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On the Books: Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel, ‘The Nest,’ explores what money can do to family bonds.

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Two shorthanded goals by Kevin Porter lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 3-1 win over Syracuse

<p>STATE COLLEGE &#8212; They were supposed to go to the southeast corner of stadium, right in front of the student section. It&#8217;s where Penn State players and coaches had been gathering to sing the alma mater after games for the last five years.</p><p>Most of them couldn&#8217;t get there. The student section had already come to them.</p><p>Stuck toward the middle of the field as the crowd spilled out of the stands after the Nittany Lions&#8217; monumental 24-21 win over No. 2 Ohio State, players simply grabbed the person closest to them and belted it out.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve worked in every major conference, as well as the NFL,&#8221; said emotional Lions coach James Franklin, whose brother-in-law had died on Tuesday. &#8220;I can&#8217;t imagine there&#8217;s a better environment than what that was out here tonight.</p><p>&#8220;I just couldn&#8217;t be more proud. This community&#8217;s been through so much the last five years. And this is a big step in the right direction in terms of healing.&#8221;</p><p>In the context of a horrific scandal, NCAA sanctions and loss after loss against Big Ten powerhouses, it was a night like never before in Happy Valley.</p><p>Penn State players had gotten a speech on Friday night from Michael Robinson, the former quarterback who had previously authored the Lions&#8217; signature win over the Buckeyes back in 2005.</p><p>But that was a senior-laden Lions team, one that was on the way up and already ranked in the top 25. Robinson&#8217;s squad was a narrow 3.5-point underdog against a Buckeyes team that had already dropped a game.</p><p>No, these Lions were with 20-point dogs who had five seniors total in the starting lineup.</p><p>And these second-ranked and undefeated Buckeyes had never lost a road game in five years with Urban Meyer as coach. Had won 78 straight when holding a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. Had their sights set on another national title run.</p><p>Simply put &#8212; Penn State&#8217;s biggest upset win in modern history.</p><p>&#8220;I felt so good,&#8221; junior safety Marcus Allen said. &#8220;So <em>good</em>. I wanted to cry.&#8221;</p><p>It was Allen who teamed up with fellow defensive back Grant Haley for one of the signature plays in school history.</p><p>With the Buckeyes lining up for a 45-yard field goal to push their lead to seven in the final five minutes, it was Allen who found a crease and leaped to swat down Tyler Durbin&#8217;s kick.</p><p>&#8220;(On a first-half field goal), I jumped over clean. But I missed it,&#8221; Allen said. &#8220;And I went back to the sideline and I was asking (special teams coach Charles Huff) where I was supposed to be to block the kick.</p><p>&#8220;I knew it was gonna come again. I did the same thing. I came clean. I went with the adjustment Coach Huff gave me and I blocked it.&#8221;</p><p>The Lions hadn&#8217;t had much luck on special teams up until this point. They had their own field goal try blocked. They fumbled away a punt return that led to three points for Ohio State. And earlier in the second half, a bad snap on a punt went into the end zone for a safety.</p><p>This time, the bounce went their way.</p><p>Haley scooped it up on the run. Sixty yards later &#8212; and nearly a tackle by holder Cameron Johnston at the 5 &#8212; Penn State had a 24-21 lead.</p><p>&#8220;Something I think every little kid dreams about,&#8221; Haley said. &#8220;I was stumbling toward the end, but I just looked over my shoulder and saw the kicker. I shimmied away from him a little bit. Just a sigh of relief.</p><p>&#8220;I just picked the ball up and ran. And the rest was history.&#8221;</p><p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpTM-q730Kk" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Not quite yet. Ohio State still had Heisman hopeful J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes were driving with time ticking down.</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t until the defense &#8212; fueled by the return of linebackers Brandon Bell (19 tackles) and Jason Cabinda (12 tackles) &#8212; got a third-down sack from Cabinda and a fourth-down sack from Kevin Givens and Evan Schwan that Happy Valley erupted like it hadn&#8217;t in years.</p><p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IWf6y31IFFk" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p><p>&#8220;I literally can&#8217;t put it into words,&#8221; tight end Mike Gesicki said. &#8220;I lost my voice. That&#8217;s why all of us came here.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone is saying we shocked the nation. We might have just shocked everyone outside of (the locker room), but we believed we were going to win this game.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penn State's Grant Haley returns a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Ohio State in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in State College, Pa. Penn State won 24-21. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP)


</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_AP76483385909520161023233886.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penn State's Grant Haley returns a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Ohio State in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in State College, Pa. Penn State won 24-21. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP)


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<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%;"> HOJUV1dBf_0</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%;"> YOUTUBE</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%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJUV1dBf_0</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%;"> </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%;"> Derek Levarse | Times Leader</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>

One for the ages: Nittany Lions shock No. 2 Ohio State