10 I The Behrend Beacon The Steelers make Pittsburgh "Six-burgh" By Nick Blake spOns np! , 5114 -, AB of the IL\ Ire and build up has passed. and the NI I has crowned a new champion. The Pittsburgh Steclers are Super XLIII chanirion, Tampa Riy to the most watched Super I3ow I e\ er last week. and fans were orated to what's being debated as the best Super Bowl ever played. The Ariiona Cardinals :Hid tlw Pittsburgh Steelers met at Rin f rnonclJarnes Slit(hum on I ch. I for \\ hat was sure to he a halt le of epic proportiims. The Ariiona Cardinal. liar c One of the most prolific offense , in the NFL. led h\ everienced ( p ar _ terhaek Kurt Warner and the t 0- headed monster recei ers of Larn, Fitzgerald and Anquan The Pittsburgh Steelers. on the other hand. have one in the hest defenses in the NH.. In fact. the\ did have the hest defense in the league this veal, rankiin2 nuniher After the numerous pregame festivities. it gas Imall \ time fur the game to begin. ]'he Cardinals \von the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. eiv inc the Steelers the ball to , tart the .Super / .A L/// MIT .S . OlllOlllO 110111.1 in the gone winning tonduknvn a the eml of the fourth qiuule, The stand- ing are close with Rachel and Nick one win ahead of Connor. Christine follows closely behind while Matt is still in last place. Want to play? Email censos6@ps u.edu for a list of next week's games to see if you can "beat the experts". Ilia St~rlrr~ didn't \\ all \ thcir otteil•e 2().111L' on their lir.t Right HI the hat. Steclei. quarterback lien koethlisbergei tOund an open !hues Wald fair a 38-varci gain to the Cardinal 32-‘and line. \ couple running plays to run n inghock Willie l'aiker and a pass to tight end I leath Miller to set up first -and-gotil for the Black and Gold. Roethlisheiger took it into his (\\n hands to ..2et the hall into the end erne. Roethlisbeiger appeared his \N, aN, acioss the goal line. but the Cardinals challenged the pla\,. Inch revealed Big Ben's knee hittin2. the eround Prier reachim_ the end zone. The Sicelerti .ettled 16r an I f;-yard field 20 . ,11 from left Reed to take a 3-1) lead. Cardinitk \\, eren't exactly on Inc on their lirst offensive dri \e. Elie\ gained no Narslage on tlwir Inst plan. On second skmn. quanerhach Kurt Warner hit \side lecei \ tite\e Breaston for a 10- sand gain. but iped away due to a holding penalts. After that. the\ couldn't oct and \\ere forced to punt. l'he Black and Gold kept it comiml \\ it h their oftenseive machine 'mining. Roethlishergei \\ as still hot. lindimi wick! receiv Beat The Experts NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL \Vis.k.l)w•in u , Penn St;lte //() hit '(/ I'lm C ((t cs,l /i Vi Imio \ 1 , 1 'CO S rduKc Syracuse Sett , llll iI faIlW SL't I),,tdlc JilCkM)ll Helier NIIIIII 1 : 1011a1 Kelllle`Nit\\ St. N. Fla Miami (1:1J , 0 /0 Duke NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Penn State ((i Nlichiedn # l 3 Pin vi Runler, /03 DePaul (a 1119 Noire Dume Notre. D //8 N ("Iwolina /14 linke -1112 Tennessee (a ft I 3 Flori( Li Marquette u/ //I 'onnecticut !Amu Beach St. ui Pacilic IJC li\eritle I)ii% N. I),lkota (a Semilc Season Totals: er Santonio Holmes !Or a 25-yard gain. On the following play, the Steelers were tagged with a fake start penalty hacking them up. The Steelers were unable to get much going, and were torced into a third-and-ten situation. Roethlisberger was un d er pressure hut was able to escape, hitting Miller for an I I-yard gain and a first down. After another 11-yard pass to Miller and an eight-yard run by Parker. the Steelers were again knocking at the door. The Steelers worked their way to the one-yard line where they faced another third-and-goal situation. They would find pay dirt this time when runningback Gary Russel pounded his way across the goal line giving the Steelers a 104) lead. th itd-anckwal With the offense that the Cardinals were equipped with, there was no way that they were going to lay down for the Steelers. blamer came through with a huge play to Boldin which netted 45-yards to the Steeled one-yard line. Warner threw a pass to Ben Patrick who made an amazing catch in the end zone, cutting the lead to 10-7. On the next two dives, the teams were deadlocked, with nei ther team able to get anything Connot W.V.U. W.V.O Ruhiet Setson Mercer Penn. ST. Mich R onn Pact tic LIC Ri‘ Seattle 32-21 28-25 SPORTS Rachel Penn. St. Penn. St W. V. U Rutgers Rutgers USC U USC U Jackson Jackson N. Fla Penn. St Notre. D iNlot re D UConn UC on n L.B. St L.B. St LIC Riv UC Day Seattle N. Dak 33-20 On the Steelers next posses sion. Roethlisberger had a pass tipped by Cardinals' defensive lineman Bryan Robinson. which ended up being picked off by line backer Karlos Dansby at the Steelers 33-yard line. The Steelers forced two incom plete passes from Warner on the first two plays of the drive. but the Cardinals would strike. thirdOn down, Warner hit run ning back Tim Hightower I'm a first down. With back-to-hack passes to Fitzgerald and Bolan. the Cardinals were on the one yard line and were poised to go into halftime with the lead. Warner dropped back for a pass to the end zone and was intercept ed by the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker James Harrison. With some athletic moves and key blocks from team mates, Harrison returned the interception lOU yards for a pick six. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history. "It was very tiring, but it was all worth it. I was just thinking that I had to do whatever I could to get to the other end zone and get seven. I just wanted to help my team win. That was it. That was all I was thinking about." Harrison said. This Was the final play of the Christine Nick Penn. St Provid Rutgers Setson Jackson Penn St Notre. D UConn L.B. St UC Day N. Dak 30-23 first half, giving the Steelers a 17-7 lead at halftime. The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half and they got it moving. Warner got the ball to Boldin and then running,back Edgerrin James wheeled off three straight runs that totaled 19 yards. The Steeler defense slammed the door shut. though, allowing just two short gains and forcing an incomplete pass on the third down play. This forced the Cardinals into a punt. To start the drive, Holmes broke out for a six-yard reception, and a facemask penalty against the Cardinals added 15 yarth; to the play. Roethlisberger kept going to the air, hitting tight end Matt Spaeth and wide receiver Hines Ward. On another passing play. Roethlisberger was hit late and the Steelers were given 15 yards from a roughing the passer penal ty. Parker then trotted for 15 yards. giving the Steelers another new set of downs. They were kept out of the end zone, though, and set tled for a 27-yard field goal from Reed giving them a 20-7 lead with 2:16 left in the third quarter. This was the Super Bowl and the Cardinals still weren't fin ished. Warner led his offense down the field on an outstanding chive. He completed all eight of his passes on the 87-yard drive which was capped off by a one yard, acrobatic catch by Fitzgerald, cutting the lead to 20- 14. The Cardinals got the ball back after holding the Steelers, hut were unable to get going. But they pinned the Steelers on their own one-yard line on a magnili cent punt. On third tbwn, Steelers• center Justin Hartwig was flagged tor holding in the end zone. The penalty resulted in a safety cut ting an already slim lead to 20- 16. After the free kick from the Black and Gold. the Cardinals' offense wasted no time diving down the field. Warner found Fitzgerald down the middle and he was off to the races and a touch down giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game 23-20, with 2:35 left to play. The Steelers still had some tight in them. Roethlisberger was able to drive his offense down field, scramble after scramble and pump fake after pump fake. The Steelers were able to work their way inside the Cardinals' 10-yard line with time running out. W. V U Rutgers Setson Mercer N. Fla Penn. St Notre D UConn Pacific UC Riv N. Dak 33-20 Friday, February 6, 2009 Wille Colon takes in the win tonongst the confetti With :35 left in the game. Roethl isberger was able to thread a perfect pass through three defenders to Holmes in the back of the end zone who made a tip toe catch to give the Black and Gold a 27-23 lead. The Cardinals had one more but while Warner was preparing to unleash a last ditch, Hail Mary pass, he was stripped by line hacker Lamar Woodley and the Steelers recoverd the fum ble. chance The final score Wilti 27-23 giv ing the Steelers their NFL fran chise record sixth Super Bowl title. Holmes was named MVP of the game racking up nine catches for 131 yards and the gtune-win- ning touchdown "It was a play we drew up that we were hoping to get open in the corner. The defensive back bit up on the short route and Ben (Rethlisberger) held onto the ball long enough to get it to me." Holmes said. Troy Polamala found the final five minutes of the came to he very gut wrenching "Oh my God. 1 don't know. You can't explain it. You sec onds away from me crying in the locker room. itnd them being out here. That's how amazing this game is," Polamalu said. Wad had faith in his team and was proud of how they were able to comeback. It speaks volumes about our team. We never gave up. To come hack and win like that, is just unbelievable. - Ward said. Head coach Mike Tomlin won his first Super Bowl in his second year in the league, but knew he could win it, and could see him self winnini2. it. "That's what we all work for. That's the planning that we put in for it, like 31 other guys. Somebody's going to be the one. and I'm just thankful that it's us this year. - said Tomlin. This Super Bowl was the most watched television program in U.S. history with a total audience of 151.6 million viewers. The two teams didn't disappoint. Super Bowl XLIII is being debated as being the best Super Bowl ever. It very well may be, and it is sure that there will be more great ones to follow. Don't forget to catch all of your favorite NFL all-stars in this year's Pro Bowl. The game will be in Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. on NBC. PHOTO
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