Loss to Penn State irks Temple safety Kevin Kroboth

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Kevin Kroboth preferred to talk about the future, which, given what had just happened in the immediate past to his Temple Owls on Saturday afternoon, made a whole lot of sense.

"We have a whole season ahead of us," said the Owls' senior starting free safety and Nazareth Area High School graduate after Temple dropped an agonizing 14-10 decision to Penn State in front of 57,323 fans at Lincoln Financial Field. "This is only the third game of the season. We have Maryland and Toledo coming up, we have a lot to play for. This is a tough loss, it hurts, but we have to move on."

But Kroboth and the Owls know they will move on having left a huge opportunity for a program-defining win behind.

The Owls led the whole way until Penn State (2-1) cashed in an interception at the Temple 44 by Michael Mauti, the third Temple turnover of the game, for a 1-yard touchdown run and the lead with 2 minutes, 42 seconds to play.

"Turnovers really put us in bad positions," said Kroboth, who had five tackles and two assists for the Owls. "Our defense kept fighting and did an unbelievable job but we needed to make one or two plays more to win. We can only blame ourselves. "

That was surely the correct assessment as Penn State did its best to hand the Owls their first win over the Lions since 1941. Penn State had a punt blocked, threw an interception, missed three field goals (one blocked) and sputtered and stuttered all day behind its inconsistent quarterback rotation of junior Matt McGloin and sophomore Rob Bolden (combined 22-for-37 for 216 yards).

But the Nittany Lions were saved by a stalwart defense that held Temple to 197 total yards, forced turnovers and made the Owls' two-headed QB of junior Mike Gerardi and senior Chester Stewart look worse than PSU's (12-for-28, 123 yards, 2 INT).

"We were p-oed at halftime," Mauti said. "We knew we'd start to create turnovers, it was just a matter of time. I am proud of our team and our defense."

"I thought we hung in there, there are some things we could do a little better," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "You've heard me say it 1,000 times, the team that wins the turnover battle wins the game and we have to make them happen."

Temple managed to dodge catastrophe after two of the turnovers but with the Owls' offense stuck in low gear after scoring 10 first-half points, Mauti's pick turned the trick.

Penn State needed 12 plays and two fourth-down conversions go the 44 yards for the winning score. Kroboth said the key moment came when Bolden (9-for-17, 92 yards) hit Derek Moye on a crossing route for 11 yards to convert a 4th-and-2 from the Temple 23.

"I don't want to single out any one play but that one hurt," said Kroboth, who made the tackle on the play. "Both of us were at the ball; it just happened. They made the plays, and they capitalized on our mistakes."

Kroboth was one of three Lehigh Valley Conference products on the field for the Temple defense. Junior linebacker Ahkeem Smith had three tackles and an assist and sophomore defensive tackle Levi Brown had two tackles.

"It was nice to see so many kids from the Lehigh Valley play that well," Kroboth said. "It shows what kind of athletes are coming out of the Lehigh Valley Conference."

Temple led Penn State at Beaver Stadium in 2010 at the half before succumbing and players on both sides said this game reminded of that one. But for the Owls, especially for Kroboth playing in his final season with Temple, it was especially painful.

"We knew coming into this game we could compete with Penn State and win the game," Kroboth said. "We love playing tough teams like this. It brings out the best in us and prepares us for the games ahead. We'll learn from our mistakes. But just like any loss, it came down to a few plays."

Plays Temple left on the field, and plays Penn State made when they needed to.


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