1994 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL STANDINGS: Quakers escape Big Green scare

Penn holds on for 13-11 victory HANOVER, N.H. -- It had already been a hellish week for the Penn football team. And only a clutch defensive performance Saturday at Dartmouth's Memorial Field kept it from getting much, much worse. After a fire destroyed a chunk of his team's equipment in the caverns of Franklin Field, after his star receiver severely injured his hand in practice and after sitting on a stalled bus in Springfield, Mass., for 90 minutes Thursday night, coach Al Bagnoli had to stand on the sidelines Saturday and watch the Quaker offense struggle all game to churn out yardage. With 90 seconds remaining, it appeared Bagnoli's week would be capped off, fittingly, with Penn's first loss since 1992. But then a Quaker defense that had been making big plays throughout the game came up with the biggest one of all. With Dartmouth just one yard away from the go-ahead touchdown, senior linebacker Pat Goodwillie broke through the line and stopped Big Green running back Pete Oberle on fourth down. After Penn intentionally took a safety, the Quakers escaped with a 13-11 victory. "I'm very proud of the kids," Bagnoli said. "It wasn't pretty. I'm not going to say I'm satisfied with some of the areas of play. But you talk about some of the intangible things, the things that separate the good teams from the not-so-good, this team has them." While the Quakers (2-0, 1-0 Ivy League) were basking in the afterglow of a hard-fought victory, Dartmouth (0-2, 0-1) was left to ponder a second consecutive heartbreaking loss. Down 20-16 last weekend against Colgate, the Big Green was knocking on the door in the closing seconds. Dartmouth was simply unable to punch the ball in the end zone. Saturday's defeat, coming at the hands of the defending Ivy League champions, was even tougher to take. "It's just so frustrating because we had opportunities to win the ball game," Dartmouth coach John Lyons said. "We just made too many mistakes that hurt us on both sides of the ball." As the game drew to a close, it looked as if Penn's mistakes would prove the most crucial. Breakdowns on special teams and on offense in the fourth quarter gave the Big Green a great shot to wipe out a 13-3 deficit. The Quaker lead was a product of two Andy Glockner field goals and a 53-yard scoring strike in the second quarter from quarterback Mark DeRosa to former high school teammate Mark Fabish. With 14 minutes remaining in the game, Dartmouth's Chris Boran fielded a punt at his own 35, avoided a tackle by Penn senior Michael Turner, and took off for the Quaker 23. That led to sophomore quarterback Ren Riley's first-ever collegiate touchdown pass, a 10-yarder to Brian Radics that trimmed the lead to 13-9. But the special teams bounced back on the very next play, when senior Michael Juliano blocked Geoffrey Willison's extra-point attempt. It would prove to be one of the biggest plays of the game, because it meant Dartmouth couldn't tie with a field goal. Penn still could have used some breathing room on the scoreboard, but for the fourth time in five second-half possessions, the Quaker offense went three downs and out. The top two stars particularly had their problems. Junior Miles Macik, DeRosa's primary receiving target, was hampered throughout with a hand injury suffered when it was stepped on Thursday in practice. Senior running back Terrance Stokes was held in check in the second half, when he carried 11 times for just 15 yards. "Unfortunately, today was one of those days," Stokes said. "Luckily, the defense stepped it up and played a great game. That's what teamwork is about -- if one aspect of the game is slacking, the other side of the ball has to pick it up." And defensive coordinator Michael Toop's unit came through with numerous crucial stops throughout the course of the game. The Big Green had a great day on the ground, with Oberle running 32 times for 118 yards, but it had no business coming away with just one touchdown and a field goal. The Quakers forced Dartmouth into three turnovers in Penn territory. Linebacker Kevin DeLuca, who had a huge day with a game-high 19 tackles, also grabbed an interception, and strong safety Nick Morris recovered a fumble near midfield in the fourth quarter. The defense repeatedly made the plays. But it wasn't until DeRosa backed out of the end zone for an intentional safety with six seconds left that the Quakers could breathe a sigh of relief and concentrate on putting the whole week behind them. "Thank God we got out of there with a win," Bagnoli said. "We've scheduled it perfectly with the week off coming up. I'm just going to go sleep on the bus and tomorrow I'm not going to do anything."