Jeff Scanlon didn't know much about the Penn-Ohio Football Classic when asked by Seneca Valley High School coach Ron Butschele if he wanted to participate.

He has since discovered it is a little bit more than just another all-star game.

"We end each practice by saying 'P-A Pride.' There's a lot of pride on the line in this game," Scanlon said.

Scanlon, Seneca Valley teammate Gary Flavion and Quaker Valley tight end/defensive tackle Mitch Soman are the only players on the Pennsylvania roster from the PG North coverage area. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at West Branch High School in Beloit, Ohio. Player introductions will begin at 7 p.m. Pennsylvania holds a 20-8 edge in the series.

Scanlon, who is 5 feet 10, 215 pounds, will play linebacker against the Ohio All-Stars in the 29th edition of the Penn-Ohio Classic. Flavion, 6-1, 250, will play on the offensive line with Soman, 6-0, 260, on the defensive line.

Practicing for the game has been a labor of love for the Seneca Valley players. It takes them between 45 and 50 minutes one way to reach the practice field at Blackhawk High School. That's almost two hours day that have been eaten up in travel the past 10 days.

Jim Wilson, who resigned as Freedom's head coach after last season and will serve as an assistant at Riverside this fall, is Pennsylvania's head coach. He said the team's strength is its defense. That might have something to do with the fact he gave his defensive coaches carte blanche when selecting from the talent pool.

"I'm old fashioned that way," he said. "I believe in starting with a strong defense. If they can't score, we can't lose."

Scanlon said Monday was the first practice the defense really started to click and it gave the Pennsylvania offense fits that night.

"We really came together," he said. "It wasn't the linemen hanging with the linemen or the defensive backs staying together. We came together as a unit and everybody clicked."

The defense is loaded with outstanding players such as Riverside linebacker Jake Wickline, who will play at Edinboro, and Burgettstown linebacker Dan Conley, a Saint Francis (Pa.) University recruit. Wickline rushed for more than 4,000 yards in his high school career, while Conley was a bruising runner.

Offensively, Freedom quarterback Shawn Lehocky figures to lead the way. A Westminster recruit, he passed for 1,456 yards and 11 scores his senior year.

Beaver Area's versatile Manny Cutlip will serve as the backup quarterback and will play some wide receiver.

Lehocky is an outstanding passer. Cutlip, who rushed for 497 yards and passed for another 575, is just an outstanding athlete at 6-2, 215. He will attend IUP and play either linebacker or strong safety.

Lehocky and Cutlip are not the only offensive weapons Pennsylvania has. Wilson said Western Beaver's Shane Waida, who will attend Thiel, and New Brighton's Eric Walker, who is headed to Bethany, are talented running backs. So is Cornell's Keith Jackson, who is headed for Waynesburg.

Waida rushed 227 times for 1,368 yards and scored 20 touchdowns for the Golden Beavers. Walker gained 1,125 yards and scored 15 times.

At wide receiver, Lehocky will be looking for Cutlip, Blackhawk's Brooks Roorback, who is headed for Duquesne University, and tight end Kenny Cottman of Beaver Falls, who will be at Slippery Rock in the fall.

What Wilson likes the most about the group of players he has is their attitude. He said they hustle all the time and expects that to pay off late in the game.

Scanlon just likes the idea of playing in an all-star game.

"A lot of my friends have said they're going to go to the game and my high school coach is going to be there along with my college coach," said Scanlon, a Waynesburg University recruit. "I'm looking forward to it ... it should be fun."

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NOTES: The game is co-sponsored by the Midwestern Athletic Conference Coaches Association in Pennsylvania and the Quad County Coaches Association in Ohio. ... Pennsylvania won last year's game, 27-13.