Football
Pennsylvania Dominates Scoreboard in Big 33
By Tony Gerdeman

In the eighteen previous meetings between Ohio and Pennsylvania in the Big 33 Football Classic, each team has won nine times. In the nineteenth meeting, however, Pennsylvania snapped the tie with a 61-42 win in a game that saw Pennsylvania score 47 points in the second half, thanks to various Ohio turnovers and rules which allow only man to man defense.

Ohio started out well enough, creating a turnover on the first series and scoring a touchdown on their very first play from scrimmage by way of a Delone Carter touchdown run. Penn State-bound Pat Devlin threw two interceptions in his first two series, though Ohio could only manage the aforementioned score.

Future Buckeye linebacker Thaddeus Gibson recovered a Pennsylvania fumble later in the first quarter, which Ohio turned into three points for a 10-0 lead.

After an 81-yard Pennsylvania touchdown pass to Aaron Berry, Ohio answered with a touchdown of their own to make it 17-7. From about here, though, things get kind of blurry.

Ohio managed a 20-14 lead at the half, and apparently Pennsylvania had had enough. Even though Ohio opened the second half with a touchdown to lead 28-14, Pennsylvania started telling it like it is. They had touchdowns on their first six offensive possessions, and capped their scoring with a long interception return by Elijah Fields.

The Ohio back six was exposed, as their high-effort (code word for slow) guys just couldn't keep up with the Pennsylvania skill position players for all four quarters. Once Pennsylvania got the momentum, Ohio really couldn't do anything on defense to get it back.

Individually, Delone Carter set a new Big 33 record--according to the television announcers--by rushing for 193 yards, breaking the old record of 189 by Nick Goings. Of course, knowing how infamous television stats are, this may be a short-lived record.

Pennsylvania's Dave Williams was named Pennsylvania's MVP. He caught three passes for 95 yards, all three catches resulted in touchdowns.

It should be noted that a Big 33 official (not a ref, a suit) said in a newspaper that Pennsylvania should be a 35-point favorite. Needless to say, Ohio used it as motivation. It apparently was worth 16 points.

Some individual observations:

Derrell Johnson (OH QB/WR) - He had a couple of touchdown runs and one touchdown reception. He ended up rushing for over 100 yards, but threw some very bad interceptions. He's going to Iowa as a receiver and once he sees the field, he'll make himself well-known to the Big Ten.

Delone Carter (OH RB) - If he had been wearing a #25 jersey instead of #22, he would've looked just like Carlos Snow. Carter is stocky, strong, patient and fast enough to get by the secondary. Through three and a half quarters, he only had nine carries for 72 yards. He then ripped off a couple of long runs, including a 78 yard touchdown run that saw him stave off six tacklers throughout the entirety of his run. Syracuse got themselves a good one in Carter.

Ray Small (OH WR) - Small was nursing a groin injury, so not much was really expected of him. He caught a couple of screen-type passes, but wasn't utilized downfield at all. He definitely has some moves, but you could tell he was a little tentative. He definitely has the Glenville shake (which means he likes to run backwards just as much as he runs forward.)

Troy Pascley (OH WR) - Pascley has what I call "angry hands". The ball makes his hands angry and they seem to be the football's natural enemy. He dropped four or five passes, fumbled another, and even when he caught one, you were waiting for a fight to break out between his hands and the ball. He's got nice size (6'3" 200), but if he doesn't start catching the ball, he'll be playing a lot of special teams at Louisville.

Mike Scherpenberg (OH QB) - When the "throwing quarterback" on the team is going to Grand Valley State, you know there might be a problem. Scherpenberg didn't do too bad, but going against strictly man to man defense, there's no reason he couldn't have done better. He and Johnson both under threw their receivers all night long.

Bryant Browning (OH OL) - Browning, headed for Ohio State, played right tackle all night long and looked okay doing it. All indications are that he'll be a guard for the Buckeyes, but it was nice to see him working on the edge. He pushed his man away from the pocket most of the night and sealed his man off on the various options and draws.

Zach Slagle (OH OL) - Slagle was right next to Browning at right guard. It should be mentioned that most of the long gains on the ground came from the right side. On several occasions, he got through the line and took out a linebacker on numerous quarterback runs. He showed decent mobility and the announcing crew was very impressed with him. Slagle plans to walk on for the Buckeyes this season.

Kallen Wade (OH DE) - Wade is heading for Notre Dame. The only time his name was mentioned was when it was in relation to Notre Dame. Wade really had no impact on the game.

Thaddeus Gibson (OH LB) - Heretofore known as "Mr. Gibson". Due to the rules of the game, defenses are required to play a 5-2 defense, meaning a five man front. Mr. Gibson was the rush end in this alignment and it sure suited him. He had several tackles in the backfield, a sack or two, a fumble recovery, a personal foul or two, a helmet ripped off of him, a collision with the fullback that sounded like a large appliance being dropped off of a tall roof, and several verbal confrontations with some very talkative Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania double-teamed him some with a running back. They also just let him go and tried to run away from him. They tried to play him man up with a tackle. With a tight end. With a running back. Mostly to no avail, though the scoreboard would belie that statement. I had previously been under the belief that Gibson would redshirt this season for the Buckeyes. After watching him for the first time, I am now conflicted.

The Refs (PA) - When you watch the Big 33 game, you have to remember that the refs will make their mark at some point. This game was no different, as there was a no-call on a blatant Pennsylvania pass interference that resulted in an interception, and various personal fouls/unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Ohio only. Of course the refs didn't decide the game, it just needed to be noted that it was business as usual once the second half began.

Lou Tilley (Color Commentator PA) - At halftime there was a young lady that had a chance to kick a 35-yard field goal for $75,000 in financial aid. About two seconds before she kicked the ball, Tilley offered this vote of confidence, "Never gettin’ the ball off the ground." Well, she did get the ball off the ground, though she pushed it wide right. (Immediately after the kick, Bobby Bowden offered the young lady a scholarship.)

Pat Devlin (PA QB) - Devlin threw two interceptions in his first three passes. I'm guessing at that point Joe Paterno decided that he was moving Devlin to linebacker, then had a little glass of warm milk and went to bed. If JoePa had stayed up, he would've liked what he saw out of Devlin. He's got a strong arm and can throw pretty much any ball needed. He also showed nice touch and an impressive ability to run. He should redshirt this season for the Nittany Lions and be ready to compete in a few years. Unless, of course, Anthony Morelli has such a totally awesome season that he leaves for the NFL after this year.

Connor Dixon (PA QB) - Dixon is headed to Michigan State. He didn't have Devlin's arm, but he still had a very nice game. He also had about a 55-yard touchdown run. He too will have to wait a few years.

Da'Rel Scott (PA RB) - Scott, who is headed to Maryland, threw a touchdown, caught a 77-yard touchdown pass and ran another in from four yards out. Since he's heading to Maryland, you'll probably never hear from him again.

Dave Williams (PA WR) - As I mentioned above, Williams had three catches and all three went for touchdowns. All three required quite a bit of concentration, as two of them came near the sidelines in the end zone and the other on a hard slant with a diving linebacker trying to tip the ball. He showed very nice hands and decent speed. He's also a gifted returner. Williams is headed to Michigan State.

Aaron Berry (PA WR/CB) - Berry is a playmaker on both sides of the ball. (Just ask him.) He had an 81-yard touchdown catch from Pat Devlin in the first quarter to start Pennsylvania's scoring. He's heading to Pittsburgh. Expect him to play right away so as to get as much out of him as possible before Wanny's coaching ruins him.

Elijah Fields (PA DB) - Fields was the best player on Pennsylvania's team. He could play offense or defense at the next level, though I suspect it'll be safety. He showed very nice hands and a defensive awareness that was more advanced than most high school seniors. He had an easy pick and run back to basically stomp out any hopes that Ohio had in the fourth quarter. He was almost a Buckeye, but for some reason chose instead to go to Pittsburgh. Too bad.

So those were the guys that stood out to me.

In closing, it should be noted that Penn State had six players on the Pennsylvania roster, but I only talked about one of them.

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