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Abortions On County Women Drop 9%

Sunday, January 09, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 13C QUICK WORDS: FOR THE LOVE OF THE
GAME 





For the love of the game &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Playing lightweight football for four years at the University of
Pennsylvania, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dan St. Pierre has heard all the questions, all the jokes, before"Is it
flag football?," they ask the former West Hazleton center. "Is it Nerf
football? When you say it's football for guys 160 pounds and under, people
don't understand its real football." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But lightweight football at Penn -- and throughout the rest of the Eastern
Lightweight Football League (ELFL) -- is certainly real football. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's just that its participants happen to be a little bit smaller then
their "heavyweight" (that's what the lightweight players call it)
counterparts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some even have to cut weight to make the limit, while their alter egos are
bulking up. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a fast-paced game," said St. Pierre. "Everybody's the same size, and
a guy that's 160 is a hell of a lot quicker than a 260-pounder. And I'll tell
you what, I've gotten some hits -- especially in the games against Army and
Navy -- that I got up and said, `Wow, this is definitely a level above high
school, even at 160 pounds and under.' The players are quality athletes.
They're good football players. They just didn't have the size. " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When he was West Hazleton's starting center before he graduated in 1990,
St. Pierre was a tiny lineman even by high school standards. At 6-foot, 160,
he frequently faced 200- and 300-pounders on the other side of the ball, ready
to come crashing through. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He had the grades for an Ivy League education, but his size made Division
I-AA football an impossibility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then came a brochure from Penn about lightweight football. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If it weren't for lightweight football, I don't know if I would have gone
to Penn," he said. "I wasn't aware of Penn's stature when I was in high
school. But once I got the info on football, I got interested in Penn.
Otherwise, I might have been at Lehigh." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And Lehigh, like most schools, doesn't have a lightweight team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In fact, there are just four different schools on Penn's six-game schedule,
which begins in late September and ends in early November -- Princeton, Navy,
Cornell, and Army. That's the league. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There's been some interest from other schools," said St. Pierre. "Drexel
might have been one of them. I'd love to see the league grow. It's a great
opportunity for athletes of my size to continue to play football." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 or St. Pierre, his four years at Penn presented more than just a chance to
play, it was a chance to star. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He started all four years, playing every offensive line position, and
defensive tackle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Last year he went both ways, the only player on the team to do so. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But this year, as strictly a defensive tackle, he really emerged. Against
Princeton he had 11 tackles, a pair of sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He was Penn's Outstanding Defensive Lineman of the Year, and was an Eastern
Lightweight Football League first-team All-League defensive tackle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In his four years here, he has given many a teammate and opponent a taste
for what hitting is really supposed to be like," said Penn defensive line
coach Tony DePietro. "He will be sorely missed next year." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I had a real good season," he said. "This is probably the first of the
three years I've been able to concentrate on one position. The awards are a
great honor, and you know that the awards are out there. They're in the back
of your mind. But all you think about when you're playing is hitting the hell
out of the next guy." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite his efforts, Penn was just 2-4 this year while the school's
heavyweight team was undefeated and the Ivy League champions. They got all the
glory, playing before sellout crowds with front-page headlines in The
Philadelphia Inquirer . The lightweight team played before a couple hundred
people, and was barely mentioned in The Daily Pennsylvanian , Penn's
newspaper. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But these guys play for something else. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's not tough to make the commitment, because of the love of the sport,"
St. Pierre said. "It's the love of the game. We work hard, and come Friday's
game or Saturday's game, we go out there and play our hearts out.

For The Love 
Of The Game 
Playing Lightweight Football For Four Years At The University Of Pennsylvania, 
Dan St. Pierre Has Heard All The Questions, All The Jokes, Before.

For The Love Of The Game Playing Lightweight Football For Four Years At The University Of Pennsylvania, Dan St. Pierre Has Heard All The Questions, All The Jokes, Before.