Quakers look to stay perfect

Football hosts 2-3 Brown What a difference two years makes. In the fall of 1991 when the "Proud Penn Parent" T-shirt-wearing throng descended on Franklin Field to see Penn host Brown, the Penn football program was at its nadir. The Quakers entered that contest winless in five games. Gary Steele was the head coach, and the passing attack was as well coordinated as a drunk doing jumping jacks. Al Bagnoli is now at the helm, and he leads the undefeated Quakers into tomorrow's game against Brown (1 p.m., Franklin Field, WXPN 88.5-FM). Penn (2-0 Ivy League, 5-0 overall) is off to its best start since the 1988 Ivy Championship team. The aerial M&M; assault of senior quarterback Jim McGeehan to sophomore wide receiver Miles Macik is melting opposing defenses for over 100 yards per game, and junior running back Terrance Stokes is running at will. Across the ball, the Penn defense ranks 11th in scoring defense in division I-AA. "Right now I think they are the premiere team in the league, and I think we are going to have our hands full," Brown coach Mickey Kwiatkowski said. The Bears (1-1, 2-3) may have their hands full, but they also have some confidence. Last week Brown downed Bucknell 21-12 for its second win, a total the Bears have not exceeded since 1987. Because the Bears finished 0-10 last year, it is tempting to use the 'even a broken clock is right twice a day' theory to explain the Brown wins. But Marquis Jessie might have fixed the clock. Last week the freshman tailback rumbled for 170 yards on 27 carries in his first varsity start to earn Rookie of the Week honors. While Jessie has solidified the running game, the Bears enter the game with a quarterback dilemma. Last week junior Trevor Yankoff started and scored on a 7-yard touchdown run. Yankoff, however, connected on just 6 of 18 passes for 42 yards, so sophomore Gordie Myers' stint on the bench may not be very long lived. "I told the quarterbacks that very often quarterbacks are treated like starting pitchers and bullpen pitchers, and when one comes out that is it," Kwiatkowski said. "We feel more strongly that this is a situation where they are like point guards in basketball." Myers possesses sprinter speed and has rushed for 196 yards, second best on the Bears to Jessie. He is less potent as a passing threat, having completed only 32 percent of his passes this year. Bagnoli says it is difficult to prepare for Myers's speed because Penn does not have anybody who can simulate that type of quickness in practice. "He [Myers] is really exciting and we are going to do the best we can to control him," Bagnoli said. "Both their quarterbacks are very athletic, with Myers not only being very athletic but also being very fast." While Kwiatkowski may have an unsettled quarterback situation, Bagnoli has no such worries. Last week McGeehan leapfrogged his brother John and two other ex-Penn signal callers to move into fourth place on Penn's all-time passing list. He has thrown 12 touchdown strikes while being intercepted just twice. "We thought we would be throwing the ball better than last year," Bagnoli said. "Right now we are really throwing the ball in a very efficient manner." A steady offensive line and Macik are two critical reasons for McGeehan's success. The lanky sophomore with football attracting magnets for hands leads Division I-AA in receptions with 9.4 per outing and has already tied a Penn single-season record with seven touchdown catches. The Brown defense is vulnerable to the passing attack, and overall has been almost as erratic as Mitch Williams. The Bears defense opened the season by limiting Yale to 3 points, but then went back into hibernation allowing 42 points to Lehigh. The Bears are led on defense by inside linebacker Todd Hunter and strong safety Tobin Hoppes, who has three interceptions on the season. "They bring a lot of pressure with their linebackers," Stokes said of the Brown defense. "Their backers are playing very well and their defensive line is playing really aggressive so they seem to be prepared to stop the run." Stopping the run will be the key for the Penn defense. Brown is running for close to 170 yards per game, but the Quakers should get a boost from the return of senior defensive tackle Kelly Tolton, who is ready to come back on a limited basis from a sprained knee. Brown's four returning starters from last year on the offensive line average 272.5 pounds per man, and 290-pound Michael Pooman also sees time on the line, so the Quaker defense will once again be waging war in the trenches against a team with heavy artillery. Stopping Brown from hammering the ball up the middle is only the beginning of the task for the Penn defense. Bagnoli feels it is imperative to keep the Bear quarterback – whomever it may be – in the pocket. "Some of [Brown's] best plays have been scrambles that have turned into long gains, and [others] have been busted plays where the kid has run out of the pocket, ran away from people, coverage has broken down and he throws the ball upfield," Bagnoli said. "It is very difficult to prepare [for that]. You hope your kids are disciplined and you have good containment." The other thing Penn will have to contain is overconfidence. After playing several inferior opponents in a row and almost slipping against Fordham, the Quakers are cautious not to overlook anybody. "We don't want to get caught in a situation where we don't practice hard during the week and come in Saturday sluggish," Stokes said. "The potential to lose is there."