PENNSYLVANIA SPORTS

High school, college & pro sports scores, photos & schedules

• Defense will be pushed tonight
We'll start with some of the best things about Joe Paterno's sixth-ranked football team as it heads into tonight's Big Ten contest with 3-2 Wisconsin at Camp Randall.

• THE PENN STATE MATCHUP
PENN STATE

• Bears open year 2-0
FACING OFF It didn't take long for a high-expectations 2008-09 Hershey Bears club to make a mark. By beating the Norfolk Admirals 5-3 Friday night at Scope in Norfolk, Va., Hershey opened a season with two road victories for just the second time in its 71-year AHL history. The 2006-07 Bears, the other Hershey team to do it, began with four straight road wins en route to winning the league regular-season points championship and reaching the Calder Cup finals. TURNING POINT Trailing 2-1, Hershey got consecutive goals from Graham Mink (14:31), Andrew Gordon (power play at 16:57) and Alex Giroux (19:01) during a 4:30 span in the second period to take a 4-2 lead. Norfolk drew within 4-3 on Paul Szczechura's score at 9:43 of the third, but Chris Bourque sealed it with an empty-netter at 18:44. Oskar Osala scored his first Hershey goal to produce a 1-0 lead at 9:52 of the first. BLUE LINES Bears goalie Daren Machesney (19 saves) improved to 2-0-0. ... Wyatt Smith (power play at 2:32) and Brandon Bochenski (8:32) scored the second-period goals that gave Norfolk a 2-1 lead. ... Goalie Simeon Varlamov is scheduled to make his Hershey debut tonight at Norfolk. ... Former Bear Daren Rumble made his regular-season debut as Norfolk's head coach. ... Darren Reid missed his second straight game due to injury. ... Hershey scratched Patrick McNeill, Steve Pinizzotto, Maxime Lacroix, Greg Amadio and Grant McNeill. ... Andrew Joudrey and Francois Bouchard made their 2008-09 Hershey debuts. Erstwhile centerman Joudrey played left wing. ... Giroux exited in the third due to injury, but returned to the game. ... Mink has four goals in two games. ... Norfolk goalie Karri Ramo (33 saves) took the loss. ... Rookie defenseman Karl Alzner assisted on Giroux's goal, giving him assists in his first two Hershey games.

• Colts have postseason potential
Wide receivers can be game-changers, sure. But usually they're the kind of WRs who score at least once per game.

• CV's Shuey starts fast at districts
YORK - Maybe you can't win a 36-hole tournament after one round, but Cumberland Valley senior Jordan Shuey sure did try.

• Eagles stick to their script
All that was required from Cumberland Valley Friday night was 15 minutes of quality football.

• Hershey powers to 2nd in row
Despite a 1-4 start to the season, Hershey picked up some valuable growing pains along the way as it knocked heads with some stiff competition.

• Mechanicsburg charges into states
LEBANON - Linda Till and the Mechanicsburg girls' tennis team had two goals entering Friday's District 3-AAA Team Championships at Cedar Crest High School.

• Wildcats put Big Spring away quickly
Although Matt Koveleski did not say much about the two big plays he made early, Mechanicsburg's senior receiver/cornerback could have uttered plenty ... and then plenty more.

• East Penn rallies in last 8 minutes
East Pennsboro's gutsy third-quarter comeback had been answered by a Milton Hershey touchdown.

• Greencastle keeps its record perfect
GREENCASTLE - Tyler Szaflarski and Devin Schaeffer ran for fourth-quarter touchdowns Friday night as Greencastle-Antrim improved to 7-0 by beating Susquehanna Twp. 35-21.

• Lancaster Catholic rips Northern Lebanon
LANCASTER - A game that was supposed to be a key battle in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section III race quickly turned into an emphatic statement from Lancaster Catholic.

• Land helps South reclaim top spot
Riders from Southern states won Friday night's $10,000 Adequan/USEF Prix de States Junior Jumper competition at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show at the Farm Show Complex.

• NO. 6 PENN STATE (6-0, 2-0) at WISCONSIN (3-2, 0-2)
SITE: Camp Randall.