Blue White Illustrated

THE STANKO FILE S T A T I S T I C S Helped Howland High rush for 3,895 yards on 689 attempts last season. ... Had 27 pan- cake blocks as a senior. H O N O R S Was named All-Ohio three consecutive seasons. ... First sophomore to be invited to the Big 22 ban- quet in Ohio. linemen in Ohio. After his senior season, he was giv- en an honor that seemed to be made just for him: the Mack Truck Bulldog award, presented annually to the area's top offensive lineman by the New Castle (Ohio) News. A granite cube with a chrome bulldog sitting on top – the same chrome bulldog that Mack uses as a hood ornament on all of its 18- wheelers – the award had an aesthet- ic appeal that Stanko could definite- ly appreciate. "I've had guys make fun of me before because I say this all the time, but I am kind of a country boy," he said. "I love to be outside and I like to work on my trucks. I really do pride myself on that." He prides himself on another thing, too: In March 2011, Stanko became the first recruit to join Penn State's Class of 2012, and he maintained that oath until he signed his letter of intent almost 11 months later. "I always wanted to know where I was going to play my college football before my senior year. That way I didn't have to really worry about it," Stanko explained. "I didn't want to call five dif- ferent schools once a week. Even keeping up with just a couple coach- es was really hard." Before he made his decision, Stanko was contemplating offers from Kent State, Northwestern, West Virginia and Stanford. But after a visit to Happy Valley, the Rivals.com three-star prospect said he realized he could not pass up Penn State's top-notch foot- ball facilities and the opportunity to en- roll in the Smeal College of Business. "There is going to be life after football, so you have to have a really good de- gree from a strong university," he said, "and I really couldn't find any- thing better than at Penn State." W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated most never happened. In fact, at one point, it looked as though high school football wasn't really going to be an option. That's because Schwan's L5 verte- O bra was fractured during two-a-day practices prior to his junior year, forc- ing the Harrisburg, Pa., native to vis- it a chiropractor and endure a tough rehab regimen during his first full year of varsity football. While the in- jury wasn't so serious as to rule out a return to the sport, his shot at earn- ing a top spot on the depth chart was gone, and that may have been what hurt the most. "I really didn't know how bad it was at first, because I was originally di- agnosed with a few other things be- fore they found the fracture," Schwan said. "So once I learned this, I was just like, 'Not again, not again.' Be- cause I already dealt with all of these other diagnoses, which basical- ly meant I was starting over again. "It was always my dream to play col- lege football on some level, so when you're forced to sit out your junior year, it kind of gave me the feeling that my dreams were crushed." Schwan fought through the tough times and gained medical clearance about two months later, giving him the chance to rejoin his teammates and, at the very least, gain valuable practice experience heading into Central Dauphin High's final few games and playoff run. As soon as he came back, however, the young de- fensive end was forced right into the mix. "We had to sit a few guys out in the game against Carlisle," said Sean Rosler, Central Dauphin's defensive line coach. "So that gave Evan his first shot at getting some playing time, and he actually ended up starting the Injuries threatened to derail his football career, but Evan Schwan persevered THE SCHWAN FILE EVAN ALMIGHTY ne of the more dramatic aspects of Evan Schwan's journey to Penn State is that the journey al- S T A T I S T I C S Finished with 72 tackles and 16.5 sacks during his senior season. ... Helped lead Central Dauphin High to the PIAA Class AAAA title. H O N O R S Was named Class AAAA All-State by pafootballnews.com and The (Harrsiburg) Patriot-News. ... Chosen to play in the Big 33 game. ... Listed as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com. and a three-star prospect by Scout.com. Bill Anderson game. He had something like five tackles, a couple hurries and a sack in his first 10 plays. He was really playing well. He was pumped up. It was great. "But then he tweaked his shoulder and had to come out of the game." That "tweak" turned out to be a sep- arated shoulder and partially torn labrum, ending any shot Schwan had at giving the Rams a boast heading into the playoffs. "Of course, right when that hap- pened, I was like, 'Man, this really sucks.' Right when I came back, my teammates seemed pretty hyped, excited to have me back," he said. "Then after this happened, I just felt like people on the team began to for- get about me, especially for the rest of the season and into the off-season whenever I was held out of things." Schwan made it clear from the start that he intended to come back. Yearning for just one last shot at high school football, he was ready to prove his doubters wrong. "He did get a label as being a bit fragile," Rosler said. "But he took the rehab pretty seriously, and lo and be- hold, there wasn't one time that summer that he wasn't there giving it everything he could. I think I re- member everyone watching what he squatted, I don't think they let him go too high with that, but basically we knew he was going to at least be ready to rock, ready to give it his all come the fall." Schwan did just that his senior year, racking up 72 tackles and 16.5 sacks – four more sacks than local ri- val Noah Spence, a five-star defensive end prospect. Playing every snap last season, Schwan felt as though he proved the doubters wrong and also that he belonged in collegiate football. After an impressive playoff run, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound prospect had one game left to leave his mark – the Rams' matchup with North Penn for the PIAA Class AAAA championship. "I was so excited for that game," he said. "After everything I went through, then coming back, having a pretty good season and ending up in the state championship – definitely a day I'll never forget." SEE SCHWAN PAGE 37 A P R I L 1 1 , 2 0 1 2 31

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