Low-Profile Stars Captain Squad

You may forget their names, but you can't forget their handiwork. Unlike 1998 Penn football co-captains Jim Finn and Joe Piela, this year's tandem of center Carmelo Rubano and middle linebacker Jim Hisgen will likely not become household names in this neck of West Philadelphia. Finn was a workhorse last season, amassing 1,584 yards of total offense and 323 carries. Piela was electric at all ends of the field, setting a school record in punt return yardage and leading the team with 89 tackles. Those guys got noticed. Marquee numbers aside, however, Rubano and Hisgen might be nearly as integral to the success of this year's Penn squad as Finn and Piela were to the 1998 version of the Red and Blue. "There's no way to understate the importance of these two guys on the field," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "The roles of these two guys are exactly the same. We've got the inside linebacker calling an awful lot of the defensive stuff and we've got the center calling all of the protections. So both of those guys have to be really sharp and have to have a great grasp of what it is we're trying to do." Bagnoli and his coaching staff are asking these two seniors to do much more than excel on the gridiron. They are asking these two to provide paradigms of just what it means to be a Penn athlete. "These guys need to be leaders on the field and off the field," Penn offensive assistant Steve Downs said. "They need to be leaders in the locker room, in the meetings and in the personal lives of the guys as well." Although these two are cut from very different cloth, they are both ideally suited to lead these 1999 Quakers on their quest to chuck those goal posts back into the Schuylkill. The Quiet Riot Ask anyone on or around the Penn football team about Jim Hisgen and you're bound to hear the words "quiet" and "leader." The senior from Albany, N.Y., had a breakthrough season in 1999. En route to an honorable mention All-Ivy selection, Hisgen was third on the team with 64 tackles. He sacked the opposing quarterback twice and recovered three fumbles. "He's definitely the center of our defense. He calls all the plays, and we're lucky to have him back," senior defensive tackle Mike Germino said. "As a leader, he's more of a keep-us-in-line type guy. Some other of us make all the noise and fly off the handle. He just keeps his head about him." The most memorable of those fumble recoveries has to be the one that put a halt to a Dartmouth drive at the conclusion of Penn's victorious 17-14 season-opener in Hanover. "I really didn't think about it," Hisgen said of his pivotal scoop against the Big Green. "I just grabbed the ball. The feeling I got on the sideline after that play was probably the most exhilarating moment of my Penn career." This is really the most excited Jim Hisgen will get while talking football. "I don't like to go around and hoot and holler," Hisgen said. "I'd rather lead more by example." The 235-pounder's laid-back style of leadership may have something to do with his pedigree. While many of his current Penn football brethren may have cut their teeth talking trash for a high school gridiron juggernaut, Hisgen was learning to keep his shoes smartly polished at Christian Brothers Academy, a military school just outside of Albany. "As for partying and stuff like that, most of that stuff was more formal and regimented in a military school," Hisgen said. "Kids got hit by the brothers and stuff like that, so Penn was somewhat of a culture shock." However you look at it, Hisgen has adjusted fabulously to life here at Penn. He has mastered Bagnoli's defensive scheme and has indeed become the unit's cornerstone. With the graduation of two-time first-team All-Ivy linebacker Darren Macdonald, this year will be markedly different for Hisgen. D-Mac, the consummate fiery competitor, racked up 269 tackles in his career and, more importantly, was instrumental in the success of his junior linebacking mate. "Darren and I were good friends," Hisgen said. "We played a lot like brothers because we knew just what the other guy could do." Quakers fans can only hope that Hisgen can establish fraternal bonds with the new crop of linebackers, which includes juniors Dan Morris and Paul Savini and a host of others. "It's always nice to have a senior that's been there before to take a leadership role with the younger guys," Bagnoli said. "Jimmy knows that this is part of the territory." The Quakers have little to worry about in this regard. The Man in the Middle Carmelo Rubano is never afraid to speak his mind. "If there's one thing that is unique about Carmelo, it might be the way he always makes his feelings clear to the guys on the team," Penn senior guard Todd Giblin said. Giblin is the perfect person to consult concerning Rubano, since the two have been teammates since they both entered their freshman year at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, N.J. Even all those years ago, Rubano exemplified the kind of intensity that prompted the Penn players to vote him captain at the conclusion of the 1998 campaign. "The thing about Carmelo is that, from the very first time I met him, he showed a sense of intensity and of absolute dedication to the game," Bergen Catholic coach Fred Stengel said. Stengel's Bergen program has amazingly produced three of the last four Penn captains -- Rubano as well as both Finn and Piela. Coach Bagnoli has built a close relationship with the northern New Jersey school over the years. "Our relationship is a feather in his [Stengel's] cap because of the high volume of kids he has going to an Ivy League school," Bagnoli said. "It's a feather in our cap because of the number of high-quality kids we get. This close kinship between institutions was one of the prime motivations for Rubano coming to Penn. "I remember when I was looking around at schools, it felt a lot like Penn was home. There were so many Bergen guys going here at the time that it felt natural. You could feel comfortable here," the Penn captain said. The Penn coaching staff, in turn, feels that Rubano should feel right at home in his new role as captain. "There's no doubt that he'll make a great captain by his leadership and his intensity," Penn offensive coordinator Chuck Priore said. "Obviously the returning center position is an important one just like quarterback or free safety on defense. He's got talent to lead this crew." Rubano means more to the Quakers with the absence of Finn and 1998 All-Ivy quarterback Matt Rader. He is now the linchpin of an offense without an experienced tailback or a quarterback schooled in the Penn system. Ties that Bind Although their respective demeanors may be in sharp contrast with one another, Hisgen and Rubano are similar in three main ways. First and foremost, both are committed senior leaders that put team success ahead of individual glory -- that almost goes without saying. Second, both of these big men have shown an admirable ability to overcome injuries. "I think that both of these guys are great examples to the younger guys of how you have to give more than 100 percent every day, even if you're banged up," Downs said. According to Rubano himself, he is absolutely healthy and feels no effects from the back injury that prevented him from practicing early on in the 1998 season and hampered him throughout the remainder of the campaign. Similarly, Hisgen reports a clean bill of health and no lingering pain from a rather severely sprained knee that kept him out of two games last season. Finally, the 1999 Penn football captains have hopes to spend the next phase of their life on Wall Street. Hisgen, a Whartonite with a concentration in Finance, sees the financial world in the cards. Rubano, an Economics major in the College, has similar aspirations. "Last summer I worked over at Goldman Sachs in New York City and that was a great experience," Rubano said. "That's definitely what I want to do." Even though their futures might be looming on the very-near horizon, these two student athletes have one thing on their minds right now -- another Ivy League crown.

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