Five things to take from Saturday's Big 33 Game in Hershey

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER It was a beautiful night in Hershey for the Big 33 Game -- not too hot, not too cold. Organizers had to be pleased with that. The McDonald's people would love the same weather on Thursday night in Nazareth, although preliminary forecasts anticipate much steamier conditions at Andy Leh Stadium for the Lehigh Valley's football all-star game. Here are five things (well maybe a little more than that) I took from Saturday night's 55th annual Big 33 Classic: 1. From a media standpoint, the game isn't what it used to be in terms of organization. For an example, you could only get a program -- at $15 a pop -- outside the stadium. And frankly, the game, perhaps because of the time of year it is now held -- it used to be in late July -- doesn't have the pizzaz and prominence it once had. It just seems like it's kind of stuck in there one night amid all of the graduations and Senior Week stuff, and one day after the PIAA school year officially closes with the softball and baseball state championships. The game only draws about half as many people as it did 10, 15 years ago. Media don't make it the priority it once did as there were a fair share of empty seats in the press box as well. And yet, the game still does a lot of good for Central Pennsylvania in terms of scholarships and charity, and the experience for the players involved remains as rewarding and cherished as it ever once. 2. The players still care about who wins, at least for the first 10 minutes after it's over. I was on the field after the game trying to get some interviews (no fun trying to weave your way through hundreds of family and friends to find people) and the Pennsylvania players were ticked off because they knew they should have won this game, but let it get away with five interceptions and Desmon Peoples' complete disaster of a kickoff return that led to the tying score by Ohio. The PA defense was exceptional, especially against the pass as Ohio QBs completed just 10 of 27 tosses for 176 yards and 85 came on one play. I can't say that the play of Pennsylvania quarterbacks Skyler Mornhinweg or Blake Rankin was spectacular either, a combined 17-for-30 for 269 yards. Then again, it's hard to have everything come together in a short period of time for these games even with the rules favoring offense. Mornhinweg, originally committed to Penn State, nearly completed as many passes to Ohio (4) as he did to Pennsylvania kids (7). Rankin was named MVP after going 10-for-16 for 138 yards, but I thought a defensive player should have won the award. 3. People are still Penn State proud. Lots of Penn State shirts on display all over the stadium, even with the Jerry Sandusky trial hard to escape with all of its lurid and disgusting images. And, make no mistake, when the moment of silence was held for Joe Paterno before last night's game, you could have heard a pin drop in the stadium. No matter what he did, or didn't do, Paterno will always be held in the highest regard with most people throughout this state, especially in Central Pennsylvania. 4. Central Catholic strongly supports its own. I saw a lot of Vikings fans, players and coaches in Hershey and even had a brief talk with former coach Harold Fairclough. I think people will come to regard the past three years as three of the most special years in Central football history and people realize that the Brendan Nosovitchs and Kevin Gulyas's don't come along very often. Class acts, and I know they are not alone but there is little doubt that both will be big successes at the next level, especially Gulyas who I think has a chance to tear up the Villanova receiving record books. 5. If you want to see what the whole Big 33 experience is about, watch the cheerleaders. No, not for that reason. Watch how the cheerleaders interact with their mentally-challenged buddies, who are absolutely on top of the world to be performing with the the high school seniors (all from the central part of the state) who are serving as cheerleaders. I love to see that interaction and the high-fives being exchanged and you can tell that the high school cheerleaders are enjoying themselves every bit as much as their "buddies." Kids helping kids. That's the message of this game and the McDonald's game coming up on Thursday night.