was a two-time all-PAC selection and started 35 games during his career as a Yellow Jacket.
Another Belle Vernon graduate, Washington & Jefferson senior wide receiver Aaron Krepps, will also play in an all-star game.
Krepps was one of only 46 players selected to the AFCA Division III all-star game, the Aztec Bowl, which will take place Saturday, Dec. 17, in Toluca, Mexico, against the Mexican National Team.
Past participants selected to play in the Aztec Bowl include Clint Kriewaldt, the current starting linebacker for the Steelers who played at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Krepps is the seventh W&J player ever picked for the prestigious game. The three-time all-PAC selection and 2004 PAC player of the year finished his career as the school’s second-leading receiver all-time with 181 receptions.
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With basketball season under way, here is a look at how all the local teams have fared after the first week:
The California (Pa.) men’s and women’s teams are off to 2-0 starts. The Vulcan men’s team throttled non-conference foes Penn State-McKeesport and Geneva by 48 and 27 points. The women’s team won the Holiday Inn Classic with home wins over Shepherd and Dowling.
The Waynesburg women’s team is 2-1 after splitting games at the Allegheny tournament and beating Pitt-Greensburg Tuesday night for the first time since 2001. The Yellow Jacket men’s team is 1-2 with its lone win coming against Gallaudet in the Mt. Aloysius tournament.
Penn State Fayette’s men’s team is 2-3. the Roaring Lions won two straight conference games after a tough non-conference slate resulted in losses to St. Vincent, West Liberty State and Point Park.
Justin Zackal may be contacted online at jzackal@hotmail.com.