web1_PSU-MSU1.jpg

Four years in the making: Penn State headed to Big Ten championship game

web1_ttl112716pensgame-4.jpg

Tristan Jarry leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to 1-0 win over Bridgeport Sound Tigers

<p>As he walked out of Beaver Stadium one final time, the hat atop Evan Schwan&#8217;s head read &#8220;Big Ten East Champions&#8221;.</p><p>Not that the fifth-year senior needed a title to remind him he won something.</p><p>Not when he walked onto Penn State&#8217;s home field on Senior Day to stand in front of 97,418 screaming fans while his teammates watched.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the number one thing I&#8217;m going to miss when I&#8217;m gone, man,&#8221; Schwan, a Penn State graduate senior, said. &#8220;The relationships. The locker room.&#8221;</p><p>He&#8217;s not gone just yet.</p><p>Neither is Nittany Lions graduate senior center Brian Gaia, nor senior linebacker Brandon Bell, who helped rally Penn State from the turmoil of a sanction-riddled college football program five years ago to the Big Ten East title with a 45-12 victory over Michigan State in their final Penn State home game.</p><p>They&#8217;ll be playing Wisconsin for the Big Ten title, and a possible spot in the College Football Playoffs, next week.</p><p>&#8220;I never thought we&#8217;d be here,&#8221; Gaia said. &#8220;Now we are here.&#8221;</p><p>They first came to Penn State to play for a program riddled by NCAA sanctions handed down with the Sandusky scandal, including a four-year bowl ban and a reduction of football scholarships, penalties that were ultimately lifted early.</p><p>&#8220;It was a long process,&#8221; said Schwan, remembering when current Penn State coach James Franklin and his staff took over for Bill O&#8217;Brien three years ago. &#8220;I had coaches yelling at me who I had just met a couple days before. I&#8217;m like, &#8216;These guys? Really?&#8217; It was very hard. This would have been the first year we were eligible for a bowl game (under the original sanctions). As a freshman, I didn&#8217;t think we&#8217;d be here. I&#8217;m so glad we are.&#8221;</p><p>Incredible?</p><p>Improbable?</p><p>More likely, inevitable.</p><p>Because if the departing seniors on this year&#8217;s Penn State team leave behind a legacy, it&#8217;s one of loyalty and perseverance.</p><p>In their early college years, the NCAA would have allowed them to leave the program, or crumple up their commitments to Penn State and go elsewhere if they wished.</p><p>&#8220;We were getting a lot of hugs, texts and people saying thank you for staying this week,&#8221; Schwan said, &#8220;me, Brian, all the guys who stayed. I don&#8217;t really think we deserve that. Because of the type of people we are, and it&#8217;s just the way we were raised. When you commit to something, regardless of the situation, you don&#8217;t just put your head down and walk away from it. This camaraderie we had, this family, is what brought us here.&#8221;</p><p>It is really what brought the Lions to the Big Ten East title, this unwavering trust and faith.</p><p>&#8220;The team never stops believing,&#8221; Gaia said, as he was talking about Penn State trailing 6-0 early in Saturday&#8217;s game against Michigan State and 12-10 at halftime. &#8220;No matter who the opponent is. No matter what the score is.&#8221;</p><p>Score one for a group of guys who not only dove into a difficult situation, but in the end, beat an opponent that presented more adversity than any opponent on a football field.</p><p>&#8220;It was a special moment,&#8221; said Bell, who finished with a team-high 18 tackles and helped Penn State hold the Spartans scoreless through the second half Saturday, &#8220;being my last game at Beaver Stadium. I&#8217;m going to look back and say, &#8216;We&#8217;ve got special memories of our last game.&#8217; &#8220;</p><p>They had to do some heavy lifting.</p><p>And that was <em>after </em>the game ended, when Penn State players got a chance to hoist the Big Ten East title trophy.</p><p>&#8220;First thing I said was, &#8216;It&#8217;s heavy.&#8217; &#8221; Schwan said. &#8220;Even the one for the Big Ten East champions is heavy.&#8221;</p><p>That part wasn&#8217;t so intimidating.</p><p>Raising a once-proud college football program from near-dead back to national prominence and to the doorstep of a national title shot took some real strength.</p><p>&#8220;Penn State is back on everyone&#8217;s mind,&#8221; Schwan said. &#8220;Everyone knows about the success Penn State has had &#8212; the national championships, the Big Ten championships. Well, winning the Big Ten East championship is a step in the right direction.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Paul-Sokoloski-MUG.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Paul-Sokoloski-MUG.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Paul Sokoloski</p><p>INSIDE THE HUDDEL</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

In the huddle: Penn State seniors cap off careers with special run