Penn State moved to 7-0 in the Rugby East with fairly dominant 66-5 victory over Wheeling Jesuit Friday night.

WJU were without a couple of key starters, but you get the feeling it wouldn’t have mattered as the Nittany Lions took control from the outset. Rob Irimescu scored the first Penn State try and Jimmy Ronan added a conversion and then a penalty. Wheeling Jesuit replied with a try from flanker Tyler Ozment, but then PSU No. 8 Chris Burrian continued his scoring touch, and then his back row mate Malcolm May scored as he came in supprt of Irimescu. Irimescu then set up Burian for the No. 8’s second and then Connor Cassidy chased down a Selby Niumataiwalu kick to make it 38-5 at halftime.

Irimescu scored his second to open the second half, and then May. Kiefer Kei-Boguinard scored two to finish it off. Ronan converted all nine tries and added a penalty for 21 points.

The Nittany Lions rarely went wide, and didn’t need to, as their big, bad forwards just powered through the middle. They outweighed the Cardinals in the pack and used it.

Penn State Head Coach Blake Burdette said the bye week was valuable to the Penn State outfit, that needed some time to get over a few nagging injuries.

Burdette added before the game that his team needed to get four tries each outing to make sure they stayed in 1st.

“We want to leave no doubt,” said Burdette. “We know we’ve still got Kutztown to play, and they’re tough. We need to continue to find ways to score tries.”

Burdette joined Penn State after the 2015-16 season had started, and said the entire year was sort of a redshirt year for the program.

“I needed time to figure out how the players work, and they needed to figure out how I work and needed time to get to know me,” said Burdette. “We know what to expect from each other now. We’ve preached that we’re not accepting being average. We want to be elite.”