Penn State football achievement awards:
highlighting the best
by Peter Strella
Assistant Layout Editor
It's time to announce the Pete Strella Penn State
Football Achievement Awards for the 2002 season. I was
going to write a column about the Auburn-Penn State bowl
game, but quite frankly it was one of the most boring games
I've ever seen, not to mention a horrible performance by the
Lions. But enough about that, here are the awards:
Player of the year: Larry Johnson - If you asked
me this question in October, the immediate answer would
have been Zack Mills. But as injuries began to affect Mills' accuracy, Larry
Johnson launched an offensive explosion like nothing Penn State has ever seen.
His 279-yard, four-touchdown performance against Michigan State was incredi
ble even if their defense was mediocre. The same can be said about 11 gaining
1,063 yards in the final four games of the regular season.
Game of the year: Penn State v. Nebraska - It's obvious now that
Nebraska is a program on the decline. But before their game against Penn State,
there was little indication this was the case. Penn State gave the then eighth
ranked Cornhuskers a 40-7 shellacking for the ages. The game was a turning
point for both programs and it foreshadowed that the Nittany Lions were going
to have a good season.
Play of the year: LJ breaks 2,000 with 38-yard TD run - This play
was hands down the most memorable play of the year. I can break it down for
you in this simple scientific equation: Breaking 2,000 yards + scoring a touch
down on the same play = dank play. But I am a big fan of trick plays, so I am
giving honorable mention to Chris Ganter's 30-yard touchdown run on a fake
field goal. This score turned the game against Virginia into a 35-14 blowout.
Best show of strength: The Nittany Lion Mascot It's true. Football
players go out there every week and perform amazing feats of strength. But the
and worst of 2002
Nittany Lion mascot doesn't get the credit he deserves. He did over 350 one
armed push-ups when PSU crushed Michigan State 61-7. The Nittany Lion does
a one-armed push-up for each point Penn State has, every time they score. I
once considered trying out to be the mascot until I realized that my personal best
of two one-armed push-ups wouldn't be good enough. I have decided to try out
for the Cincinnati Bengals' field goal snap-holder instead.
The "Buy them some Johnson and Johnson No More Tears sham
poo cause they're doing a lot of crying" award: This one goes out to the
whole Penn State team for their disappointing display of immaturity after losing
to Auburn. Nothing annoys me more than finger pointing after a bad loss and
the team left us all with a sour taste in our mouths. I should be happy that Penn
State football made a great turnaround this year, but their whining made me
wanna tell them all to go stand in the corner.
"Best Case to start a Senior Citizens Olympics" Award: After I saw
a valiant Nittany Lion comeback fail against lowa, I noticed an image streaking
across the television screen. "It's a bird," I thought to myself. "Wait. Now it
looks like some old guy chasing after someone who stole his nachos. No. It's
Joe Paterno running after the officials."
That guy is pretty fast despite being 76 years old. I think this is proof
that there should be a senior citizens Olympics. Think about it. What is more
intriguing and fun to watch than those amazing prodigy kids? Old people who
can still perform physical miracles after all those years.
Other Notable Performances: Micheal Haynes led the team in sacks
with 14. Shawn Mayer led the team in tackles with somewhere around 140.
Jimmy Kennedy also had an outstanding year for the defense. Number 95 David
Kimball had a stellar season. He is the guy who always kicked the ball out of
the end zone on kickoffs, preventing long returns.
The Future: Penn State is losing a lot of players. A quarterback con
troversy is imminent. They will not top their record of this year. I predict they
will finish 7-6