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PA Profile of
Marco Pecora
By Todd Irwin,
Pennsylvania Wrestling Newsmagazine, January 2008
Richland wrestling coach Dan Sichak can
remember when Marco Pecora was little, he'd see Pecora running around with a
football in his hands in somebody's backyard.
"He was always tossing the football around," Sichak said. "He'd get any kids
together to play. You don't see that much now. He's got a real love of that
game, and he's a real student of the game. If you've seen him play, you know
he's thinking about plays beyond the current one."
Those games in the backyard would help Pecora become a
four-year starter and one of the most prolific passers the state has ever seen.
He finished with 2,000 yards passing as a senior, a mark which was second in the
state going into the Rams' District 6 playoff game against Philipsburg-Osceola
and over 6,000 yards pass, ranking him 10th all-time.
While the Rams lost that quarterfinal game, 31-21, the 5-10, 195-pound Pecora
went out passing and running. He threw for 197 yards, ran for three touchdowns
and gained 67 rushing yards.
"Being a quarterback, it's up to you to lead the team,"
said Pecora, who also played safety. "I had imput on whether we would win or
lose the game. To throw 30 times a game is what every quarterback wants."
"This past football season, he intercepted a pass and
returned it 99 yards for a touchdown," Sichak said. "You wonder how many tricks
he has up his sleeves. He plays big. He wrestles big. He has a big man's
intensity." More known for his play on the gridiron and being the son of
Pat Pecora, UPJ's highly successful wrestling coach, Marco Pecora is starting to
get some attention for his mat ability.
The 189-pounder opened a lot of people's eyes earlier this wrestling season when
he earned a dominating 12-2 win over Westmont Hilltop's returning state champion
and two-time state finalist Zac Bennett. Bennett injured his knee in
football season, but Pecora's win was still impressive. "It was a big
match," Pecora said. "I just wrestled and went hard for six minutes. I would say
I was surprised I scored that many points. Scoring points is contagious. I just
kept trying to score."
Pecora is hoping he continues that momentum into the
postseason, which has frustrated him the past three years. As a freshman,
he broke his collarbone in the District 6 Class AA Tournament quarterfinals. As
a sophomore, Pecora finished sixth in the Southwest Regional Tournament, just
one win away from qualifying for the PIAA Championships.
Last year, as a junior, he qualified for Hershey at
171, but he lost to Line Mountain's eventual state runner-up Shawn Fausey, 1-0,
in the first round and to Reynolds' eventual third-placer Lawrence Beckman, 8-5,
in the second round of consolations. The 38-5 Pecora came up one win shot of
making the medal round.
"There were things that worked against him," Sichak
said of Pecora's postseason near-misses. "Every time you step on the mat, it's a
new experience. When you get to that level, guys are good. You kind of
hope that in the span of six minutes you put it all together. Marco
realizes if he done some things differently it might have turned in his favor."
Pecora has seen it all because he's been around a mat
most of his life. He's watched his dad guide the Mountain Cats toward individual
and team success. Pat Pecora has been coaching UPJ since 1976, and his
teams have earned 19 NCAA regional titles. He's been inducted into the
Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the NCAA Division II
Wrestling Hall of Fame.
So what's it like growing up the son of a coaching
legend? "It's cool," Marco said. "A lot of people think differently. A lot
of people think he has me in the basement working out all the time. But it's up
to me to life. It's up to me to train. He just teaches me values of life and to
work hard. He's helped me more as a father than as a coach." Marco Pecora,
who also plays baseball, is hoping to also become a coach - in football, not
wrestling.
"I just feel like it fits my personality," he says. "I just love the
competition. I don't think I can be that kind of guy who sits at a desk all day.
The stuff I have learned, I want to spread to the younger athletes.
"I always felt like the coach was the center of the team. When a team does good,
it's a reflection on the coach. I've always admired coaches." He admits
that much of that admiration comes from living with one.
"Growing up in the world of a coach, I have seen the good and the bad," Pecora
said. "It has its rewarding aspects and the rough times." That Pecora
wants to be a coach doesn't surprise Sichak at all. "He's always looking
over at the coaches to see what to do," Sichak said. "Sometimes we're asking him
what would be best for him. He's like a coach on the mat."
Pecora wants to continue his football career in
college, but he wouldn't reveal what schools are on his short list. He said it
didn't matter if he plays quarterback or somewhere in the secondary.
"He's a humble boy," Sichak said. "There's no brag in
him. He doesn't flaunt anything. If you sat next to him, you'd never realize he
was one of Pennsylvania's finest athletes. Whenever it comes time to step on the
field or on the mat, he's like Superman."
Pecora says playing football has helped him in
wrestling. "Wrestling is a one-on-one atmosphere," he said. "The toughness
of the sport just helps you so much. It's like a short-burst wrestling match in
a football game."
"He's still trying to get into shape coming off
football," Sichak said a few days before Christmas. "He's working and putting
extra time in the weight room before school. I think his best attribute is his
intelligence. He knows when to use his strength and when to use his quickness."
Before he goes off to college, Pecora, a two-time
District 6 champion, would like to be able to feel what it's like being on the
medals stand at the Giant Center in March.
"You have to set your goals high. To win a state
championship is my main goal," he said. "Anything is possible. I just have to
keep working hard and get better every day. I have to be mentally ready."
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