Luzerne County restaurant inspections: Jan 4-7

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Kirby Center to welcome Los Lobos with Ballet Folklorico Mexicano on March 4

<p>As if graduating from high school and going through the holidays weren&#8217;t enough, Connor McGovern&#8217;s new year was just getting started.</p><p>He spent a week in San Antonio for a nationally televised football all-star game. From there, it was an early morning flight to Philadelphia.</p><p>Next was a trip up the Northeast Extension back home to Luzerne County, where the Lake-Lehman alum had to quickly pack up his life before getting back in the car for another two-hour drive to State College to make it in time for orientation.</p><p>&#8220;This has been crazy,&#8221; McGovern said while still in Texas. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t stopped the past couple weeks.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">A whirlwind month that finally got him to Penn State on Jan. 10 is only the beginning of a year that could see him contributing to the Nittany Lions&#8217; offensive line this fall &#8212; very much a rarity for a freshman.</p><p dir="ltr">If it all seems to be happening fast, well, that&#8217;s been something of a trend for McGovern.</p><p dir="ltr">A center for the Black Knights who also played on the basketball and track and field teams, McGovern suddenly began receiving national attention and scholarship offers for football.</p><p dir="ltr">Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Pitt, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse and West Virginia were among the schools that recruited him.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;In not even six months, it just completely blew up,&#8221; McGovern said at the time. &#8220;I never expected it to be like this.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">Ultimately, however, it came down to Penn State and North Carolina. He committed to Penn State coach James Franklin on a trip to Happy Valley last March, saying the shorter distance from home was the deciding factor.</p><p dir="ltr">He followed a plan to graduate a semester early from Lake-Lehman. In the meantime, he helped lead the Black Knights to a Wyoming Valley Conference crown and a spot in the District 2 Class 2A finals.</p><p dir="ltr">Rated as one of the top offensive linemen in the country, he was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 9, where he started at center for the East squad.</p><p dir="ltr">Now, McGovern said, Penn State coaches have told him they&#8217;re planning to play him this season.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;To me, the ideal lineman (recruit) for us would be someone who&#8217;s 6-5, 6-6, plays high school basketball and is really athletic,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;And then we get him with our (strength) guys, let him marinate for a year, and now you got a guy who&#8217;s 300 pounds but lean and athletic.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">Most high school linemen, however, aren&#8217;t as advanced physically as McGovern is at age 18. Penn State listed him at 6-foot-5, 312 pounds when adding him to the roster.</p><p dir="ltr">Most teenagers don&#8217;t have the advantage of getting into a college training program a semester early to go through winter workouts and spring practice with their new team.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;It&#8217;s tough for anyone,&#8221; said Steve Wiltfong, national recruiting director for the 247Sports network that scouted McGovern in San Antonio. &#8220;But he&#8217;s enrolling early and getting in those 15 practices, getting to know the guys and everything.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;A lot of guys aren&#8217;t as ready physically to play as Connor. They&#8217;re not physically ready to go. He looks ready to go,&#8221; Wiltfong added. &#8220;He needs another semester, getting into the strength and conditioning program at that time. But he&#8217;s close right now, and that should give him the boost he needs to be ready in September.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">If he&#8217;s ready in 2016, McGovern would be the first true freshman offensive lineman to play for Penn State in eight years.</p><p dir="ltr">Of course, much could happen over the next eight months, and there has already been one curveball thrown his way. Offensive line coach Herb Hand left to take a job at Auburn on the same day McGovern started classes. Franklin hired his replacement, Matt Limegrover, less than 48 hours later.</p><p dir="ltr">On the plus side, he&#8217;s not the only one going through this hectic period. Three other recruits in his class also enrolled this month, including his roommate Jake Zembiec, a quarterback from Rochester, New York.</p><p dir="ltr">While McGovern was making his mad dash to get to State College, Zembiec was set to reach campus the day before to begin setting things up.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;We&#8217;re all really close right now,&#8221; McGovern said of his fellow freshmen. &#8220;Especially the guys who are early enrolling. We&#8217;re all close friends and that&#8217;s a big help.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Since graduating from Lake-Lehman, Connor McGovern, left, has had a hectic ride just to get to Penn State where he hopes to see the field this fall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Since graduating from Lake-Lehman, Connor McGovern, left, has had a hectic ride just to get to Penn State where he hopes to see the field this fall. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_mcgovern-arrives.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern, far right, arrived at Penn State last week to begin classes along with three other recruits, including new roommate, quarterback Jake Zembiec, second from right. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_mcgovern-arrives.jpg</photo1><caption1>Connor McGovern, far right, arrived at Penn State last week to begin classes along with three other recruits, including new roommate, quarterback Jake Zembiec, second from right. </caption1><photoCredit1>Penn State athletics </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_mcgovern-jersey.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Two days before he arrived at Penn State, Connor McGovern played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, making for one interesting weekend of travel. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_mcgovern-jersey.jpg</photo2><caption2>Two days before he arrived at Penn State, Connor McGovern played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, making for one interesting weekend of travel. </caption2><photoCredit2>U.S. Army All-American Bowl </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>A busy start to a busy year for Lehman&#8217;s McGovern</subheadMeta></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><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> 8672b29ab833338f04a94376bf12328194b2dd0d</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> BIMVID</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Connor McGovern discusses playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Bowstring Studios</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

From All-American football game to Penn State, Connor McGovern has had a busy start to the new year