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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 PAGE 3C
Protected by Felder, Paterno returns to sideline By DEREK LEVARSE dlevarse@timesleader.com
PENN ST. 34, E. MICHIGAN 6 E. Michigan ......................... 0 0 0 6 — 6 Penn St. .............................. 3 14 14 3 — 34 EMU PSU First downs ........................... 16 22 Rushes-yards ....................... 43-68 25-104 Passing.................................. 202 364 Comp-Att-Int ......................... 18-31-1 23-35-1 Return Yards ........................ 22 25 Punts-Avg. ............................ 5-46.6 3-51.7 Fumbles-Lost........................ 2-2 3-2 Penalties-Yards.................... 5-42 4-20 Time of Possession ............. 34:43 25:17 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—E. Michigan, Greene 9-22, Gillett 15-22, White 10-18, Brumfield 5-9, Allen 2-0, Team 2-(minus 3). Penn St., Redd 12-48, Dukes 3-29, Day 4-18, Zwinak 2-6, Dupree 1-5, Byers 1-1, McGloin 1-(minus 1), Drake 1-(minus 2). PASSING—E. Michigan, Gillett 18-31-1-202. Penn St., McGloin 14-17-0-220, Bolden 7-13-1-115, McGregor 1-4-0-12, Venuto 1-1-0-17. RECEIVING—E. Michigan, Olds 4-49, Hoskins 4-44, Reed 4-19, Hunter 2-15, Fleming 1-26, Brumfield 1-22, K.Thomas 1-20, Welch 1-7. Penn St., Moye 6-65, De.Smith 3-104, Brown 3-28, Suhey 2-32, Kersey 1-41, Redd 1-18, Drake 1-17, Dukes 1-17, Kuntz 1-17, Scherer 1-12, Szczerba 1-8, Zordich 1-5, Belton 1-0.
PENN STATE
STATE COLLEGE -- Two NOTEBOOK new seats appeared on the home sideline before Saturday’s I’m gonna go upstairs.’ “ game, one planted right at the The main concern for Pa50-yard line. A wooden stool showed up at terno has been his lack of mobility. Doctors have told him midfield and a golf cart wasn’t they are worried about his far away, both signs that Joe ability to get out of the way of Paterno would be returning to plays that end in front of the the field. Backup plans, if you Lions sideline. will, for an ailing hip. As a precaution, Paterno was The joke before the game was kept back a few yards back from that the Penn State coach where he would typically stand. would rotate his seats like his Graduate assistant Gus Felder -quarterbacks -- a few drives formerly a pass protector at with one, then a few with the Berwick High School and Penn other. State -- spent much of the game But when Paterno reclaimed near Paterno keeping an eye his familiar spot on the home out for traffic. sideline at Beaver Stadium, he “I think each week I’ll do a used no chair and he used no little bit more,” Paterno said. “It cane. just hurts. I’m not as tough as I The 84-year-old coach made used to be -- not that I was ever his first appearance on the field tough.” during a game this season as he continues to recover from a hip A new leg up injury suffered in August. He Though he said earlier in the remained there for the first half week he was reluctant to make before relenting and heading up personnel changes following a to the coaches’ booth -- where narrow win at Temple, Paterno he spent all of the Nittany Liended up making a switch at ons’ first three games this year placekicker Saturday. -- for the second half. With the Lions a miserable “I’m trying to get away with1-for-6 on field goals after three out taking pain pills and trying games, Paterno made the call to to do things without the cane,” go sophomore Anthony Fera, Paterno said. “I’m trying to do a who also handled punting and little bit on my own. I don’t kickoff duties. want to have something supIt was a very rare occurrence porting me. for Paterno and the Lions. The “I felt great until about four last Penn State player to serve or five minutes to go in the first as punter and placekicker fullhalf, and then I just could hard- time was Chris Bahr in 1975. ly move. But obviously I had to Fera hit his first career atmove. When we got ahead and tempt, converting from 29 it looked like we were OK, I just yards out in the first quarter. decided, ‘Hey, this is foolish, so True freshman Sam Ficken also
AP PHOTO
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno watches pre-game warmups before a game against Eastern Michigan in State College on Saturday.
earned his first career make with a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter. Fera took over for walk-on Evan Lewis, a converted receiver/defensive back, who was 1-for-5 on the season, hitting only a 43-yarder against Alabama. Ficken had the Lions’ other attempt, a 49-yard try that was blocked against Temple. “We’ve just gotta keep plugging away and try to get those kids a little bit more confidence in themselves,” Paterno said. “We spent an awful lot of time on the kicking game this past week. I thought we were better. We still weren’t where I’d like us to be, but I thought we were
improve our offense this season.” Milestones Devon Smith had his first Senior captain Derek Moye career 100-yard receiving game, had six catches for 65 yards and finishing with 104 yards, intwo touchdowns, and continued cluding a 71-yard swing pass his rise in the Penn State record that he turned into a touchbooks. down. Moye became the sixth playTrue freshman receiver Bill er in Penn State history to top Belton came up with his first 2,000 career receiving yards, career catch. He’s still looking and his 2,026 total puts him for his first career yard. A bubthird all-time behind Bobby ble screen to the shifty rookie Engram and Deon Butler. was sniffed out by the Eagles The two scores put him for no gain. fourth all-time with 17 career Walk-on quarterbacks Shane receiving touchdowns. McGregor and Garrett Venuto “I feel honored to be on the both got in the game in the list,” Moye said. “At the same fourth quarter and completed time, I’m just worried about trying to get wins and trying to their first career passes.
better.”
PSU Continued from Page 1C
terno and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley both said they expect their leading tackler to be gone for the rest of the year. Certainly Mauti had an idea of what had happened to him when he went to make a cut, only to have his left knee give out from under him on a play at the end of the first quarter. Mauti had torn the ACL in his right knee during a preseason scrimmage in August 2009, knocking him out for that entire year. “I was watching him that play and there was no contact or anything -- just him going down,” said senior Nate Stupar, who replaced Mauti at the strongside position. “He just went, and when the ball cut back, something happened to his knee. He just fell over. “My prayers are out to him and I hope he gets better quick.” While Mauti’s injury initially looked innocent -- Bradley said he thought his top linebacker just had the wind knocked out of him -- and then turned serious, Lynn’s situation was the opposite. Beaver Stadium went silent after Lynn appeared to hit the crown of his helmet into the helmet of teammate Nick Sukay in the third quarter. Lynn crashed to the grass, where he laid face down as doctors and emergency personnel rushed out to him. But the news after the game was positive for Lynn, who was released from the hospital after doctors examined his neck and spinal column to determine there was no serious damage. Bradley said Lynn “had burners down his arms” -- an injury also known as a “stinger,” characterized by a shooting pain followed by temporary numbness. “I’ve been here awhile, and when they take your guy out on the board, it’s tough,” Bradley said. “It’s a tough day.” “It brings backs some bad memories there. He was just breathing so heavy, I got nervous, y’know? I don’t know if he was just scared -- I guess you would be too if they put you on a board, they wrapped you up and cut your (face) mask off. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.” With Lynn out of the game, Chaz Powell, Stephon Morris and true freshman Adrian Amos rotated as the first-team corners. The injuries dwarfed some improvements the Lions (3-1) were able to make on offense. Matt McGloin (14-for-17, 220
AP PHOTOS
Eastern Michigan quarterback Alex Gillett, center, is stopped on a scramble to inside the 5-yard line by Penn State safety Drew Astorino (28) and linebacker Mike Stupar (34) in the fourth quarter Saturday in State College.
Penn St. receiver Shawney Kersey (81) hauls in a 45-yard pass behind Eastern Michigan’s Marlon Pollard (4) on Saturday.
yards, 3 TDs) finally snapped the team’s slump of 13 quarters without a passing touchdown, hitting fullback Joe Suhey for a 27-yard score in the second quarter. It was the team’s first passing touchdown since the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. McGloin later hooked up with Derek Moye for scoring strikes of 5 and 20 yards. “I think it’s just a matter of getting more comfortable in there,”
A team trainer falls out of a vehicle carrying Penn State cornerback D’Anton Lynn (8) off the field after he was injured during the third quarter Saturday against Eastern Michigan in State College.
McGloin said. “Obviously you’d still want there to be one guy (running the offense), but it’s the coaches’ call.” Bolden (7-of-13, 115 yards, TD, INT) threw for his first score since Oct. 23, 2010, when he hit Devon Smith on a swing pass
that went 71 yards to pay dirt. For now, the quarterback drama takes a backseat as the Lions try to move on from an emotionally draining day. “There’s a lot of ways to handle adversity,” Paterno said. “You can feel sorry for yourself, or it
can bind you together. And a couple of guys can rise to the occasion and say, ’Hey, we don’t have this guy, we don’t have that guy. I’ve gotta do a little bit more. I’ve gotta be a little bit better.’ “Hopefully we’ll have some guys who will do that.”
FIRST QUARTER PSU -- Anthony Fera 29-yard field goal, 4:18. Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 4:11. Comment: Eric Latimore strips Eagles quarterback Alex Gillett at the Penn State 44 and Jack Crawford recovers the fumble. Then we see some history. No, not that the Nittany Lions successfully kicked a field goal -- though the make “improved” them to 2-for-7 on the year -- but the kick gave Fera a rare trifecta. The sophomore became the first Penn State player since Chris Bahr in 1975 to handle field goal, punting and kickoff duties at the same time. It’s not a long field goal by any means, but Penn State will take anything it can get at this point. PENN STATE 3, EASTERN MICHIGAN 0. SECOND QUARTER PSU -- Joe Suhey 27-yard pass from Matt McGloin (Fera kick), 8:19. Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 2:20. Comment: And some more history. Sort of. In the 14th quarter of the 2011 season, Penn State finally throws a touchdown pass. On his first drive of the game, McGloin sells a nice fake and has all the time in the world to measure up wide-open fullback Suhey on a delayed wheel route for an easy pitch and catch down the left sideline. It’s the Lions’ first passing touchdown since Jan. 1 in the Outback Bowl against Florida. PSU 10, EMU 0.PSU -- Derek Moye 5-yard pass from McGloin (Fera kick), 0:56. Drive: 5 plays, 31 yards, 0:47. Comment: Three straight drives end in turnovers to change the pace of the game. Penn State’s Glenn Carson recovers an errant lateral and the Lions are inches away from converting it into another touchdown. McGloin hits Michael Zordich in the flat for a sure score, but the Eagles jar the ball loose just before the goal line and it bounces through the end zone for a touchback. Eastern reciprocates by throwing an interception to Nick Sukay, which sets up McGloin’s quick slant over the middle to Moye. The senior wideout goes over 2,000 career receiving yards on the play. PSU 17, EMU 0. THIRD QUARTER PSU -- Devon Smith 71-yard pass from Rob Bolden (Fera kick), 13:59. Drive: 3 plays, 76 yards, 0:55. Comment: Despite McGloin’s impressive second quarter, the rotation continues with Bolden taking back over to start the second half. For once, a play designed for the kid they call “Moo-Moo” works to perfection as Smith is wide open on a swing to the right. He uses his sprinter’s speed to fly untouched down the right sideline for a third (third?) passing score of the game for Penn State. Credit Moye with a huge block to spring Smith for the final 40 yards or so. It was Bolden’s first passing score since Oct. 23, 2010, against Minnesota -- the same game he suffered a concussion that knocked him out of the starting job. PSU 24, EMU 0.PSU -Moye 20-yard pass from McGloin (Fera kick), 2:27. Drive: 10 plays, 87 yards, 4:22. Comment: Both quarterbacks continue to make their case for the starting job headed into next week’s Big Ten opener at Indiana. After a shaky start to the drive, McGloin settles things down and the Lions turn in their best drive of the game. This one is capped off with McGloin’s second scoring strike to Moye, who creates separation in the back corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Moye moves into third place all-time on Penn State’s career receiving yards list behind Bobby Engram and Deon Butler. PSU 31, EMU 0. FOURTH QUARTER EMU -- Kody Fulkerson 21-yard field goal, 11:50. Drive: 6 plays 17 yards, 3:04. Comment: Bolden back in the game has a pass tipped in the air and picked off by defensive end Brad Ohrman deep in Penn State territory. The Eagles can’t do much with the opportunity despite driving inside the Lions’ 10 and Drew Astorino hammers a scrambling Alex Gillett well short of the goal line to force the field goal attempt. The shutout is over, but the defense still does its job on the series. PSU 31, EMU 3.PSU -- Sam Ficken 43-yard field goal, 8:32. Drive: 9 plays, 50 yards, 3:11. Comment: It’s officially garbage time as Shane McGregor takes over at quarterback with fellow walk-on Derek Day in the backfield. McGregor completes his first career pass for 12 yards to Ryan Scherer. Though Fera could probably still use the field goal practice, it’s the true freshman Ficken who connects for his first made field goal. PSU 34, EMU 3. EMU -- Fulkerson 22-yard field goal, 3:04. Drive: 17 plays, 72 yards, 5:22. Comment: Not much to say here. The Eagles mercifully chew up clock against the Lions reserves on defense but still can’t find the end zone. Mike Wallace breaks up a touchdown pass and Eastern decides just to take the points. PSU 34, EMU 6. PLAY OF THE GAME A depressing first quarter saw Penn State score just three points against an overmatched opponent and then lose top linebacker Michael Mauti to a torn ACL. Finally it was Matt McGloin who got the offense in gear, moving the ball well on his first drive in the game in the second quarter. A well-executed play has the Scranton signal-caller connect with fullback Joe Suhey for a 27-yard touchdown, finally snapping the Lions’ passing TD drought at 14 quarters.