Before beginning the challenging conference schedule that comes with being a member of the Big Ten, the No. 12 Penn State wrestling team will ride down Route 64 and battle Lock Haven at 7 tonight in a match that has trap written all over it.

The Lock Haven Athletics Web site is touting tonight's match as the Battle for Route 64 supremacy, and it is this rivalry that has Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland concerned -- especially on a short week.

To avoid the pitfall of the trap match, Sunderland gave his team Monday afternoon off, but the Nittany Lions will need more than rest to pull out the win.

Sunderland talked about how they need to focus and not take Lock Haven too lightly.

"We certainly don't want a letdown," Sunderland said. "Because you know the Lock Haven kids are going to be up for the match, so we have to be ready to go down and compete hard."

The Lions (7-2, 0-2 Big Ten) have done a nice job of focusing so far this season, as they are currently riding a four-match winning streak, with all four coming against ranked opponents.

The Bald Eagles (3-6) have dropped four straight, including all three at the Clarion Duals against Kent State, Drexel and Pitt-Johnstown.

One of the reasons for the teams going in opposite directions has been the play of the Lions' two most highly touted freshmen, David Erwin and Jake Strayer. While Erwin has only wrestled four dual matches, he has yet to look like a freshman in any of them. In his debut against Navy, he dominated John Jarred, 7-1, and in his last match against No.11 Steve Anceravage, he destroyed the veteran, 14-5.

"We were excited to see what [Anceravage] and [Erwin] would be able to do," Sunderland said. "It was a great match, a lot of scramble that [Erwin] just came on top of most of them."

As good as Erwin's been lately, Strayer has been that much better. The redshirt freshman has dominated from the moment he stepped on the mat this season. Strayer was known in high school as a guy who would usually win by wide margins, and Sunderland would joke that when a match was close it was because Strayer didn't wrestle "a Jake-Strayer-type of match."

"[Strayer's] focus is tremendous, every second he want to be in control," Sunderland said. "He's always working to score points out there, and he's prepared to do that and that's the big thing. I hope the rest of our team can see that it's not something you focus on for only three, four or five months."

Strayer has only suffered one loss this season in 14 bouts -- a 6-4 loss to Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State at the Reno Tournament of Champions. He is a perfect 8-0 in dual matches, and has victories against two higher-ranked wrestlers: No. 6 Matt Valenti of Penn and No. 10 Mike Mormile of Cornell. Those wins, coupled with his record, have moved Strayer up to No. 13 at 133.

"I don't really pay attention to the ranking, not even in high school, I don't even know where I am ranked," Strayer said. "I'm just working toward the end of the season, because the end of the season is what matters."

With Strayer and Erwin contributing at a high level, Penn State's lineup is strong from top to bottom. Add that to the return of No. 1 wrestler at 184, Eric Bradley, and the Lions seem on track for a run at the Big Ten title in March.