Lightweight 'D' lit up

It was a bitter, unexpected way for the season to end Friday night for the Penn lightweight football team. All season long, the Quakers struggled on offense -- the team's high scoring mark came in its first game against Princeton, when Penn put up 16 points. In the following four games, the Quakers scored 13, zero, 14 and seven points. In contrast, the Penn defense had performed well for the most part, usually containing opponents and keeping games close. Friday night at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field, however, the roles were reversed. The offense finally came together, rolling up 376 total yards. Unfortunately for Penn, the Big Red piled up 433 yards and pulled out an exciting 39-25 victory. A five-yard touchdown run by tailback Rich Miller put Penn on top, 25-24, midway through the fourth quarter. And minutes later it appeared the Quakers (1-5, 0-4 Eastern Lightweight Football League) were on their way to their second win of the season. With about six minutes left, Miller broke into the clear, heading for another score. But he tripped, and jammed his arm while falling down. The ball came loose and was recovered by Cornell. The Big Red (2-4, 1-3) moved downfield, and with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining, quarterback Paul O'Connor hit receiver Nolan Hecht with a 10-yard touchdown pass. A successful two-point conversion throw from O'Connor to tight end Tim Hedges put Cornell up, 32-25. Penn's hopes for a game-tying drive ended abruptly when Big Red defensive lineman James Nutt intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards for the game's final score. "It was an offensive explosion out there," Penn coach Bill Wagner said. There were several players that put up impressive numbers. For Penn, Miller ran for 167 yards on 37 carries, including the touchdown. And Cornell's featured back, Jon Roth, posted similar numbers (32 rushes, 169 yards). But the most important performance was the Big Red passing attack. "They kept scoring by passing," Wagner said. "They were beating the heck out of us by passing." Other than the interception return, every Cornell touchdown came on a pass. For the game, O'Connor completed 21 of 35 attempts for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Most of those completions went to Hecht, who had all four touchdown receptions, and receiver Josh Hamilton, who caught 11 balls for 138 yards. "Their quarterback had a great night," Wagner said, "and Hamilton and [Hecht] made great catches." The Big Red passing attack may have caught the Quakers by surprise. After Cornell ran the ball with success in an earlier meeting this year, Penn was expecting more of the same. "Our game plan was to stop the run," linebacker Steve Barry said. "We didn't expect them to pass as much. They just played a good game passing. Their quarterback made some perfect passes on the touchdowns." Despite the loss, Wagner was able to find the bright spots in his team's performance. "It was the best the offense played all year," Wagner said. "The offensive line really blocked well, and we moved the ball up and down the field. "It was the most exciting game of the year. It was better than our win in terms of the players' enthusiasm." Sadly for the Quakers, an enthusiastic team and an improved offense were not enough to avoid a season-ending loss.