HERSHEY -- There were close to 30 of them -- decked out in maize, blue and the number 7 -- cheering wildly when Chad Henne entered the game on the third down of a fourth quarter drive during Saturday night's Big 33 Football Classic.
Less audible, but no less impassioned, were boos from the supporters of the quarterback who had just been replaced, Penn State recruit Anthony Morelli.
Both quarterbacks had their shining moments for the Pennsylvania All-Stars, but neither could overcome the human highlight reel that was Ted Ginn Jr., who played receiver, cornerback and even threw the winning touchdown to lead Ohio to a 34-30 victory at Hersheypark Stadium.
Trailing by four and 40 yards away from a winning score, Pennsylvania coach George Chaump pulled Morelli from the game and inserted Michigan recruit Henne, who had played the first and third quarters.
Two dropped passes later, Ohio had the ball and never gave it back.
The abrupt switch wasn't explained to Morelli, who was confused and upset after the game.
"I don't know, it really sucks," he said. "I was moving the ball up and down the field -- I had these guys going. Then they just took me out.
"Maybe it was some favoring of [the east] side of the state," said Morelli, who played at Penn Hills High School near Pittsburgh. "I don't know what it was, but we lost and I'm just going up to Penn State and I'm going to get it done up there now."
Morelli ended up outgaining West Lawn native Henne 150 yards to 102.
On the play before he was pulled, Morelli threw an ill-advised pass that was nearly intercepted by fellow incoming Penn State recruit Tony Davis. Chaump said Morelli wasn't replaced because of anything he did, only that Henne was better suited to run the play he wanted to call.
"I put [Henne] in to roll out," Chaump said. "It wasn't anything with Anthony at all. It was what we wanted to do and [Henne's] better at going to the left. Henne's got a little bit better body control."
Down 14-3 early in the second quarter, Morelli took over at quarterback and went 5-for-6 for 150 yards, helping Pennsylvania take a 17-14 lead at the half. He connected on deep bombs to Miami recruit Andrew Johnson for a gain of 57 yards and Ohio State recruit Devon Lyons for a gain of 54.
Henne had a tougher time in the pocket as his protection frequently broke down and was forced to scramble four times. Henne said he felt his history of leading comebacks in high school might have played a role in Chaump's decision to play him on the last drive.
"I came back in games many times with Reading my ninth grade year and this last year winning against Central Dauphin, so I guess he thought I would come in and give it to him," Henne said. "We had a couple chances, we just didn't catch the ball."
But dwarfing the Pennsylvania quarterback debate was Ginn.
The prep superstar who will attend Ohio State in the fall was named Ohio's most valuable player, sharing post-game honors with Pennsylvania MVP Curtis Brinkley, a Syracuse recruit.
Ginn will likely play cornerback for the Buckeyes, but he made the most noise on offense for Ohio Saturday, mainly because Henne and Morelli often did not try to challenge him. Ginn caught five passes for a game-high 142 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown strike from Indiana recruit Grant Gregory.
But he saved the best for last.
Trailing 30-28 with five minutes remaining, Ginn took a pitch and then surprised the Pennsylvania defense by throwing and hitting an open Dustin Woods for a 36-yard touchdown. The trick play proved to be the winning score for Ohio.
"Teddy Ginn's a great kid," Penn State recruit A.Q. Shipley said. "I talked to him all week and he's a down-to-earth, humble kid. He's one of the best players in the country and you have to give him that."
