Scott Paxson

Before listing all the positions he plays for Roman Catholic High's football team, Joe McCourt has to take a very deep breath. Halfback, fullback, wideout, strong safety, free safety, kick returner, kicker. . . The only time he's not on the field is when Roman is punting. "It really doesn't make a difference where they use me, as long as it gives us a better chance to win," McCourt said. "I guess running back is my favorite, but I also like splitting out wide sometimes and breaking to the ball in pass coverage.

Roman Catholic standout Scott Paxson, one of the key ingredients in the Cahillites' drive to the Catholic League Red Division football title last season, made an oral commitment last night to play at Penn State. Paxson, a 6-foot-4 1/2, 240-pound tight end-defensive end, is widely considered to be one of the top 50 prospects in the state. He selected the Nittany Lions over Ohio State, Maryland, and Syracuse. Paxson phoned Penn State head coach Joe Paterno with the news at 9:30 p.m. "He said, 'I hope this is a big tight end calling from Philadelphia to say he's committing,' " Paxson said.

Scott Paxson, a former star lineman for Penn State, faces trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a woman at his campus apartment more than a year ago. Paxson, from Roman Catholic High School, was charged with sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault, prosecutor Lance Marshall said. Paxson said the woman consented to sex. Judge Jonathan Grine ruled Thursday there was enough evidence to send the case to trial. The woman, a Penn State student at the time, said she went to Paxson's apartment on Dec. 15, 2004, after meeting him online.

Like the mythical hydra monster that became more fierce each time it was beheaded, Penn State's defensive line grows stronger the more it is diminished. Amani Purcell transferred. Ed Johnson was expelled. Lavon Chisley was declared academically ineligible. Scott Paxson was demoted. Jim Shaw was hurt in the opening game. And yet, in three victories in three weeks, the Nittany Lions' front four has performed so well that Joe Paterno, who lathers praise on his players about as often as he programs hip-hop into his iPod, said it "may be as good . . . as there is in the country.

Joe Paterno stole Christmas. Not that the Penn State football players care. With the beach, the bikinis, the balmy climate and their first bowl appearance in three years, the Nittany Lions don't seem upset that they missed out on the holidays at home. "Sure, I wish I was with my family," defensive tackle Scott Paxson, a Philadelphian, said last night as he stood near the Sheraton Bal Harbour's pool and watched a perfect day turn to dusk. "But I'm not going to complain about being on a beach when it's 80 degrees.

If not the main, Lou Pagnoni is assuredly one of the characters on Monsignor Bonner High's football team. "I like having fun," he said. "I have my share of goofy moments. "If the class is going a little slow, if it seems like everybody's bored, I'll do something to try to make everybody happy. Crack a little joke. " He paused. "Maybe not as much as I used to," he added. "I used to get some [detentions]. You have to know when enough is enough. " In classrooms, yes. On football fields, no. Saturday at chilly Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Pagnoni, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior, was relentless at defensive end throughout a Catholic Red first-round playoff, and the result was a 21-7 win for Bonner over Roman Catholic.

Penn State, which lost out on one blue-chip Philadelphia-area football recruit earlier this week, landed another yesterday. Norristown wide receiver Ernie Terrell, the defending PIAA state champion at 200 and 400 meters, said he had given an oral commitment to the Nittany Lions, for whom he also will run track. The addition of Terrell, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder, helped salvage a discouraging week on the Southeastern Pennsylvania recruiting trail for the Nittany Lions. On Wednesday, Cardinal O'Hara tailback Kevin Jones, widely considered the nation's No. 1 prospect at his position, chose Virginia Tech over Penn State.

More and more, La Salle's Emmett McGowan is getting the chance to flex the muscles he worked so hard to build last spring. A mainstay in the weight room during the off-season, McGowan, according to La Salle head coach Joe Colistra, is also the mainstay of the team's ever-improving defense. "He means everything to our defense," Colistra said. "He's the Rock of Gibraltar for us. " McGowan, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior defensive end with multiple responsibilities, made seven tackles, including three solo stops, as the visiting Explorers routed Roman Catholic, 44-7, Friday night at A.A. Garthwaite Field in a rematch of last year's Catholic League Red Division championship game.

Scott Paxson, the Philadelphia native who was an outspoken presence in the Nittany Lions' locker room and an unsung hero on the field in their 12-1 season, will be one of three Penn State seniors in today's Hula Bowl. Paxson, a Roman Catholic graduate, will be joined by defensive end Matt Rice and safety Calvin Lowry in the Hawaiian game meant to showcase senior talent to NFL scouts. Meanwhile, another local defensive tackle, Temple's Antwon Burton, will play in today's East-West Shrine Game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

TAMPA - Scott Paxson sat at his table during the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl interview session yesterday morning in the University of South Florida's Sun Dome and smiled. "I'm taking it all in, man," the reserve defensive lineman said. "Taking it all in. The older guys told me I'll remember this the rest of my life. So, I'm stepping back and trying to enjoy it. " It didn't matter to the former Roman Catholic High School and Penn State product that few of the 300-plus media members present were interested in chatting with him. It didn't matter that he probably will be deactivated Sunday and won't get to suit up for the Steelers' Super Bowl XLIII battle against the Arizona Cardinals.

TAMPA - Scott Paxson sat at his table during the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl interview session yesterday morning in the University of South Florida's Sun Dome and smiled. "I'm taking it all in, man," the reserve defensive lineman said. "Taking it all in. The older guys told me I'll remember this the rest of my life. So, I'm stepping back and trying to enjoy it. " It didn't matter to the former Roman Catholic High School and Penn State product that few of the 300-plus media members present were interested in chatting with him. It didn't matter that he probably will be deactivated Sunday and won't get to suit up for the Steelers' Super Bowl XLIII battle against the Arizona Cardinals.

Scott Paxson, a former star lineman for Penn State, faces trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a woman at his campus apartment more than a year ago. Paxson, from Roman Catholic High School, was charged with sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault, prosecutor Lance Marshall said. Paxson said the woman consented to sex. Judge Jonathan Grine ruled Thursday there was enough evidence to send the case to trial. The woman, a Penn State student at the time, said she went to Paxson's apartment on Dec. 15, 2004, after meeting him online.

Scott Paxson, the Philadelphia native who was an outspoken presence in the Nittany Lions' locker room and an unsung hero on the field in their 12-1 season, will be one of three Penn State seniors in today's Hula Bowl. Paxson, a Roman Catholic graduate, will be joined by defensive end Matt Rice and safety Calvin Lowry in the Hawaiian game meant to showcase senior talent to NFL scouts. Meanwhile, another local defensive tackle, Temple's Antwon Burton, will play in today's East-West Shrine Game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Joe Paterno stole Christmas. Not that the Penn State football players care. With the beach, the bikinis, the balmy climate and their first bowl appearance in three years, the Nittany Lions don't seem upset that they missed out on the holidays at home. "Sure, I wish I was with my family," defensive tackle Scott Paxson, a Philadelphian, said last night as he stood near the Sheraton Bal Harbour's pool and watched a perfect day turn to dusk. "But I'm not going to complain about being on a beach when it's 80 degrees.

Sue Paterno, hobbled by the broken leg she suffered in a fall this summer, moved slowly into Beaver Stadium's media room just before her husband's postgame news conference Nov. 5. His wife's surprise appearance touched off immediate speculation that, after Penn State's impressive victory over Wisconsin in its final home game of a remarkably successful 2005 season, Joe Paterno would at last be revealing his retirement plans. But Sue Paterno limped away before her husband even arrived at the podium.

Scott Paxson scooped up the fumble, and Beaver Stadium, cobbled together in various expansions over the decades like a giant erector set, shook and rumbled beneath the joyful writhings of the reborn. "That," said Penn State freshman Deon Butler of the explosion of 109,839 long-suffering fans, "was pure pandemonium. " Tamba Hali's sack of Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith near midfield with less than 1 1/2 minutes to play produced the turnover that clinched unbeaten Penn State's 17-10 victory over the sixth-ranked Buckeyes last night and certified the Nittany Lions' return to national prominence.

The long-dormant excitement that used to color Penn State football weekends as dramatically as autumn transforms Mount Nittany's foliage has been rising in State College. As the unbeaten and 16th-ranked Nittany Lions' Saturday night matchup with No. 6 Ohio State approaches, each day brings new plans to capture and display the reawakened spirit and welcome Penn State back into the national spotlight. ESPN will set its College GameDay telecast there. Cold Pizza, the ESPN2 morning show, will emanate from Happy Valley on Friday.

Like the mythical hydra monster that became more fierce each time it was beheaded, Penn State's defensive line grows stronger the more it is diminished. Amani Purcell transferred. Ed Johnson was expelled. Lavon Chisley was declared academically ineligible. Scott Paxson was demoted. Jim Shaw was hurt in the opening game. And yet, in three victories in three weeks, the Nittany Lions' front four has performed so well that Joe Paterno, who lathers praise on his players about as often as he programs hip-hop into his iPod, said it "may be as good . . . as there is in the country.

The links between Penn State football and its home state are as deep and strong as the Nittany Lions' rosters traditionally have been in Joe Paterno's 40-year reign. During Penn State's victory over Cincinnati on Saturday, the Pennsylvania flag quivered softly above Beaver Stadium; 70 to 80 state legislators watched the game, for free, in seats and suites; and on the sideline below, pacing nonstop, was Paterno, whose bespectacled face has become, like the Liberty Bell, a cherished state symbol.

While it probably isn't ready to make a serious run for the roses on New Year's Day, the 2005 Penn State football team is at least supposed to put the gallop back into a program that over the last few seasons has performed like a gimpy nag. To accomplish that, however, the Nittany Lions have to hope that all their uneasy thrashing in the preseason starting gate didn't permanently damage their dreams. Exiting a disturbing summer camp, the team that many handicappers predicted would restore the growl to Penn State football, the luster to Joe Paterno's reputation, and the optimism to Happy Valley was, if not yet lame, clearly limping.