Lightweights welcome alumni

An observer wandered the sidelines of the "B" practice field behind Hollenback Annex Saturday morning. He was there to watch the Penn lightweight football alumni game, in which a team of former players would square off with the current Quaker team. Both teams were on the field warming up, but the onlooker had a problem -- he couldn't tell which squad was which. There was nothing left for the bystander to do but ask a player stretching on the field. "Which team's the alumni team?" he asked. "See those old, bald guys over there?" the player said, pointing to a few players on the far sideline. "That's the alumni team." The indicated players had taken off their helmets. That was the only time Saturday a newcomer could have immediately distinguished the alumni from the 1994 team. They were not flabby or out of shape. They looked trim and fit under their jerseys and pads. Only when they removed their helmets, revealing receding hairlines, graying hair or wrinkled faces, did the alums give themselves away. Once the whistle blew and the helmets went on, they played as hard and almost as well as their younger counterparts. "For a pack of old 40-year-olds, they didn't do too badly," said Clint Schmidt, a receiver on this year's team. "I was impressed." Only three yards separated the old-timers from victory. After scoring a touchdown to pull within one point midway through the second half, the alumni went for the two-point conversion and the lead. But the run over right tackle was stuffed for a loss, and that was the end of the scoring. The final was 7-6 in favor of the '94 team. The outcome of the game was almost an afterthought for the alums. Certainly they wanted to win, especially as the game progressed, but the atmosphere on the sideline was one of a family reunion, perhaps one at which relatives played a lighthearted football game. There were wives and girlfriends armed with cameras and camcorders to record the action, and children played their own games on the sideline. The players themselves spent almost as much time catching up with old friends and teammates as they did watching the game. "We're here out of a sense of camaraderie," said Jim Durkin, an alumni flanker. "Once you get here you're here to play football. Once you get onto the field you play to win. But it's also a great opportunity to get together with people from school again." Durkin, a member of the University class of 1959, was the oldest player on the field Saturday. The rest of the alumni team spanned several eras, including members from the class of 1994. The former players, who live as far away as California and as near as Center City, made the trip back to play in this annual event. (The alumni won last year's inaugural game, 9-8.) "This was such a great part of what I was doing when I was in school here," said Howard Kelrick '77, who traveled all the way from Florida to play in the game. "I get to see the guys I played with, and it gives me a chance to feel 19 years old again." The game itself, in terms of action, was not very special. Neither team looked impressive on offense for more than a few plays at a time, and both scores were set up by miscues. Penn lightweight coach Bill Wagner was somewhat satisfied with the play of the '94 Quakers. He is well aware that even an exhibition puts his team one week ahead of its opposition. "It's a stepping stone," Wagner said. "It's a tune-up for our Princeton game. Last year, with this game under our belt, I think we were a little bit ahead of Princeton as far as sideline organization." Wagner will be sure to use this week to smooth out the bumps in the Penn attack. His team was plagued throughout the game with false starts and offsides penalties, and a touchdown was called back because of a clip. "It was good for us to work the kinks out," Schmidt said. "Now we know what needs to be done for Princeton. We need to work on mental discipline." But the major concern Saturday, especially for the graduates, was having a good time. After the game, everyone involved went to Franklin Field to see the heavyweights play Lafayette. That was followed by a banquet later in the evening. Still, the highlight for the alumni was playing with their old teammates and friends. And most of them will come back next year to do it all again. "It's a great game," Mark Dianno '90 said. "It's a great idea. It gives the present team the idea that lightweight football is one big family."