Football cruises past Holy Cross

Quakers rout Crusaders, 59-8 It was the largest margin of victory and the most points scored by the Quakers since 1947. Had the Penn starters suited up for the contest's last 30 minutes, one can only wonder what the scoreboard would have read. And the game wasn't even as close as the 59-8 final score indicated. The Quakers came out Saturday clicking on all cylinders. The potent Penn offense scored on seven of its first eight possessions en route to a 45-point first half explosion. Meanwhile, the defense dominated Holy Cross, forcing three interceptions and limiting the Crusaders to just 17 yards total offense during the first 30 minutes. All of this added up to a Quaker drubbing in front of 7,830 Franklin Field faithful. Actually, by the time most of them showed up, the game was already out of reach for Holy Cross. "You don't play in many games where everything you do works, and everything they do doesn't work," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "You just take games like this in stride." A major reason Penn (3-0) was able to call off the troops in the second half was the play of sophomore quarterback Mark DeRosa. DeRosa picked apart the Holy Cross secondary for 285 first-half yards, completing 23 of 31 passes. The signal caller led the wide-open Quaker attack to six first-half touchdowns, three in the air, against porous Holy Cross (0-5). "I knew we were going to open up the offense," DeRosa said. "It reminded me of high school the way we were able to throw the ball. Everything seemed to be working." Junior receiver Miles Macik did his part to ease DeRosa's job by notching 10 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns -- all in the first half. On the ground, sophomore running back Aman Abye filled in for senior running back Terrance Stokes, who was forced to leave the game with a sprained ankle. Abye scampered for 80 yards on only 10 carries. Sophomore Jasen Scott also chipped in two touchdown runs. When it was over, Penn had amassed 598 total yards on offense and a record-setting 34 first downs. "The passing game opened up the running game today," DeRosa said. "It was good to see." What was also good to see for the Quakers was the outstanding effort turned in by the defense. The Penn defensive line was in the offensive backfield all day long. The trio of Crusader quarterbacks who attempted to move the ball had no success at all. The steady defense held the Crusaders to 150 yards of total offense, and most of that came long, long after the game had been decided. "We definitely needed a game like this," Penn senior strong safety Nick Morris said. "We hope this sends a message. We needed to turn it around and get the defense rolling again. We played solid the whole game." What may have attributed to the outstanding Quaker performance was the week off before the game. After the hassles of the locker room fire, the bus breaking down en route to Dartmouth and the narrow escape from Hanover, the bye helped to give the Quakers their legs back. "Our kids came to play," Bagnoli said. "They were pretty fresh. The week off helped refresh and rejuvenate them." The 45-0 lead at intermission may also help to keep the Quakers fresh in the long run. With the outcome comfortably in hand, Penn was able to get almost all of its 80 players into the game. While the blowout allowed many, like backup sophomore quarterback Steve Teodecki to get some valuable experience, it also let the regulars get some more rest. "It's nice to see some guys, who don't normally get a chance to play, go in and do well," Macik said. "I really feel happy for them." The only thing that did go wrong for the Quakers, besides Stokes' sprained ankle, was the Crusader touchdown late in the fourth quarter. "It would have been nice to get a shutout," Morris said. "But winning 59-8, you really can't complain." While Penn couldn't complain about much, the same could not be said for the Crusaders. The Holy Cross offense was inept all game, and the defense was equally unsuccessful. The Crusaders entered the game with the goal of containing Stokes, but even after he left the game with his sprained ankle, they still weren't able to handle the barrage of other backs and DeRosa passes that were being thrown at them. "The Holy Cross football program was beaten today by a Penn program that is just much better at this point in time," Crusaders coach Peter Vaas said. "It's that simple." Although the 59-8 score may not have been indicative of the Quakers thorough domination, one thing is for sure. Now that Penn has disposed of its two Patriot League opponents for the season, the Quakers can dig in for the six remaining Ivy contests.