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Steve and Jenn Kurian of Bloomsburg offer sustainably harvested seafood through ‘Wild For Salmon’

<p>It wasn&#8217;t a game-winner. It didn&#8217;t come in the fourth quarter like most of his touchdowns.</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t even the flashiest score in a game that featured a halfback pass to Christian Hackenberg and a Saquon Barkley 4-yard broad jump though three defenders.</p><p>But to Eugene Lewis, it was a moment he won&#8217;t forget.</p><p>Going up over top of Illinois cornerback Eaton Spence on Saturday, Lewis hauled in &#8212; believe it or not &#8212; his first career touchdown in Beaver Stadium.</p><p>&#8220;One of the most exciting, happiest days of my life,&#8221; Lewis said Tuesday. &#8220;I always wanted one in Beaver Stadium. It took a long time, but hey, it happened.&#8221;</p><p>Perhaps it meant more to the former Wyoming Valley Conference star given what had come earlier in the season &#8212; the toughest stretch of his football career.</p><p>With Chris Godwin and DaeSean Hamilton entrenched as starters ahead of him and Penn State using two tight ends more often than a third wideout, Lewis&#8217; playing time was slashed.</p><p>As September turned to October, Lewis didn&#8217;t record a catch in three straight games against Rutgers, San Diego State and Army.</p><p>&#8220;I never had that happen to me before,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;That was something I had to deal with myself and figure a way to make it a positive. It was hard for me at first. But we were winning, and winning makes everything so much better.</p><p>&#8220;There are lot of things more important to life than just not getting the ball or not playing as much as I think I should be. You can&#8217;t let things get to you, or you start getting discouraged. That affects your game and it&#8217;s gonna show up. My dad raised me better than that. To be positive.&#8221;</p><p>That outlook, James Franklin said, can make all the difference.</p><p>The Nittany Lions coach has cited inconsistency in practice and during games as the source of Lewis&#8217; struggles. But he also credited how his approach has led to an improvement.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really proud of Geno,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;He hasn&#8217;t had as many opportunities as in the past. To be honest, he&#8217;s handled it really, really well. Is he happy about it? No. Does he have a great attitude about it? Yes.</p><p>&#8220;You make the most of the opportunities you get. You can make a heck of an argument that he&#8217;s made the most of his opportunities. &#8230; His attitude has been great. His work ethic has been really good. His body language has been really good. He has taken what would be a challenging situation for some people and turned it into a real positive. I&#8217;m really proud of him and his growth.&#8221;</p><p>An obvious example of that growth would be his game-winning touchdown grab two weeks ago in a 31-30 nailbiter against Maryland.</p><p>But for Lewis, things began to turn around for him two games before that.</p><p>Lewis entered the meeting with Indiana still in the midst of that drought without a catch. At that point, he had just three receptions to show for his junior season with the Lions.</p><p>Then came the slump-buster &#8212; three catches for 39 yards against the Hoosiers. Two that went for first downs.</p><p>&#8220;It was just a relief,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;It was something I needed. That made me feel a lot better. As a wide receiver, it&#8217;s hard not getting catches. But that Indiana game helped me a lot.&#8221;</p><p>How this all affects his future remains to be seen.</p><p>Lewis has a fifth year of eligibility available to him but is on track to graduate this year and didn&#8217;t detail any plans he might have for 2016.</p><p>&#8220;Right now my main focus is this season,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;When that time comes, that&#8217;s when you think about it. I want to focus on this season &#8212; just help this team get as far as possible.&#8221;</p><p>Regardless of what comes next, Lewis finds himself in a much better place than he was just a month ago.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;I&#8217;ve been through harder things in life than not playing football,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;You&#8217;re always going to go through adversity in life, and you have to find a way to make it a positive. You can&#8217;t let it get to you. That&#8217;s how I was brought up by my father and my mother.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;No matter what, the football&#8217;s gonna be there. You get your opportunities and you take advantage of it. That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve tried to do this season.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penn State wideout Eugene Lewis (7) had scored a touchdown in Ireland, but the former WVC star hadn&#8217;t scored in Beaver Stadium. Until Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_geno-illinois.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penn State wideout Eugene Lewis (7) had scored a touchdown in Ireland, but the former WVC star hadn&#8217;t scored in Beaver Stadium. Until Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Gene J. Puskar | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Eugene Lewis on the rebound for Nittany Lions