Blue defeated White 24-7 in Penn State football’s annual spring scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

Sean Clifford opened things up at quarterback for the Blue team while Ricky Slade started at running back. Clifford connected with tight end Nick Bowers twice for big gains on the Blue team’s second drive, which was capped off on a one-yard touchdown run by Slade with 1:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Noah Cain led the White team’s offensive efforts in the first half. The freshman running back finished with 45 rushing yards on 12 attempts, and put his squad on the board with a two-yard touchdown run with 5:13 to play in the first half to knot things up at 7-7.

Clifford came back into the game for the Blue team’s final drive of the half after Will Levis took over for two drives. Clifford led his offense into the red zone, allowing Jake Pinegar to hit a 35-yard field goal attempt that gave the Blue team a 10-7 lead to finish the first half.

Both defenses looked strong to open the second half. Linebacker Ellis Brooks led the Blue team with six tackles while Fred Hansard, Antonio Shelton, and Jayson Oweh each had a sack. Freshman safety Tyler Rudolph led the White team with three tackles.

The Blue team struck first in the second half as Will Levis hit senior wide receiver Dan Chisena for a 59-yard touchdown pass, giving them a 17-7 lead with 0:26 remaining in the third quarter. Shortly after the touchdown, head coach James Franklin announced that Chisena was now on full scholarship. The rest of the Nittany Lions subsequently stormed the field as Beaver Stadium erupted.

Surprise scholarship announcements are amazing, but @coachjfranklin took it to a whole new level for Dan Chisena. https://t.co/eYtDqYKf1l pic.twitter.com/wxv8IC3mFB

— Onward State (@OnwardState) April 13, 2019

After he switched teams at halftime(!), Cain helped the Blue team stretch its lead further when he caught a screen pass from Clifford and broke two tackles on his way to an 8-yard touchdown with 1:26 remaining in the game, giving them a 24-7 lead. This was the final score of the game as White team failed to score points on its final drive of the day and the clock ran out.

Takeaways

• Despite the fact that most Nittany Lion fans were excited to see Journey Brown and Ricky Slade battle for carries in today’s scrimmage, freshman Noah Cain had the biggest day of all. The IMG Academy alum finished with a team-high 45 rushing yards on the day and was the only player to score a touchdown for both the Blue and White teams.
• Senior quarterback Tommy Stevens never saw the field in this year’s Blue-White game. James Franklin likely didn’t feel the need to play his probable starting quarterback for the 2019 season and risk any injury.
• Sean Clifford had a strong day in place of Stevens. The sophomore threw for 118 yards, threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and rushed for 31 total yards on the day. Even if he doesn’t get the start at quarterback next season, he’ll be a more than capable back up for the Nittany Lions.

What’s Next

Penn State will open the 2019 season against Idaho on August 31 at Beaver Stadium.