PAGE SIX
2nd Half Comeback Beats Pitt
Neff Scores Twice;
Jacks' Passing Shines
—Collegian photo by Ron Kerr
LION CAPTAIN STEVE GARBAN accepts game ball from All
,he Thanksgiving Day tilt at Pitt
American Guard John Guzik in
Stadium,
(Continued front page one)
Rip Engle instill into his Lionsl
during the halftime break?
"There was no halftime speech
as everyone probably thinks,"
Engle said in the Lion locker
room after the game. "All we did
was correct mistakes. I think we
were just trying too hard that
first half."
But those mistakes must have
been corrected to perfection. For
the first 27 minutes, the Lions
played like a grade school team
who hadn't quite learned the
fundamentals. Pitt scored its first
touchdown on a 50-yard option
around left end by sophomore
quarterback Ed Shrockman, and
tacked on the extra point on a
kick by Norton Seaman.
Late in the second quarter, the
Panthers pushed over ,their sec
ond score on a three-yard smash
over left guard by halfback Joe
Scisly. That climaxed a 15-play,
82-yard drive and Seaman added'
the conversion.
There were 2 minutes and 461
seconds left when State began'
to show their first real sign of!
the team that had whipped high-.
ated Holy Cross, 32-0, in their'
last outing.
With Al Jacks tossing sideline!'
passes and Dick Hoak supplying I
most of the running punch, the
Lions moved from their own 24-
yard line to the Pitt two. But the
drive expired with 11 seconds left
in the half when a fourth down'
Jacks to Jim Kerr aerial was bat
led down by Chuck Reinhold—'
the sophomore who later scored
a Pitt TD on a 52-yard scamper.,
Most of the Stadium onlookers
settled back and awaited a Pitt I
romp as the second half started,
Wondering what to
serve
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but the onslaught never came.
Before the Panthers knew what
hit them, the Lions had tallied
twice.
Pat Botula scored the first on a
one-yard dive after Lucas' 18-
yard dash on a left end roll out
had set up the play. A pass on a
fake kick formation failed for the
conversion.
Sophomore end Mike Ditka's
fumble on a punt formation had
paved the way for that first Lion
score and Fred Riddle's fumble
moments after the ensuing kick
off opened the gates for the sec
ond TD.
Norm Neff scored that one on
an eight-yard aerial from Hoak
after a short 32-yard march. But
a Jacks to Neff pass for the PAT
was incomplete.
However, less than a minute
later Reinhold's scamper and
Seaman's third conversion gave
Pitt a 21-12 lead.
But the Lions weren't through.
A Reinhold bobble on a punt led
to another Neff touchdown—this
time on a 9-yard pass from Jacks.
The conversion failed again.
The winning touchdown came
midway in the final stanza. Pitt
was forced to punt from their
own 36-yard stripe and Kerr
grabbed the ball and raced 43
yards down the left sidelines to
the Pitt 28.
Three nlays later the Lions had
(Continued on page eight)
_ ,
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
—Collegian photo by Ron Kerr
CLEAR THE ALLEY—Sophomore halfback Jim Kerr follows a horde of Lion blockers on a 43-yard
punt return against Pitt. The return which set up the final TD was led by Charlie Ruslavage
(67), Steve Garban (53), Norm Neff (83), Dave Kasperian (46) and an unidentified blocker behind
Kasperian.
Garban Praises 'Tired' Lions;
Jacks, Hoak Get Recognition
By MATT MATHEWS
Associate Sports Editor
The final score was Penn
State 25, Pitt 21. And this
time the numbers told the
closeness of the battle.
After the cheers and the pic
ture taking died down in the vie
,
torious Lion locker room, the visi
tors could easily see the effects
of the battle.
Junior Richie Lucas played
the game with a bad left side
and - the rushing Panther line
didn't help matters. In fact, Richie
couldn't even shake hands—his
mitts told the tale of a determined
quarterback whose main asset is
his hands for ball handling and
passing.
Sophomore guard Bill Popp
was the last to leave the locker
room. The man he had to knock
out of the.way on offense was
Pitt All-American linebacker
John Guzik. Popp was dead
tired.
Those are only two of the ex
amples. Nearly everyone proved
Thanksgiving Day that "blood and
guts" can overcome nearly any
obstacle as one player put it.
"They're a tremendous bunch
of guys:" praised Captain Steve
Garban. "They did it the hard
way, they came from behind and
won. Everybody in there gave it
all they had—they never quit.
"Beating Pitt was the greatest
thrill of my life and you can quote
me," Garban yelled. "And don't
forget our tremendous bunch of
coaches."
Al Jacks, who had his great-
* * *
* *
est day at the most opportune
time, forgot his own play to
talk of his fellow players. Al
tabbed Dick Hoak's nine-yard
"cross-c ountr y" run in the
fourth quarter the play that won
the game.
"I almost fainted when he was
trapped," Al related. "If he'd have
been caught back there (around
the 30) we'd have been dead, but
he managed to get away and we
won."
It was as simple as that—
* • •
But sophomore Jimmy Kerr took
up the praise for Jacks: "Al really
looked great—and he deserves all
the praise. On that one long pass
he led me just perfectly and it
was my fault it wasn't completed
—I didn't realize there was any
body in my way."
Rip Engle's observations: "They
sure knocked us out of the sta
tistics league, but I'll take a win
any day--especially today.
"And incidentally I don't con
sider Pitt a jinx." Rip's record
against the Jungle Cats is now
5-3-1. •
Losing- coach 'Johnny Michelo
sen's few words: "We had a lot
of quarterback troubles and our
sophomores made a lot of mis
takes. But you can't blame it all
on the sophs.
"The run that Hoak made
when he was apparently caught
for a loss the lasi period)
was the big turning point. But
you had a good football team
today."
• • *
Assistant State coaches Joe Pa-I
TUESDAY. DECEMBER 2, 1958
* * *
terno, Earl Bruce, Jim O'Hora and
Tor Toretti came up with the
fact that Pitt (which a certain
Pittsburgh sports editor called an
unbeatable November team) lost
three of four games in the final
month. And they were still con
sidered for a bowl bid.
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