Blue White Illustrated

and a lot of times a quarterback gets a lit- tle more recognition because the team is doing well. Since we were playing for the national championship, I felt that had a lot to do with it." A not-so-close call In looking back on his playing career, Fusina laughs about two particular ex- traordinary sideline conversations with Joe Paterno during the 1978 Pitt game. One situation in the tense waning mo- ments of the game was historic. It was at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 24, 1978. Archri- val Pitt was on the verge of ruining the Lions' momentous season. The Panthers had been 17-point underdogs but were clinging to a 10-7 lead with 5:02 left in the game. The Lions were facing fourth-and- short inside the Pitt 5-yard line. As this writer recounted in the book "Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Penn State Football History": "The field goal unit started onto the field but was called back when Paterno asked for a time- out because he couldn't see the ball from the sidelines. He said he wanted to go for a first down, but one assistant had told him it was four yards away, another said two yards, and a third said one. So, as Paterno huddled with his offense, he sent the one man he could trust to tell him the truth, quarterback Chuck Fusina. Fusina returned holding his hands about a foot or so apart. "I lied a little," Fusina said after the game. It was actually two yards. "I ex- pected to do a fake roll where I fake to a back up the middle and roll out." But Pa- terno called 40 Pitch. Pitt figured it would be a typical Penn State goal-line run up the middle. Paterno crossed them up. Guman easily scored, and Bahr's extra point made it 14-10. Three minutes later, Milot's interception led to a 38-yard field goal, and the Lions came away with a 17- 10 victory that propelled them into the Sugar Bowl. Fusina chuckled as he repeated the story. "I still remember we were close but not that close," he said. "We were very ex- cited in the huddle and everyone wanted to go for it. So, I fibbed on the distance, which was not a good thing to do with Coach Paterno. At that time I thought, who did I want to face, my teammates back in that huddle or the coach? I made the right decision. Joe never said anything to me about what I told him." The other sideline conversation oc- curred during another timeout earlier in the game, and it's virtually unknown to Penn State fans. Fusina was talking with Paterno and running backs coach Fran Ganter on the sideline and quarterbacks coach Bob Phillips in the press box via telephone about down-and-distance and what play to run. "It was freezing cold and this was still a critical part of the game. I look over and two of my friends from McKees Rocks are standing next to me in our little huddle," Fusina laughed. "I said, 'What the heck are you guys doing here?' They just smiled. I don't know how they got on the field, but they were there supporting me. That's why we were so close in McKees Rocks and still are." That McKees Rocks kinship has led Fusina to start a fundraising effort to re- place the grass of his Sto-Rox High School football field with artificial turf next year. His group is seeking $600,000 and has secured about half of the neces- sary funds. "This is actually something we are try- ing to do for the community, and it's more than just a project for a football field," Fusina explained. "My father passed away when I was 4 years old. Whatever success I've had was not just because of my mother, but I also had help along the way from my community. So I owe a lot to my community. The community has [strug- gled] in recent years because of the eco- nomic conditions. We feel this will help bring the community together again with a positive message. It's not a football field. It's an activity field. This is for all the stu- dents and can be used for more than foot- ball. … We want something the kids can see every day when they go to school and for the community to be proud of. That's why our theme is 'It Starts With the Field.' We're hoping that other projects in the community build around this." Fusina said his group has applied for grants to help, but he is also trying to get nearby communities with similar eco- nomic problems to start their own projects to inspire the region. "Anyone who wants to donate can contact us through our web- site, www.sto-roxfield.org," he said. One for the (record) books Nearly 40 years later, Fusina is still in the Penn State record books in several categories, including fifth in career pass- ing with 5,382 yards. His 37 touchdown passes rank eighth, and he is seventh in career passing efficiency with a 132.48 rating. His 2,221 passing yards in 1977 rank as the 14th-best single-season total of all-time, and his 1,859 yards in 1978 are 23rd. No one can erase those accomplish- ments either, no matter how many fans have forgotten him. "I'll always be thankful I played in the era that I did," Fusina said. "We didn't have ESPN. We didn't have cellphones. We didn't have a camera on us all the time. We got to live our lives. It just seemed like more of a game. Not that back then there wasn't the pressure to try and win and be the best and all that. But it's changed so much in terms of the money, the pressure an everything it entails. I'm just glad when I played. I'm sure the kids today may feel the same way as I do about playing now, but there is a difference." Fusina and many of his 1978 teammates get together once every season at Beaver Stadium for a tailgate party before a Penn State football game. This year, some 40 players and their families gathered before the Pitt game. "It's just a little informal thing with the guys we were close to," Fusina said. Next year is the 40th anniversary of that fateful 1978 season. Maybe they will be recognized on the field at halftime as the 1982 national championship team was during this year's Pitt game. The first Penn State team to hold the No. 1 ranking certainly deserves the honor. What Fusina said in 2005 still holds true today: "We were a fun team, a very together team, and it was just a really fun season. We came up a bit short, but that will not erase what we did that sea- son." ■

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