| 17 | 7 |
| Beaver Stadium | University Park, Pa. | 68,000 | |
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| VIDEO: Coach Franklin One-on-One |
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| FINAL STATISTICS |
April 18, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Just as the 2014 season ended, the 2015 Blue-White Game presented by AAA started with a Christian Hackenberg (Palmyra, Va.) completion to Kyle Carter (Bear, Del.), and the third-year signal caller helped Blue to a 17-7 victory over White in front of 68,000 fans on a sundrenched day inside Beaver Stadium.
Nearly every available player saw action in front of the fifth-largest Blue-White Game crowd in school history, with 80 total players taking the field. The fans were also treated to a pregame kicking contest that featured four 50-plus yard field goals and a halftime punting competition.
Inside the Numbers
Three quarterbacks saw the field on Saturday; Billy Fessler (Erie), Hackenberg and Tommy Stevens (Indianapolis). Hackenberg was 17-of-29 passing for 180 yards and one touchdown, a two-yard strike to Saeed Blacknall (Manalapan, N.J.) in the fourth quarter. Fessler, playing for both the Blue and White squads, completed 5-of-10 passes - going 5-for-8 as a member of Blue - for 56 yards. Stevens, an early enrollee, connected on 3 of his 11 attempts for 19 yards, including his first-ever completion at Beaver Stadium for six yards to Dom Salomone (Dillsburg, Pa.).
The ground game was headed by White's redshirt freshman Nick Scott (Fairfax, Va.) and Blue's redshirt junior Akeel Lynch (Toronto, Ontario). Scott headed the rushing attack with 77 yards on nine carries, including a 51-yard TD run in the third quarter. Lynch gained 55 yards and opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown scamper.
The Blue wide receiver corps hauled in 22 passes, including six each from Blacknall and Geno Lewis (Wilkes-Barre). Blacknall paced all wideouts with 71 yards and a touchdown, and Lewis added 61 yards. Carter caught three passes for 36 yards, while Gregg Garrity (Pittsburgh) piled up 25 yards on a pair of grabs.
A number of defensive players contributed in the final spring practice, led by the White squad's defensive end duo of Curtis Cothran (Newtown, Pa.) and Evan Schwan (Harrisburg). Schwan ended the afternoon with six tackles, 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss, while Cothran's five stops included 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Malik Golden (Hartford, Conn.) led all players with seven stops, while both of Tarow Barney's (Gainesville, Fla.) stops came behind the line of scrimmage
Award Winners
Four Nittany Lions were recognized for their spring practice efforts at halftime. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Garrett Sickels (Red Bank, N.J.) was presented the Jim O'Hora Award, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Brendan Mahon (Randolph, N.J.) earned the Red Worrell Award and redshirt sophomore tight end Adam Breneman (Mechanicsburg) and Salomone were selected by the coaching staff as the recipient of the Frank Patrick Memorial Award.
The Coaches Special Team Award was handed out for the second straight season, with redshirt freshman place kicker Joey Julius (Hummelstown) garnering the honors. The award is given to the specialist who demonstrated loyalty, interest, attitude & improvement in spring practice.
The Worrell Award is presented to the offensive player who has best demonstrated exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement during spring practice. The prize was first presented in 1958 and is named in the honor of the late Red Worrell, a high school All-American from Centerville HS who was tragically electrocuted in an accident after an exceptional season on the 1957 Nittany Lion freshman team. Past Worrell Award winners include former offensive coordinator Fran Ganter, Lydell Mitchell, Mickey Shuler, Steve Smith, Kyle Brady, Bryant Johnson, Rodney Kinlaw, Graham Zug, Matt Stankiewitch, Ty Howle and Brian Gaia, the 2014 recipient.
The defensive award is named in honor of Jim O'Hora, a long-time Penn State assistant coach who was a member of the coaching staff for 31 years. Loyalty and attitude especially characterized Jim O'Hora and has typified many of the previous winners, including Walker Lee Ashley, Andre Collins, Michael Haynes, Anthony Adams, Tim Shaw, Michael Mauti, Jordan Hill and Stephon Morris, Jordan Lucas, C.J. Olaniyan and 2014 award winner Anthony Zettel. The O'Hora Award was first presented in 1977.
The Frank Patrick Memorial "Total Commitment" Award goes to junior class squad members who consistently follow through with their responsibilities in all facets of the football program and do so in exemplary manner. This includes academic pursuits, off-season preparation, in-season commitment, demeanor and community service. Jeff Hartings, Wally Richardson, Justin Kurpeikis, Bryan Scott, Robbie Gould, Josh Hull, John Urschel, MilesDieffenbach, Mike Hull and 2014 recipient Deion Barnes are among the previous recipients. Patrick was a member of the Lions' coaching staff from 1949-73
Scoring Breakdown
A methodical opening drive by Blue covered 65 yards on nine plays and ended with a 22-yard rushing score for Lynch. Blue jumped out to the 7-0 lead as Hackenberg completed 4-of-6 passes for 24 yards and Lynch ran for 26 yards on three carries to reach the end zone. Blacknall logged three grabs on the opening drive for 15 yards, including a pair of first down catches, while Carter caught the opening pass of the game for nine yards.
Blue's defense limited White's offense to just 37 yards on seven plays - one of which was a Scott 25-yard rush - over its first two drives to force a pair of punts. After its second drive stalled, Blue drove 82 yards on 17 plays and ate up 8:30 off the clock. The drive ended with a Chris Gulla (Pasadena, Md.) 25-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
The lone third quarter score came from White when Scott took the handoff and broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run on the third play of the drive. After Stevens missed Luke Vadas (Hunting valley, Ohio) on first down, Scott gained three yards on second down. The redshirt-freshman took the next handoff, busted up the middle and outran Blue's secondary for the score. Tyler Davis (St. Charles, Ill.) added the extra point to cut Blue's lead to just three points, 10-7.
Blue struck back quickly when Hackenberg connected with Blacknall on the ensuing possession to push the lead back to 10 points, 17-7. The drive covered 75 yards on eight plays, including four completions by Hackenberg, and culminated with a two-yard touchdown pass to Blacknall. Hackenberg accounted for 71 of the 75 yards on the drive, with Mark Allen (Hyattsville, Md.) adding in the other four yards on two carries.
Season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale, with more than 2,500 new season tickets having been sold. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.