Future Nittany Lion Evan Clark slings a 64-yard TD pass as Pennsylvania wins Big 33 Classic
Team Pennsylvania shut out Team Maryland 20-0 in Monday’s Big 33 matchup at Central Dauphin’s Landis Field.
A highlight of the game was when Penn State preferred walk-on quarterback Evan Clark (Manheim Township) threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Judah Tomb (Central York) to give Pennsylvania a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Clark showed he’s still in good football shape after spending the entirety of the spring playing outfield and pitching on his high school baseball team.
He was happy to have the chance to sling the pigskin before heading to Happy Valley.
“It was fun. I’ve been playing baseball for the past couple of months,” Clark said. “It’s definitely different coming out here and playing football (in May). We didn’t really get it done offensively like we wanted to, but it was good enough to get the job done and get the win.”
The first score of the game came when Pennsylvania defensive end Bralen Henderson (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) scooped up a fumble off of Cam’Ron Stewart (Governor Mifflin) strip sack and took it to the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra-point was good with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter to put Pennsylvania up 7-0.
The second quarter marked Clark’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Tomb with 7:20 left in the first half. Pennsylvania quarterback Joey McCracken (Warwick) tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Malik Cooper (St. Joseph’s Prep) with 1:30 left in the game to give them a 20-0 game.
Future Penn State football players discuss future together
Pennsylvania wide receiver/tight end Khalil Dinkins (North Allegheny) entered the game as the highest ranked player, per 247Sports. He worked on the sideline with Clark on catching passes to gel with his future Nittany Lion teammate. Though he missed a few passes, both are building cohesion heading into summer in State College.
“It’s very exciting because I’m going to get to know them once we get up there, so it’s going to be a good time,” Dinkins said. “We’re going to have that bond. That (pass) was my fault. I kind of slowed down a bit. I just should’ve kept on running and then the second one, it was just a little bit out of my reach when I dove for it.”
Dinkins and Clark were two of four future Nittany Lions playing in Monday’s high school football all-star game. The other two were Team Maryland punter Gabe Nwosu (Bullis) and Team Pennsylvania punter Mitchell Groh (Dallastown).
Clark, like Dinkins, enjoyed the opportunity to play with (and against) some of his soon-to-be teammates.
“It was awesome getting to know these guys before we head up in the summer,” Clark said. “It was great playing with them. I learned a lot about how they play, bonded with them and overall, it was a great experience getting to throw some passes (to Khalil).”
Nwosu hadn’t played a game in over one calendar year, having lost his senior season to COVID-19. Monday’s Big 33 Classic changed his fortunes and he was able to boot a number of footballs into the end zone.
“It felt good to finally play a game,” Nwosu said. “We didn’t have a season this year, so it was good to finally be able to play with one of my brothers (Terrell Jackson) back in school and just take on Pennsylvania. It didn’t turn out how we wanted it to be, but it’s all good.”
Nwosu often trains with Groh in Maryland. The two players punted and kicked against each other with Groh representing Team Pennsylvania. Heading into Penn State with a strong bond, Groh is excited for the opportunity to compete on the same side of the ball with Nwosu.
“That was cool because we work with Coach (Kirk) Maggio down in Baltimore a lot together,” Groh said. “Knowing him coming into this game definitely helped me to know what was on the other side of what the competition looks like. I actually held today, so who knows what’s going to happen next year with the special teams situation. We’ll see what happens.”
