Quakers clinch Ivy title again

PRINCETON, N.J. -- In the first series of the second half, Penn starting quarterback Mark DeRosa was stepped on by the Princeton defense, literally. After lying on the grass for seemingly an eternity, he was carried to the sideline. There was no sign of the man who would eventually lead the Quakers to a 33-19 victory over the Tigers. Backup Steve Teodecki came in and tried to stall, but all eyes were still watching DeRosa writhing in pain on the trainer's tables. As they tended to his ankle, the play on the field was at a standstill. But after jogging with a severe limp on the Penn sideline, DeRosa returned to lead the Quaker offense with 16 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the contest. And from there, as Yale upset Cornell 24-14 in New Haven, 21,985 spectators watched the Quakers clinch at least a share of the Ivy League title behind the strong arm and agile feet of Mark DeRosa. "It was a definite lift just to know Mark was okay, but it was more of a lift when he came out and completed his first pass," Penn wide receiver Miles Macik said of DeRosa's return. "It's not to say we don't have confidence in Steve Teodecki, because we do. But right now, Mark's our man and he's doing a great job back there. We were really excited when he came back in." When he had to, DeRosa (18 for 30, 243 yards, 3 touchdowns) had little difficulty finding his receivers. On a long third down, the red-shirt freshman bulleted the ball into Macik's all-American hands for a first down. Then he hit Leo Congeni crossing over the middle. To put Penn up by a two-touchdown margin, he lofted it up to Macik once again for a 23-yard touchdown strike and a 26-12 lead with only 9:26 remaining. Just 23 seconds later, DeRosa scrambled and pump faked before connecting with Macik (9 catches for 102 yards, 2 TDs) high-stepping for yet another 23-yard touchdown, putting the game out of reach and guaranteeing the Quakers their second consecutive Ivy title. "We went into the game with such high hopes and great expectations," Princeton wide receiver Marc Ross said. "Now, we're a part of Penn getting the championship. We tried to deter them from getting that. It makes it hard to take." The first half, however, was not as flawless as Penn would have liked. After floundering around and looking quite inept on its first possession of the game, Penn came back to score on two consecutive drives. The first, featuring numerous DeRosa bootlegs and quick passes, resulted in a 30-yard Andy Glockner field goal. After holding the Tigers, Mark Fabish returned the ensuing punt 30 yards to set up a seemingly effortless 28-yard drive in Penn's very next four plays. The Quakers took advantage of a pass interference penalty called against Princeton's Jimmy Archie at the two-yard line to set up a DeRosa short-arm pass to Warren Rosborough for a touchdown. But after the extra point went wide, Princeton came back with trick plays and a little luck to score two unanswered touchdowns and take the lead temporarily. The Tigers' craftiness came in the form of option runs, play-action passes and numerous Marc Ross reverses. The second score was set up when Fabish fumbled a punt at the Penn 16-yard line. But even then, the Tigers should have known the game was not going their way. Brian Buckman's first extra point sailed wide left. Then his next conversion attempt was blocked by Michael Juliano, and Kevin Allen returned the ball 84 yards to cut Princeton's lead to 12-11. And then with only 3:01 showing on the clock in the first half, running back Terrance Stokes (31 carries for 110 yards, 1 TD) and Macik propelled Penn on a 60-yard drive, capped off by a Stokes 13-yard run and a two-point conversion to take a 19-12 lead into the intermission. "They spread the ball around well," Princeton coach Steve Tosches said. "We tried to put as much pressure on the quarterback as we possibly could. DeRosa made some great plays. He really rose to the occasion today." But when the Quakers took over after halftime, DeRosa was trampled during the second play, and left the game for most of the remainder of the third period. The Tigers, however, were unable to capitalize on their good fortune. Their one scoring opportunity, a 19-yard field goal attempt, was blocked by Juliano once again. And then before Princeton knew it, DeRosa was back in leading the Penn offense. From there, the Quakers marched to their 19th consecutive victory, one shy of the Division I-AA record. When the final gun sounded, although the goal posts remained standing, Penn was crowned Ivy League champion for the second straight season.

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