Year Brings Montoursville Coach Great Joy, Pain 
Wvw Graduate Was 
Recently Named Head 
Coach Of Boys Basketball 
At Mountoursville High School

5 Proposed Amendments To Pa. Constitution Advertised 
Proposed Amendments To The State Constitution, Including Two Dealing With 
Homicide Cases, Were Advertised In Papers Across The State Over The Past Week.

Wednesday, August 07, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





An education in life &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For a guy who caught a total of 13 passes and scored just one touchdown
last season, it sure seemed like everybody wanted to talk to Joe Jurevicius at
Penn &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; State's annual Media Day on SaturdayNormally, that would have been just
fine with the big wide receiver, except for one thing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nobody was interested in discussing football. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was an amusing give and take, to say the least. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 How's summer school, Joe? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm fine." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe, are you going to be eligible? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm fine." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe, about school ...? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm fine." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Judging by the tired expression on his face, you knew Joe Jurevicius
completely understood the fine mess he had gotten himself into. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Certainly, Joe Paterno had made him aware of it. Keenly aware, no doubt. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The subject of grades, grade-point averages and eligibility has been
foremost in Paterno's mind the last couple of weeks, so much so that he has
mentioned it as a preface to almost every question he's answered about the
team lately. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've got a couple kids in summer school ... some may not make it," he has
said over and over, never mentioning specific players by name. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jurevicius is one of those kids. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I just messed up," he said Saturday from the 50-yard line at Beaver
Stadium. "But I'm fine now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm fine!" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was important for the redshirt junior from Chardon, Ohio, to get the
message across to reporters. It was important for everybody to know that this
little academic slipup was the exception and certainly not the rule by which
he goes about business. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe Jurevicius felt the need to explain, taking us back to a spring day out
of his life. A day he will never forget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I lost some people in my family. My grandfather and my dad's best friend,
a real close family friend, both died on the same day," he explained, noting
the family friend was just 42 years old. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jurevicius knew something was terribly wrong when his father and uncle
showed up unannounced at his campus residence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Tough times," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And Jurevicius made them worse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Referring to his classwork, he said, "I just let things slip away." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Enough, evidently, to land him in summer school at Penn State, where
Jurevicius -- a human development and family studies major -- had to work on
credits toward graduation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He is confident he will ace final exams later this week, and oh-so anxious
to start concentrating on helping the Nittany Lions win a second Big Ten title
this season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With stars Bobby Engram and Freddie Scott departed to the NFL, heaven knows
the Lions need a big year from Jurevicius. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've been looking forward to this chance for a long time," he said.
"Coming to Penn State I always wanted to be a big receiver, following the
likes of Kenny Jackson, O.J. McDuffie and the rest of those guys. I'm really
looking forward to that shot to be the No. 1 wideout." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A 6-foot-5, 223-pounder with outstanding leaping ability and sprinter's
speed (insiders say he is the fastest player on the team), Jurevicius makes a
tempting target for quarterbacks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 His penchant for making big plays in big games qualifies him as a "gamer." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now, his turn in Penn State's system has arrived. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He vows there will be no more stupid mistakes, no more slipups. Nothing to
mess up. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe Jurevicius is ready for all the big games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm fine," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You believe him, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jerry Kellar is a Times Leader sports writer. His column appears on
Wednesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

An Education In Life 
For A Guy Who Caught A Total Of 13 Passes And Scored Just One Touchdown Last 
Season, It Sure Seemed Like Everybody Wanted To Talk To Joe Jurevicius At Penn 
State's Annual Media Day On Saturday.

An Education In Life For A Guy Who Caught A Total Of 13 Passes And Scored Just One Touchdown Last Season, It Sure Seemed Like Everybody Wanted To Talk To Joe Jurevicius At Penn State's Annual Media Day On Saturday.