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Happy birthday Alexander James Hufford!

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Police: Fire in Heights section of Wilkes-Barre was arson

It wasn&#8217;t just the sight of DeAndre Thompkins bringing back a punt for a 61-yard touchdown that inspired Penn State.It was the dazzling 42-yard return he made of another punt that should have led to points and the 15-yard run-back he made later that helped set up a touchdown.Put them all together, and Thompkins made Penn State&#8217;s punt return game sizzle during Saturday&#8217;s season-opening 52-0 annihilation of Akron.If this is what Thompkins and the Lions returners have in store, Pitt will have a problem next week and so will the rest of the teams on Penn State&#8217;s schedule this year. They are either going to have to kick away from Thompkins and risk losing some distance or shanks with directional punting, kick to to Thompkins and gamble he won&#8217;t change field position &#8212; or the scoreboard &#8212; himself.The 80-yard burst of Saquon Barkley and his head-turning 30-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half were pretty much expected. So were the dominant plays the defense made against an MAC opponent like Akron, starting with a brilliant, diving interception by Amani Oruwariye and a sack by Ryan Buchholz.The returns by Thompkins? They came out of nowhere, or at least out of the last decade, since Penn State hadn&#8217;t returned a punt for a touchdown since 2008. And they helped the sixth-ranked Lions bring an overall A Game into the 2017 season.OFFENSEIt took Heisman Trophy hopeful Saquon Barkley nearly 10 full minutes into the season to finally touch the ball. For Penn State, it was well worth the wait. Barkley ran wild with 172 rushing yards in the season opener, and so did the offense, piling up four touchdowns from all angles before halftime and six for the game. GRADE: AOffensive line: A mildly high snap by Lake-Lehman grad Connor McGovern, making his first collegiate start at center, led to a two-yard loss preceding an interception in the end zone on the next play. That&#8217;s the only negative thing you could say about the kid, or the line. Grade: A+Quarterback: While he threw for 280 yards, Trace McSorley wasn&#8217;t pinpoint perfect. He tossed a pick into tight coverage in the end zone to toss away points in the first half, and had receiver Juwan Johnson and tight end Mike Gesicki diving for long gainers that should have gone for touchdowns if McSorley hit them in stride. Still, he did throw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Backup Tommy Stevens even got in on the act, capping a 66-yard touchdown drive with his five-yard scoring run. Grade: A-Running backs: Barkley began blazing his way to the front of the early Heisman race with an 80-yard run that would have been an 87-yard touchdown if he wasn&#8217;t ruled to have stepped out of bounds, a 30-yard touchdown run and a 43-yard catch to set up a third score. He finished with 172 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Grade: A+Wide receivers: Big Juwan Johnson played a big part in Penn State&#8217;s passing game with four catches for a team-high 84 yards, and tight end Mike Gesicki snagged six receptions, including a pair of scoring strikes. Grade: ADEFENSEIt took about one series for Penn State to destroy any type of gameplan Akron may have had. The Zips had 73 yards rushing, 86 yards passing and no points. Grade: A+Defensive backs: With an acrobatic, all-out, over-the-shoulder lunge, Amani Oruwariye made a highlight reel out of his second career interception. Akron didn&#8217;t come close to hitting a long-gainer through the air, with its longest completions going for 13 yards. Grade: A+Defensive line: Defensive end Ryan Buchholz had a sack, shared in another stop for a loss and made four tackles while making life miserable for Akron quarterback Thomas Woodson. Dallas grad Ryan Monk not only got some playing time, but shared in a late-game tackle. Grade: ALinebackers: Manny Bowen and Jarvis Miller tied for the team with five tackles, and Cam Brown was all over the field in an impressive season debut. Grade: A+Special teams: The Lions were flagged for both running into and roughing the punter on separate occasions, and Tyler Davis caused a gasp by missing a 39-yard field goal attempt. It was all overshadowed by DeAndre Thompkins, who finished with 127 yards on four punt returns, including that 61-yard bolt of lightning that gave the Lions their first score of the season. Now, if they can just keep their hands off the opposing punter. Grade: A-Coaching staff: Special teams coach Charles Huff has to be happy with the punt returns, and it&#8217;s going to be tough for defensive coordinator Brent Pry to find much to complain about. Penn State was supposed to beat Akron, and head coach James Franklin made sure the Lions did. Soundly. Grade: A+<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penn State&#8217;s DeAndre Thompkins (3) runs back a punt return for a touchdown against Akron during the first half of Saturday&#8217;s game in State College. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_PSU-returnCMYK-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penn State&#8217;s DeAndre Thompkins (3) runs back a punt return for a touchdown against Akron during the first half of Saturday&#8217;s game in State College. </caption0><photoCredit0>Chris Knight | AP Photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

PSU Report Card: Straight A’s for Nittany Lions in opening-day rout