The end of the journey back from oblivion was only eight yards away.

A season that once seemed not only lost but a waste of time to continue was about to produce a bowl trip for the Penn State football team. They were up 14-6 on Virginia, and with a victory, would move to 6-5 on the season and become bowl eligible after a one-year sabbatical from the postseason.

If the Nittany Lions would punch this one in, they would have the Cavaliers on the ropes, leading 21-6 with less than seven minutes on the clock in the third quarter. The Cavaliers had yet to score a touchdown. The once impossible was starting to seem inevitable.

But on third down and six, the certainty vanished. Quarterback Zack Mills rolled left and was hit by linebacker John Duckett and stripped of the ball. Though it seemed that Mills' knee had touched the ground before the ball came out, there was no whistle.

And no one was standing there but cornerback Art Thomas.

"I just remember the ball laying there on the field and having no one around except me," Thomas said. "My only thought was to try to get to the end zone without anyone catching up from behind me."

A 92-yard touchdown return later, it was a different ball game.

After forcing a three-and-out, Virginia scored again on the next drive to pull out a 20-14 victory, sending the Lions home for Christmas again.

This Saturday, it will be Thomas who is returning home when he faces a rematch again the team whose dreams he destroyed.

Thomas, a Mechanicsburg native, was actually recruited to play for Penn State. He had impressed the Lions at their summer camp, but they also wanted him to commit early and to play defensive back at a time when Thomas wanted to be a running back.

Thomas balked at the idea, the Lions eventually lost interest, and Thomas ended up signing at Virginia, but it didn't work out that easily.

The classes Thomas took at Cumberland Valley H.S. didn't give him enough credits according to the NCAA clearinghouse. He was one class short, and forced to go to Fork Union Military Academy for a year before he could play.

That wasn't something he was expecting. The school had told him they had managed to get all of his credits to transfer. However, Thomas focused on getting the most out of his year at Fork Union.

"I got stronger, I got bigger," Thomas said. "The next year I just came back here and was ready for camp."

Thomas managed to play immediately on special teams, and earned a spot as the backup cornerback. It took him just less than half of last season to earn a starting job, but when he did, he made the most of it, leading Cavalier cornerbacks with 48 tackles and six pass deflections. With momentum coming off his huge play against the Lions, he stepped up his off-season preparation and was named the team's most improved player at spring practice.

"It gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to work hard and fix things I wasn't doing as well," Thomas said.

This year, he has started every game at cornerback, and when he returns to his home state tomorrow, he will be playing in front of his family and high school friends.

And with that much motivation behind him, the Lions are lucky to be more secure than they were a year ago.