Quakers run over Brown

Football blanks Bears, 24-0 PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- If only the script had opened differently, said Brown coach Mark Whipple, his Bears may have upset the Penn football team. But the Quakers capitalized on their opportunities early and waltzed to a 24-0 victory Saturday at Brown Stadium. The Quakers (5-0, 3-0 Ivy League) keep pace with Cornell, which also improved to 3-0 in the league by coming from behind to beat Dartmouth, 17-14. The game could have been a scene from any of the Bears' Ivy League losses. Despite improvement, Brown (3-3, 0-3) does not have the talent yet to contend for an Ivy title. It also does not have the confidence to play with its opponents once it gets behind. "Our kids were ready to play, but we haven't played in many big games," Whipple said. "We built this thing up big. Their nervousness and inexperience showed." First-year coach Whipple, who served as an assistant to Penn coach Al Bagnoli at Union, has installed a "whip-lash" offense at Brown. It averaged 52.5 points per game last year at New Haven, where Whipple spent six seasons, but was little match for Penn. Dropped passes and mental errors plagued Brown again, just like two weeks ago when the Bears had a chance to take a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter against Princeton. In that situation, Trevor Yankoff dropped a pass in the end zone and Brown collapsed, falling 31-10. The Penn defense frustrated the Bears during the first few series, allowing only 45 total yards in the first half. The Quakers pitched their first shutout during their current 17-game winning streak, which ties them with idle Auburn for the longest in Division I. Penn has blanked the Bears in four of the last eight meetings. Penn sacked Brown quarterback Jason McCullough (9 for 28, 128 yards) three times. And when the Quakers weren't sacking McCullough, they were hurrying him. Brown has allowed 29 sacks this season. Late in the first quarter, senior Chris Johnson hit McCullough as the quarterback released a pass. The ball fluttered in the air and junior Dana Lyons came up with the interception. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Mark DeRosa (14 for 23, 163 yards, 1 TD) lofted a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior Miles Macik, who reached around safety Karl Lozanne for the score. That staked the Quakers to a two-touchdown lead with 2 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and tied Macik with Don Clune for the school record for touchdowns in a career with 17. It also destroyed any remaining confidence the Bears had. "We had to make a big play early in the game to maybe stun them a little bit, and then play good defense," Whipple said. "They took us out of it early with the two first touchdowns, and that's what good teams do." Penn started the scoring 3:58 into the game when senior Terrance Stokes took the last of three straight handoffs and punched the ball in the end zone. Stokes left the game just before halftime with a mild concussion, but said he could have played in the second half had the game been closer. The Quakers opened up a 21-0 lead when Stokes took a fourth-and-one handoff from the Brown 3 through the right side of the line and into the end zone 9:10 before intermission. Stokes touched the ball each time during the four-play drive, which was set up when sophomore Mark Fabish returned a punt 41 yards to the Brown 12. Senior Andy Glockner added a 39-yard field goal five seconds before halftime, which gave the Quakers the 24-0 final margin of victory. The Penn defense was on the field the majority of the second half, but Brown was unable to score. Senior Michael Juliano blocked a Bob Warden field-goal attempt in the third quarter that preserved the shutout. Juliano also blocked a critical extra point at Dartmouth to preserve a Penn victory in Week 2. Brown running back Marquis Jessie returned to the Bears lineup sooner than expected after missing two games following surgery for a mild hernia. Jessie rushed for 64 yards on 18 carries, and was contained well except for one 30-yard scamper after Brown's confidence was shaken. "They can make a big play out of any play they run," senior Pat Goodwillie said. "We were fortunate that they really didn't have a whole lot of big plays against us. That really was the story of the game for us."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.