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Our View: James Harvey is a true American hero

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Sunday Dispatch honors Marranca, DeMinico

<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; Connor McGovern returned home Tuesday afternoon to to where it all began: Lake-Lehman High School.</p><p>Hundreds of students and members of the community packed the gymnasium to bid farewell to McGovern, a Lake-Lehman graduate and former Penn State offensive lineman, before he heads to rookie training camp with the Dallas Cowboys.</p><p>He was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 26, with the 90th pick.</p><p>McGovern, 21, also received a very special honor on Tuesday: His jersey number &#8212; 60 &#8212; was retired as part of the ceremony, meaning no one else will ever wear that number on the gridiron for the Black Knights.</p><p>&#8220;It means the world to me to have my jersey retired,&#8221; McGovern told the Lake-Lehman crowd. &#8220;The support I&#8217;ve had from everyone from Lake-Lehman, at my draft party and online has been great. I can&#8217;t thank everyone enough.&#8221;</p><p>The feeling was mutual.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen anyone work harder in my life,&#8221; Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said when introducing McGovern to the crowed during Tuesday&#8217;s sendoff. &#8220;He was such a coachable kid and surrounded himself with great people.&#8221;</p><p>McGovern, of Larksville, said he got a phone call from Gilsky late Monday night saying there was an event taking place in his honor.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know what to expect. It was a complete surprise,&#8221; said McGovern, the 2015 Times Leader Player of the Year. &#8220;When I got up there (the podium), all the emotions hit me. I&#8217;ve only seen coach (Gilsky) get emotional once when I played for him.&#8221;</p><p>McGovern credited his parents and his older brothers for putting him on his path to success.</p><p>&#8220;They taught me that hard work pays off,&#8221; he said. &#8220;All of my life I&#8217;ve been looking up to others, but now, I might be a role model to others, especially the kids at Lake-Lehman.&#8221;</p><p>Being looked at as a potential role model, McGovern hopes to inspire kids to work harder to see what they can do in the future and for the community of Lake-Lehman.</p><p>&#8220;He takes it upon himself to come back,&#8221; Gilsky said of the many times McGovern traveled from Penn State back to Lake-Lehman to speak to the football team. &#8220;He comes back and surrounds himself with the people that embody him. He&#8217;s part of the Lake-Lehman family.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of guys go to their own training facilities, not Connor,&#8221; he added. &#8220;He used our weight room to train.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re going to the NFL, you aren&#8217;t playing against boys anymore. You&#8217;re playing against grown men,&#8221; Gilsky said of the adjustment McGovern will have to make. &#8220;I told him he has to get noticed. The Cowboys took him with 90th pick for a reason. But with his maturity and work ethic, he will be fine.&#8221;</p><p><strong>McGovern talks Cowboys</strong></p><p>McGovern is slated to attend Cowboys rookie training camp on Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a crazy couple of weeks. Things haven&#8217;t really set in. I leave from Avoca at 6:30 a.m. and head down to Dallas,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll be in Dallas in the afternoon. Once I put the helmet on, I think that&#8217;s when I&#8217;ll settle in.&#8221;</p><p>McGovern donned No. 66 for the Nittany Lions as a three-year starter. He will wear the same number for the Cowboys.</p><p>After months of not playing, instead focusing on training for the draft, McGovern said he is looking forward to putting the pads back on. The Cowboys also sent him their playbook along with terminology they would like him to be familiar with before making his trek to Dallas.</p><p>&#8220;The playbook&#8217;s a little bit bigger than what Penn State was but it&#8217;s nothing I can&#8217;t handle,&#8221; McGovern laughed. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been in contact with a lot of different guys on the team and staff.&#8221;</p><p>The 2016 Big Ten champion said he still hasn&#8217;t found a place to live in Texas.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been looking at houses every day,&#8221; McGovern noted. &#8220;They (Cowboys) are putting me up in a hotel until I find a place. I want to talk to some of the guys and see where they live and what they recommend.&#8221;</p><p>After a three day rookie training camp, McGovern will be in Dallas for the next seven weeks, joining other members of the Cowboys and players in hopes of making the team, including former GAR graduate Shakir Soto, who recently signed with Dallas after the Alliance of American Football folded.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern is congratulated by 5th grade students at Lake-Lehman during a send-off the school hosted on Tuesday for McGovern in which he was honored and his high school number was retired. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Connor McGovern is congratulated by 5th grade students at Lake-Lehman during a send-off the school hosted on Tuesday for McGovern in which he was honored and his high school number was retired. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern hugs 6th grade Lake-Lehman teacher Shelene James at the send-off party for McGovern.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Connor McGovern hugs 6th grade Lake-Lehman teacher Shelene James at the send-off party for McGovern.  </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern enters his send-off party at Lake Lehman High School on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Connor McGovern enters his send-off party at Lake Lehman High School on Tuesday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern signs the shirt of Lake-Lehman 5th-grader John Weaver. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Connor McGovern signs the shirt of Lake-Lehman 5th-grader John Weaver. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern, a third-round pick in the NFL draft for the Dallas Cowboys, signs a mini Cowboys helmet for 5th grade student Robert Gregor on Tuesday during a send-off event at his alma mater, Lake-Lehman, where school officials retired McGovern&#8217;s number as part of the celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_TTL0508419mcgovern2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Connor McGovern, a third-round pick in the NFL draft for the Dallas Cowboys, signs a mini Cowboys helmet for 5th grade student Robert Gregor on Tuesday during a send-off event at his alma mater, Lake-Lehman, where school officials retired McGovern&#8217;s number as part of the celebration. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>&#8216;All the emotions hit me,&#8217; McGovern says of farewell event</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>SEE THE VIDEO </strong></p><p>View highlights from McGovern&#8217;s celebration at timesleader.com.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</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%;"> M33VJ5DyFlQ</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://youtu.be/M33VJ5DyFlQ</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%;"> </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>