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Three local athletes are playing for nationally-ranked University of Pittsburgh. Chas Alexcih (Penn Manor), Jordan Gibbs (Penn Manor) and Pat Bostick (Manheim Township) are on the Panthers' roster.
Gibbs and Bostick were recruited by the school, while Alexcih is a true success story, walking on a freshman and now earning significant playing time as a redshirt sophomore at defensive tackle. He made his first tackle last season against Louisville and has two sacks this season as a special teams and defensive sub.
Gibbs, a redshirt sophomore who stands 6-feet-7 and 295 pounds, was a tight end in high school but is now playing a reserve role on offensive line and special teams for the Panthers, ranked eighth in the most recent AP poll.
Bostick, a junior who has started 16 games in two seasons, came into camp hoping to start at quarterback, but lost out to fifth-year senior Bill Stull.
"We've always been able to attract outstanding players from eastern Pennsylvania and all three of these players fit that bill," said Dave Wannstedt, head coach at Pitt.
• One true freshman who is already making a big impact at the Division I level is University of Buffalo fullback Nick Sizemore (Manheim Township). He was recruited heavily by the school and has three tackles on special teams while playing in goal line formations.
"Nick has great speed and is physical with a nasty streak. He is playing in three out of four special-teams packages," said Lee Chambers, running backs coach at Buffalo. "He has a great chance at being our starting fullback next year, and we can use him in certain routes as he knows to get open and do something with the ball."
• Matt Balasavage (Lancaster Catholic) is a frequent contributor in a variety of roles for Temple. The junior only has one catch, but has played every game and is often used as a blocker in the offense of the Owls, who are having one of the best years in recent history with an 8-2 record.
"Matt is really developing into the type of student-athlete we covet in this program. He has matured markedly in the last year," said Temple head coach Al Golden. "He is smart, tough, disciplined and has improved his strength and conditioning significantly in the last year. He is a problem solver on the field and we are grateful to have him."
• Justin Myer (Manheim Central) is a kickoff specialist for the Virginia Tech Hokies. The sophomore has kicked off since the second game of last season. He averages 64.1 yards on kickoffs, with 11 touchbacks, and is expected to compete for all place-kicking duties next season.
There are other local players redshirting at Division I schools this year, including Cody Booth (PM) at Temple, Jeff Vinson (McCaskey) at Oklahoma, Tom Nardo (Lancaster Catholic) at Iowa, and Lebanon's Tom Houser (Army) and James Capello at Iowa State.
• Lancaster County also has its share of graduates playing key roles for teams in the Championship Subdivision, previously known as Division I-AA. One of the most successful is Penn Manor graduate Mike Stover at nationally-ranked William and Mary.
The junior defensive tackle has bulked up since entering college and now stands at 6-feet-3, 265 pounds. Stover has 18 tackles (10 solo) for the 9-1 Tribe, 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits.
"Mike played as a true freshman after injuries left us short-handed and he has been a fixture ever since," said Trevor Andrews, defensive line coach for the fourth-ranked Tribe.
"He loves football, takes coaching well and does a great job reading screens and making the tackles on the short plays. He will be one of our defensive leaders next year."
Ty Bynum (Conestoga Valley) is making his name known as an offensive weapon at the University of Rhode Island. Bynum, a redshirt freshman, has 32 catches for 449 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate season.
• Bucknell has three Lancaster County athletes playing key roles. Travis Nissley, a junior from Manheim Central, starts at linebacker. He is second in tackles with 76. Sophomore defensive lineman Robert De La Rosa (Manheim Township) has 35 tackles, seven and a half for a loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery while starting all nine games for the Bison (3-6). Senior linebacker Sam Nina-Sinkam (MT) started two games before succumbing to injury, recording 12 tackles and intercepting one pass for 14 yards.
• Henry Glackin, a sophomore from Solanco, has been a two-year starter on the offensive line for Towson. He is joined by Tim Farley (MT), a backup offensive lineman. Glackin started three of the first four games before being sidelined by injury, and Farley, a redshirt freshman, has seen playing time in seven of eight games.
• Lampeter-Strasburg grad Nick Richmond (6-feet-3, 305) is a senior center at Delaware State. Richmond, who played in eight games as a freshman, has started every game for the Hornets (3-6) over the last three seasons.
• Ben Stabler (Manheim Township) is a sophomore offensive lineman at Harvard who sees action as a key reserve.
