Lightweights crush Tigers

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Pick a stat. Which is more impressive? Is it the six takeaways the Penn lightweight football team had on Friday or is it the Quakers holding Princeton to a mere 78 yards of total offense? And what about Penn tailback Rich Miller running for 117 yards in his first game with the team? If you can't pick one, don't worry. There was one thing more impressive than any of those individual statistics: the overall performance by the Quakers. Using a hard-hitting, swarming defense, a strong running game and a timely passing attack, Penn shutdown the Tigers, 16-0. Princeton never mounted a serious threat. The majority of the game was played in the Tiger half of Frelinghuysen Field, with the Quakers dominating the time of possession. When Princeton actually had possession, it usually resulted in a turnover, setting up the Penn offense. The first Tiger series was indicative of the game. Quarterback Rich Barnett was intercepted by Quaker sophomore defensive back Zachary Chan deep in Princeton territory. Soon Penn had a first and goal at the Tiger two-yard line. One play later, Miller plunged up the middle for the touchdown, leaving the score 6-0 with 9:15 left in the first quarter. The game fell into a predictable pattern for almost the rest of the half. The Quaker defense forced Princeton to punt repeatedly from deep in the Tiger end. But the Penn offense couldn't take advantage, until with 19 seconds left in the half, sophomore Eric Visokey picked off a Princeton pass and returned it to the Tiger 38-yard line. Quaker sophomore quarterback Greg Small went deep down the right sideline on first down. Co-captain Matt Astrom made a spectacular leaping catch at the 14-yard line, and the clock stopped with three seconds left. Kicker Bill Goebel made the 31-yard field goal as time expired. "We felt we could run a corner off the bootleg," Penn coach Bill Wagner said. "We had been beating defenders but weren't getting them the ball. Small lofted one up there. It was a perfectly thrown ball and a great catch. It was probably one of the turning points of the game, because there's a big difference between 9-0 and 6-0." The Quakers began pounding away at the Princeton defense in the second half, wearing the Tigers down. Midway through the fourth quarter, Penn put the game out of reach. Miller took a handoff and sprinted 53 yards to the Princeton 14-yard line. A few plays later he took a pitch and scored from four yards out. "I give all credit to the linemen because there was a hole you could drive a truck through," Miller said. "It was a run to the left side, up the middle. I broke it to the outside and it was there. It just opened up on the sideline." The Quaker defense played an excellent game. With four interceptions and two fumble recoveries, it stopped Princeton from getting into the game and set up all of the Penn scores. "That's pretty much our main thing," defensive end and co-captain Victor Hsu said. "We're an aggressive defense, a lot more aggressive than anybody in the league." The Quaker offense, however, had some troubles. Despite getting good field position, Penn could only muster two touchdowns and a field goal. Three scoring chances disappeared after penalties pushed the Quakers out of range. "We need to be more consistent," Wagner said. "I think they can do and even better job." "The offense always takes longer to gel," defensive back Steve Barry said. "But we have confidence in them. We're looking to shut them down on 'D,' turn it over, and the offense will punch it in." It was a formula that worked well enough Friday.