STATE COLLEGE — It had been almost 11 months since Theo Johnson reached the end zone for Penn State.
That scoreless streak ended Saturday when the Nittany Lions tight end caught two touchdown passes in a 63-0 romp past Massachusetts at Beaver Stadium.
“It was a good feeling,” Johnson said. “It was a really good feeling. It was a long time coming.”
Drew Allar lobbed a pass to the wide-open Johnson for a 30-yard score in the third quarter. On the next possession, Allar threw to Johnson on the right sideline. He was upended as he reached the goal line and landed in the end zone for an 18-yard play.
“It was definitely a very good thing for us as a whole,” Allar said, “because of how much Theo brings to the table, not only to the offensive side but how much of a leader he is to the whole team. He’s a great guy to be around.
“Just to see him get the rewards of all the hard work that he puts in was something very cool to see. We look to keep building off that.”
Johnson caught 20 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns last season, including two against Michigan State in the regular season finale.
He entered Saturday’s game with 12 receptions for 101 yards and made four catches for 66 yards against the Minutemen.
Tyler Warren, Penn State’s other starting tight end, caught two passes for 14 yards and one TD. Warren and Johnson have caught seven of Allar’s 12 TD passes.
“We have been fortunate to recruit and develop a big tight end room,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “That’s another positive for Drew having those big targets that are dependable.”
Rushing attack: Penn State running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen might have had their best combined performance of the season when they finished with 147 yards on 24 carries.
Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, ran 15 times for 79 yards (5.3 average) and Allen had nine attempts for 68 yards (7.6 average) and one touchdown.
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula rushed for 59 yards and one score and helped the Lions finish with 246 yards on the ground. They increased their season average to 203.3
Tank Smith became the third Penn State player with a run of at least 20 yards when he scooted for a 39-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Singleton, whose long run Saturday was 10 yards, and Allen, who had an 18-yard burst, still do not have a 20-yard run.
“They’re great teammates,” Allar said. “They’re great guys to be around. They’re unselfish. They obviously want to carry the ball, but they’re gonna pass block and catch the ball.
“They’ve done a great job of being consistent and patient.”
Wallace returns: Penn State wide receiver Trey Wallace saw action for the first time since the second game of the season and had three catches for 44 yards.
Wallace sustained an undisclosed injury against Delaware after having seven receptions in the season opener against West Virginia.
With him playing, Penn State passed for 162 yards. Fellow wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught six passes for 30 yards.
Moving parts: Vega Ioane made his second start of the season at left guard in place of regular starter JB Nelson, who was listed as out on Penn State’s pregame availability report with an undisclosed injury.
Also on the offensive line, Nick Dawkins saw action at center and right guard and former Downingtown West product Drew Shelton played left and right tackle.
By the numbers: Penn State extended several streaks in their lopsided win over Massachusetts.
The Lions have scored at least 30 points in 13 consecutive games and have allowed 21 points or less for 12 straight games. They also have scored in 36 straight quarters.
They had seven sacks, which ran their streak with at least three sacks to 11 games, and had 14 tackles for loss, which gave them 16 straight games with at least five tackles for loss.
The 63-point win was Penn State’s largest margin of victory since a 79-7 win over Idaho in the 2019 opener.
Source: Berkshire mont
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