Lwt. has Navy again

The Penn lightweight football team would appear to be in trouble. Despite opening the season with an impressive 28-6 victory over Princeton, the Quakers (0-1 Eastern Lightweight Football League, 1-2 overall) have had two lackluster second-half performances in dropping their last two contests, 27-6 at Navy and 13-10 to Cornell. And it does not get any easier from here. Tonight (Franklin Field, 7:30 p.m.) Penn tackles defending ELFL champion Navy (2-0) in the Quakers' final home game of the season. In the teams' last meeting, Penn scored a quick touchdown early in the second half to even the count at six, only to watch the Midshipmen reel off three consecutive touchdowns to put the Quakers away. This time, though, Penn vows it will be different, for the team understands that it's now or never – a loss to Navy ends any Penn title aspirations. "At the beginning of the season, we were talking about beating the service academies," senior fullback Todd Levine said. "The Navy game tonight is a big one for us – it's definitely a must win." To beat Navy, though, the Quakers must put forth a sustained, concentrated effort through four quarters, a task which they have had considerable trouble accomplishing recently. More importantly, though, Penn junior quarterback Carmine Greco, who has shown flashes of brilliance this year – in leading the Quakers on several drives, both against Navy and Cornell – must come out of his passing slump. Greco has completed only 19 of 63 passing attempts for 201 yards and two TD's. He has been intercepted four times. Despite the poor stats, Greco has been effective in some instances. For example, he led two touchdown drives against Princeton as well as a long TD drive against Navy and one for a field goal in the loss to Cornell. Greco's best move this year has been the handoff to senior tailback Tom Morrin, who has been nothing short of fantastic out of the backfield. Through three games, Morrin has carried the ball 67 times, running for 310 yards and breaking free for two touchdowns. Look for him to carry the ball another 25 times tonight. Whether it is through Greco's passing or Morrin's rushing, the offense must carry its share of the load, which it has failed to do during the losing streak. In the last two games, Penn has managed only 16 points. Furthermore, the defense must continue its stellar play. This is a defense which gave up 300 yards to Navy in the last contest, but since then held Cornell to only 152 total yards. Junior defensive end Matt Astrom was rusty in the Navy game due to a shoulder injury, but he got some of that old feeling back when he nailed Cornell signal-caller Paul O'Connor, forcing a fumble in the first quarter last Friday. It will take a tremendous effort to beat Navy, a team that has a six-game winning streak dating back to last year. The Quakers are capable of putting forth that effort for at least three quarters, as the last Navy game proved. The question is, can Penn perform in high gear through four quarters, a task it has been unable to accomplish during a two-game losing streak? Penn coach Bill Wagner believes it to be imperative. "We've had some trouble in the second half of the last two games," Wagner said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to avoid that tonight against Navy." Should Penn do so, the Quakers could jump right back into the race for the ELFL title. But first things first.