Lwt. Football pounds Princeton, 28-6

Prior to the lightweight football team's season opener against Princeton last night, Penn coach Bill Wagner said that the key to the season would be the elimination of the turnovers which plagued his team last year. Indeed, turnovers were the key to the Quakers' 28-6 victory – the Tigers had five which Penn turned into 13 points. The opening scoring play occurred on a botched snap to Princeton's junior punter Eric Gillman. When the ball sailed into the Tigers' end zone, senior defensive back Brian Kagen pounced upon it for a touchdown. Kagen's efforts were central to the Penn attack, as was the running of senior captain Tom Morrin, a tailback, who rushed for 156 yards on 20 carries, including a 52-yard touchdown sprint on which he burned Princeton's entire secondary. The Quakers dominated Princeton throughout the entire game, virtually shutting down its offense while racking up an impressive 291 yards of their own. "Our 'D' played strong, we turned the ball over a lot, and we ran the ball well thanks to great blocking," senior defensive back David Sullivan said. On a key Tiger possession, a tremendous gang-tackle of a Princeton receiver who is now a smudge mark on the Franklin Field astroturf led to a fumble which the aggressive Penn 'D' recovered at the Princeton 27. Junior quarterback Carmine Grecco's efforts on the next four plays, though, summed up the first half for Penn. He threw four consecutive incomplete passes, and with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Princeton took over. A little over a minute into the second session, fortunes turned Penn's way, as the aforementioned Princeton punting mishap led to a Penn TD. The point-after attempt was blocked, but thanks to a Tiger penalty, senior kicker Robert Lu received another opportunity, which he drilled for a 7-0 Quaker advantage. Sullivan's interception of Princeton QB Tom Strandwitz's pass allowed Grecco to loft a five-yard pass to senior tight end Ryan Hadrava, whose TD gave Penn a quick six. Another botched PAT, and the score stood at Penn 13, Princeton 0. Princeton's offense sputtered, and with 51 seconds remaining in the first half, it turned the ball over on downs when senior defensive end Dan St. Pierre stuffed junior running back Sebbito Moreley at the line of scrimmage. The Quakers drove to within field goal range, but Lu's 37-yarder was wide left as the horn sounded. Penn went to the locker room leading by a comfortable 13-point margin. After Penn stuffed the Tigers, Morrin bounced outside on an option play and began to run. Quaker fans stood in awe as Morrin ran 52 yards to paydirt. "The blocking on that play was incredible," Morrin said. "I got a huge lead block from my fullback [Todd Levine] and several from the receivers, especially Hadrava and [junior wide receiver Michael Haraschak]. I looked up, and there was one d-back to beat, and I just outran him to the end zone." The Quakers then faked a PAT and went for two, as Grecco dropped back and found Haraschak in the endzone to increase Penn's lead to 21-0. Later in the third quarter, the Tigers coughed it up again. St. Pierre recovered a fumble, and while going down, pitched to senior DB Kris Wappaus, who was then dragged down. A 37-yard drive was capped off by a 5-yard TD scamper by junior RB Gayle Chyu. "Gayle Chyu had a tremendous game, not only rushing but blocking as well," Morrin said. "Without his blocking, our running game would not have been as successful." Two possessions later, Princeton scored on a 3-yard run by Mackiewicz, but Penn blocked the PAT. The score stood, Penn 28, Princeton 6. And that's how it ended. "It was a nice start," Wagner said. "I look forward to seeing what this season will bring."

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