Pennella Looks to Cap College Career With Conference Title

In his three seasons as a member of Gettysburg College’s football team, Rob Pennella has raised his level of play.

The 2008 Bridgewater-Raritan graduate was the Bullets’ main punter his freshman year, taking 23 of the team’s 32 punts. He also played special teams, and the team went 5-5 and 5-3 in the Centennial Conference.

His sophomore year, Pennella started seven games at corner and had a very productive year, finishing with 37 tackles, leading the team with five pass breakups and returning an interception for a touchdown. Despite Pennella’s stellar play, Gettysburg went 3-7 in 2009.

But last year, the team finished with a 6-4 mark and 5-4 in the Centennial Conference. Pennella played in all 10 games, and led the team with 10 pass breakups, including one interception return for a touchdown and 20 tackles.

Now, heading into his senior year, Pennella is one of the team’s key returning leaders and he has one specific goal in mind.

“My goal this season is to win the Centennial Conference,” Pennella said. “Sports have always been a major part of my life since I was playing tee ball, and it would be awesome for me to finish my sports career with a conference championship.”

Gettysburg opens its season Sept. 3 against Lebanon Valley.

The Bullets return a lot of talent, especially on defense with 10 of the 11 starters returning. That will come in handy in the competitive Centennial, which features 10 teams, and one glance at last year’s standing finds two games separating Gettysburg from the top of the division, a three-way tie between Muhlenberg, Ursinus and Johns Hopkins.

“The Centennial Conference is a very competitive conference where a majority of the teams in our conference all have serious chances to win,” Pennella said. “My team is going to have to work hard at every single practice and be mentally and physically prepared for the season, and week to week for every game.”

Pennella’s younger brother, Matt, is also on the team. He will be entering his sophomore year this fall and plays wide receiver.

“I love playing with my brother,” Pennella said of having Matt on the team. “Many times during practice we have to compete against one another because he plays wide receiver.”

Rob Pennella said he has a close relationship with his younger brother.

“I don't think that my brother is the type of kid that I need to take under my wing, he knows what it takes to be successful on the football field and he does it,” Pennella said. “I have always been close with my brother and I feel that we both benefit from having each other on the team.”

The Pennella football tradition still trickles down to Bridgewater-Raritan, where the boys' younger brother, Michael, is a star player on the team. Rob Pennella was part of Bridgewater’s earlier teams under Coach Bray.

“I am extremely proud of everything that the high school team has accomplished and it feels good to think that I was at the start of what turned our program around,” Pennella said. “But I think a lot of credit has to go to the coaches and all of the players that played there after me who continued to work hard to build a legitimate program."

“Since I graduated I have had one of my brothers on the varsity team and I have continued to closely follow the team,” he added.

Pennella is majoring in economics and has a minor in business. He’s currently interning at Pfizer’s Business Technology sector in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

But on top of his internship, he’s also keeping up with the offseason workout regimen provided by the coaches.

In addition, despite his impressive play at corner, Pennella is furthering his education at the cornerback position.

“My intention when I work out is to get stronger and faster,” he said. “Speed is more important than strength at my position so I am especially focused on increasing my speed and agility."

“During the season, I prepare for every game from watching game film of myself from practices and old games, and also watching films of the other team's offense," he added. "I also have a bit of a problem standing up too high when I am back-peddling so I try and focus every play on keeping my level low.”

The lifting, conditioning and harnessing techniques all builds up to September and when the games matter. Pennella strongly believes the team, with its returning talent, can contend for the conference title.

“I really feel like this year is the best chance I have ever had to win the Centennial Conference,” he said. “We were two overtime losses away from winning the conference last year, and we have a ton of good talent coming back."

“I am so excited for this season and I think that it will be the year that we can win the conference,” he added.