Football rides Finn to victory

The Penn football team defeated Bucknell by a score of 20-10 behind the running of Jim Finn. What a difference a week can make. After a humbling 34-18 loss to Richmond last weekend ago at home, the Penn football team (2-1) avenged last season's 20-16 loss to Bucknell with a 20-10 victory over the visiting Bison (3-2). Penn free safety and punt return man Joe Piela caused the Parents Weekend crowd -- announced at 10,809 -- to erupt early in the second quarter as he danced down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown return. The low, line-drive kick from Bucknell punter Brian Kramer let the Quakers take an early 10-0 lead. "He kicked it to the right, which was where we were returning it," Piela said. "I caught the ball, and there was nobody there. I cut it to the outside, and Carson made a great block." Piela provided the finishing blow as well when he picked off Bucknell quarterback Don McDowell's attempted pass with 2:08 left. Initially tipped by Penn linebacker Darren MacDonald, the interception ended all hopes for the Bison, who had little chance to erase the remaining 10-point deficit. Throughout the game the Quakers' defense dictated the tempo while their special teams electrified the crowd. Although Penn's offense demonstrated little consistency, their overall ability to hold possession and turn a few big plays was enough to earn themselves the victory. Penn quarterback Matt Rader followed through with his plan of distributing the ball to many different receivers. Rader's 17 completions in his 25 attempts went to eight different receivers, including four who caught three or more receptions. Meanwhile, Jim Finn answered some of his critics by carrying the ball 39 times for 136 yards. Despite not fumbling the ball, Finn was disappointed with his 3.5 yards-per-carry average. "I missed a ton of reads today," Finn said. "If you break it down on film, I probably didn't look too good. In the first half I was stumbling over myself. Five-yard runs should have been maybe 15 or 20-yard runs." The Quakers' defense, third in Division I-AA, lived up to its billing, rendering four sacks and giving up only 61 yards rushing on 26 attempts. Led by defensive tackle Mike Germano's two sacks and four tackles for a loss, Penn's defensive line shut down Bucknell early, creating many problems in the Bisons' backfield. "Penn physically won that battle," Bucknell coach Tom Gadd said. "How well you can dominate the line of scrimmage determines whether you win. They won because they dominated the line of scrimmage. I don't think we ever challenged them in the running game." After mustering only five yards in his first five passing attempts, including an interception to Penn's Hasani White, Bucknell's starting quarterback Don McDowell was replaced by Jim John early in the second quarter. John had success against the Quakers last year, throwing for two touchdowns. "I went with the switch at quarterback because I thought that we were playing a little out-manned in the offensive line," Bucknell's Gadd said. "There was an awful lot of pressure on our quarterback. I thought to get Donny out of that and let him get on the sideline just to calm him down a little bit. "Jim played well against Penn last year. I knew that he would go out and play with poise and maturity and that he wouldn't be rattled." The change resurrected the Bison as they drove deep into Quaker territory. But with less than a minute left in the half, a holding penalty on fourth-and-one from the Quakers' 19-yard line halted Bucknell's progress. The frustrated Bison settled for a 46-yard field goal made good by their kicker Ross Coleman. Bucknell was not alone with its offensive troubles in the first half. Twice Penn found itself starting a possession inside Bucknell's 30-yard line. Twice the Quakers were forced to kick field goals. Penn place kicker Jason Feinberg split the uprights in both attempts from 36 and 35 yards. "We have so many young kids on offense," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "Anytime that you are playing with six new kids from tight end all the way across your offensive line, it's really hard to be a consistent football team. "You would rather come out with seven [points], but at least we were coming out with three." The Penn defense limited the Bison to 201 total net yards, of which almost half came on a four-play, 96-yard drive in the middle of the third quarter. John connected with wide receiver Ardie Kissinger for an 86-yard touchdown completion, setting a Bucknell school record for longest pass completion. The reception pulled the Bison to within three of the Quakers. "Right before I hiked the ball, they threw an extra guy into the pattern," John said. "I really didn't have anywhere to go with it. I took off with the idea that I was just going to get outside and run. Ardie broke up field. I saw him, and I figured, go for it." The Penn offense answered the Bison early in the fourth quarter as it managed its way down the field for a seven-play 48-yard drive. A few downs after Penn wide receiver Doug O'Neill made a one-handed catch for a 31-yard gain, Rader found tight end Ben Zagorski wide open in the middle of the end zone for a five-yard touchdown. "I got off the ball and ran my route," Zagorski said. "As I was going across I saw the linebackers flow over, so I cut my route short and stopped. Matt ended up pulling up also and was able to find me wide open." Tight ends catching passes was something that was not happening a week ago. In fact, very little of the game resembled last week, which added up to a Quakers win. Hopefully next week and those that follow will look a lot like this one.

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