Sprint wins game, title 48 hours later

The Penn sprint football team needed a win and some help to share the 1998 Collegiate Sprint Football League championship with Army. They got both. On Friday the Quakers (5-1, 3-1 CSFL) handily defeated Princeton (2-4, 2-2), 34-6, at Franklin Field to finish the 1998 season. Two days later Navy beat league-leading Army, 24-21, to give the Quakers a share of the title. "It's definitely a surprise. I can't put into words how happy I am for the team, coach Wagner and the eleven guys who played their last game [Friday]," Penn senior Keith Lotman said. Before getting the chance to sit for 48 hours in anticipation of a possible tie, the Quakers first had to take care of the game they could control -- Friday night's easy win over the Tigers. Princeton jumped on the scoreboard first at the end of the first quarter after Princeton running back Jeff Mah ran the ball into the endzone from two yards out. These would be the Tigers' only six points of the game. Penn answered with a touchdown run by Penn running back Tim Ortman and a 37-yard touchdown pass from Penn quarterback John Kernan to wide receiver Todd Johnson. Princeton threatened to score with two minutes remaining in the half, but the drive ended when Penn defensive back Josh McGrath intercepted the football. Penn put the game out of reach in the midway through the third quarter when Ortman broke a tackle and ran the ball 76 yards across the goal-line. Five minutes later Kernan connected with Penn tight end Scott Moore for a fourth Penn score. Princeton's attempt at a comeback was curtailed when it fumbled the ball on the Quakers one-yard line, and Penn defensive back Brad Gusich returned the ball 70 yards. Penn would go on to score one final time in the fourth quarter when Penn fullback Steve Schickram plunged into the endzone. "I knew there were five yards separating me and my first college touchdown," said Schickram, who turned in great performances on the offensive (47 yards in eight attempts) and defensive sides of the ball (four tackles). "Disregarding the final score, I thought we gave Penn a good fight," Princeton wide receiver Brook Gardiner said. "I think we matched them physically. We just made too many mistakes -- turnovers, penalties, especially when we got close -- to beat a team as good as Penn." Ortman finished the game with 152 yards on 20 attempts to cap a 1,108 yard season, making him Penn's all-time leading rusher with one season left to play. Against the Tigers, Ortman had the chance to show off his throwing arm when he completed a 29-yard pass to Moore on the halfback option. "I don't want to be a quarterback," Ortman said, noting his displeasure at being rushed by Princeton's defense while throwing the ball. The Quakers left the field knowing that they had a successful season with a 5-1 record, but they had no title expectations. Penn senior Neil Batiancila stated that no matter what happened in the Army-Navy game, he felt he was part of a championship team. "I really thought [Navy] had no chance. Navy was much weaker," Ortman said. "We really wanted to win the title outright, but we're just as satisfied to win it this way." Apparently, Penn coach Bill Wagner was one of the few who thought Navy could pull it off, saying that "you can't sell them short," and that Navy always plays tough at home. "I'm so happy for our team to at least get a share of the title," Wagner said. "I'm happy for the seniors going out and the offensive line that helped Timmy get over 1100 yards for the year."