Connor Crawford, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, clc6080@psu.edu

Penn State football had a Big Ten matchup that had very big playoff implications when the Nittany Lions hosted Ohio State on Saturday, September 29. Penn State had the lead for a majority of the game, until a very ugly ending. The game ended sending every Penn State fan away sad and unhappy with the play call.

Penn State surrendered a late lead and had to succeed in a game winning final drive. It was a sad ending as head coach James Franklin tried to catch Ohio State off guard by running the ball on a crucial fourth and five.

It started out as a very hyped-up day in college football for the battle between Ohio State and Penn State. Many sports writers predicted this game to be the game of the year in college football. Fans were out early in Happy Valley—some as early as six in the morning, because ESPN’s College Gameday was broadcasting from the HUB lawn. Fans were out with their signs and game day helmets on. Happy Valley was as electric as it could be all day. Penn State made this game a white out game and, if you follow Penn State football you know, that it means it’s an extremely big game. The white out game is when every fan wears white; it is a well-known tradition in college football.

Fans were excited and ready. I talked to a senior student Alex Masino who attends Penn State University Park campus and he told me, “This was the most excitement and energy that I have seen and felt on this campus since I got here.” I also talked to a Penn State alumni member, Freddie Titmen, about what he thought of the energy around the campus. He said, “It has been a while since I’ve attended the school, but I’ll tell you, this this is most important game for Penn State in the last 13 years at least.” The whole campus was charged with energy all weekend.

The game started off great. Penn State jumped to a 13-7 lead before the half. They then lost the lead in the third quarter as the offense sputtered and couldn’t get anything going to start the half. The fourth quarter of the game was down to the wire—especially the last minutes of the game. Penn State seemed to turn their offense back on and ended up regaining the lead. But in the game’s final four minutes, Ohio State again took the lead. The pressure was on. Trace McSorley and the offense had three minutes to go down field and either kick a field goal for the win or score a touchdown. Trace McSorley, arguably, was playing the best game of his career so in

the fourth quarter the game plan was to keep the ball in his hands at all cost. Penn State traveled down field until they hit a roadblock and had a fourth and five. On fourth and five James Franklin decided to change to a halfback draw. It was unsuccessful and cost Penn State the game.

The biggest talk around Penn State campus is why James Franklin decided to run. I asked my friend Derek Strain, “I have no clue on why that was the play call, Trace has been playing the best game of his career and you decide to run; I just don’t get it.” The play call on that final play was something that disappointed a lot of fans. Franklin did take the blame, “We obviously did not make the right play call.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6zBzZSitDc

Playoffs might not happen this year after that loss to rival Ohio State but fans are still optimistic about the season and the future of the program. I asked another alumni member, Chris Duke, after the game what he thinks about the rest of the season and how close we are to the playoffs. He said, “We have a close shot this year but it’s not likely after this loss, but I do believe this team will be in the playoffs in the next three years.”

The season is not over for Penn State football; they still have six games left on the year and still have a shot at making playoffs. They will just have to win the rest of their games and hope for a couple of things to go their way to reach playoffs. The program is moving in the right direction as they have been nationally ranked for the past three years.

Brandywine men’s basketball holding PSUAC banner and trophy after winning the title. Photo Credit; Brandywine athletics.

Connor Crawford, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, clc6080@psu.edu

Athletics is an area in sports that is constantly changing. Players change and leave, team rankings change, and personnel change. Athletics at Brandywine is no different. Change is a thing that everyone and every team has to deal with; the key thing is to see how these things affect the teams.
Brandywine’s Coordinator of Athletic Programs Jeffrey Scarpone, talked about the new head coach for men’s basketball. “Coach Justin Dunbar-Stevens was hired in July and seems to have everything moving well for the team. He was an assistant coach for a few different schools and knows the D3 league pretty well. Now he finally gets his shot at a head coach job. The basketball team has a lot of returning players, so they are expecting another great season out of the men’s basketball team,” said Scarpone.

They won the conference championship last year so the returning players know what it’s like to win and can help the younger guys out. “We are expecting big things out of men’s basketball again, just like last year.”
The women’s soccer team also has a new coach. Elise Pratt, who played division one soccer, is a recent grad (2017) from University of Delaware. Although it’s only been a short time, Pratt is enjoying working with the returning team. They lost their first game 4-3 against Wesley College—a tough team in the league.

Brandywine women’s soccer is looking to be competitive again in this league. They have their sights set on another conference title, which would be the team’s third conference title in a row.
Scarpone’s goals for all fall sports is that they all stay competitive.

Last year men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball all went undefeated and won their conference titles. So from that Scarpone says, “the three team sports in the fall played very well and look to do the same this year as they stay focused and competitive.”
The men’s and women’s cross country teams are all off to a good start, as one of the freshman Brian Able, won the Delaware Valley invitational. He is Brandywine’s first male runner to win a race in the invitational. Freshman Katherine Mooney finished second place in her first her race. So both of those teams are off to running starts. The men’s golf team finished seventh in September. They are in their second year back after not having a team for nearly five years. Overall “Penn State Brandywine’s sports teams look to have very good seasons, and stay competitive in conference play,” said Scarpone. Good luck to all Penn State Brandywine fall athletes for a healthy, successful season.

By: Margot Gargus, Lions Eye Staff Editor, mbg5317@psu.edu

On February 7, 2017, senior Marcus Turner entered the Penn State Brandywine gym to play in his last home game of his career on the men’s basketball team. As the game came to a close Turner dropped his final 7 points.

Orignally from Claymont Delaware, Marcus Turner lead the Brandywine Lions on and off the court for four years. As an athlete at Brandywine for all four years, he served as a basketball captain for three years.

Scoring a total of 775 career points, Turner was only 225 points short of his all-time career goal of 1,000 points. Marcus shared with us some of his proudest moments here on campus.One occurred during his freshman year, scored twenty points in back-to-back games. He also shared, “being able to play next to some of the same players over the years has made my experience even better. The friendships I have with these guys are something I hope to never lose.”

When asked about the emotions of his last home game and senior night Turner said, “It didn’t hit me until half time when they announced it. Four years passed quickly and I wasn’t ready for it to end.” Playing by his side was junior Cyrie Spencer and junior James Fisher. “It was great to play with Cyrie and Fish these past couple years. I can’t wait to see how their senior year plays out and watch them reach 1,000 points.”

Turners love for the game inspires his teammates on and off the court. Turner shares that he plans to possibly stay around with the team and help coach next season.

“I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to possibly coach here next season. I love the program and I can’t wait to watch it grow and maybe continue to be a part of the team,” said Turner

“Marcus will definitely be missed by the team. He’s always been super positive and a good all around captain,” states freshman Pat Gallagher.

Although Marcus Turner is no longer a player, his impact on the team is something his team mates and coaches won’t forget.

By: Margot Gargus, Lions Eye Staff Editor, mbg5317@psu.edu

Coming off a six game losing streak, Brandywine men’s basketball team seemed to be running out of luck. The players came together and fought hard to take the win with the score of 76-74, against Penn State Wilkes Barre. The team knew what they were in for going into the game however.

“That game was personal,” said leading scorer Isaiah Allford-Wilmore, “There was a lot of trash talking and we knew a lot of the players; taking that win was a must.”

Leading the Lions to victory was junior, Junior Sanchez, scoring a booming 19 points by the end of the game.

Junior said, “I knew I put in the work in the gym and I was confident in my performance. I hadn’t gotten as much time as I had hoped in the first half of the season; I just had to be patient and wait for my time.”

Building the team’s confidence on and off the court, Junior has been a leader since the beginning of the season.

“Having him out of there with me raises my intensity and he is just a fun guy to play with,” states Wilmore.

The game was a fight from start to finish but still ended close.

“It is important we focus on our fundamentals in order to cut back on these close games. The more we all focus on our own game on top of working together the less we have to worry in the end,” states freshman, Pat Gallagher.

Junior Captain, Cyrie Spencer scored 17 points against Wilkes pushing his team even closer to victory. Although the team couldn’t seem to catch a break the players never hung their heads.

“We have a lot of talent, we’ve just been having trouble finding chemistry at the end of games which has led to us blowing big leads,” Pat said.

Only two games out of the playoffs the boys are fighting with all they’ve got to get the spot they know they deserve. With the season coming to a close, make sure to come out and support Penn State Brandywine men’s basketball team as they finish the second half of the season

By: Margot Gargus, Lions Eye Staff Editor, mbg5317@psu.edu

With a running start this spring, track and field is the newest sports team competing at Penn State Brandywine. Designated as club sports in 2016-17, the team could be vaulted to varsity status for 2017-18 depending on the participation numbers.

With two new coaches leading the team, Angela Fitch and Joe Frassenei, the team is ready to have a dominant first season.

With dual roles in both track and field and cross country, Fitch will serve as the head track and field coach and assistant cross country coach while Frassenei will serve as head coach of cross country and assistant coach of track and field.

Fitch brings more than a decade of coaching experience to Brandywine. As a high school coach, she led her team to states while mentoring students who earned NCAA Division I scholarships. Students can expect to learn fundamentals and techniques too, since Fitch was a USA Track & Field independent coach.

Frassenei brings more than two decades of cross country and track and field coaching experience to the team, most recently at the high school level.

Fitch looks forward to success on the track saying, “Our track/field athletes will surprise everyone this year. We have great quality athletes, so be on the lookout for great performances.”

When asking freshman Niral Patel about his expectations, he said, “I want to try and get in the best shape I can to help lead the team to as much success as possible. I am beyond excited to be able to compete on Brandywine’s first ever track team. I think the coaches are very helpful and nice people to talk to if I have any troubles involving track or school.”

Working daily in the off-season, this new team begins with its first meet, the Philadelphia Classic on March 17 & 18 at Temple University. Don’t miss the action.

Student enthusiasm and coaching experience—this sounds like the start of a good track and field experience.

By: Margot Gargus Lions Eye Staff Writer, mbg5317@psu.edu

On a Thursday in early September the Lady Lions tennis team fought hard to win over the Cedar Crest Falcons for a 5-4 victory! With two big wins in doubles and an additional three wins in singles, the girls came out swinging. Lead by senior captain Heather Gartside and her doubles partner, Brandywine grabbed the first doubles win clinching the number one spot with a final score of 8-4.

“My overall feel for this match was determination. I was determined to play better than my previous match, and ready to show my opponent up. I had practiced different drills for this match, so I was glad to see my hard work paid off in my doubles playing,” states Heather after the win.

Keeping the winning streak alive was Elizabeth Sexton and Melody Zheng. The girls came out with a sweep, 8-0, over their opponents to clinch the number three spot.

“I was nervous going into the match, but Melody and I were really in sync, which made us a great team. In addition to having a lot of fun playing, it felt great to have a comeback of 8-0,” Elizabeth Sexton said.

Along with the showing in their doubles competition, Agno was able to take the number three spot in singles with her victory over Kristina Litonjua of Cedar Crest leaving the score at 8-5. The girls were unstoppable after Alexis Ellison won fifth-flight singles scoring 8-6, coupled with Katie Corey taking the number four spot in singles.

This new year brought a new coach, new outlook on the game and new strategy. “Coach Tony Clark is a new coach this year, and he certainly is a great one. He is always ready for correction on the court, and he truly cares about the tennis program here on campus. Coach has definitely helped me improve my game by teaching me new techniques and ways of hitting the ball,” said Heather Gartside.

“The girls this year are coming out on fire and are ready to continue the winning streak,” said Corey.

Come out and support Brandywine women’s tennis team as they travel for their next matches!