FOOTBALL: Scott was best of the backs

With the departure of Terrance Stokes, the Penn football team has decided to split the carries among a trio of running backs -- senior Dion Camp and juniors Aman Abye and Jasen Scott. While Camp (11 carries for 31 yards) and Abye (11 carries for 30 yards) struggled in Saturday's 20-12 win over Dartmouth, Scott rose to the occasion, churning out an impressive 63 yards on just 12 carries. Will the three-back attack become a one-man show? "It's their first time starting so it's unfair to make early judgements," said Penn coach Al Bagnoli, who added he would like to see the backs' blocking improve. "[Scott] had the hot hand so he ended up with a few more carries. But basically all of them are going to carry the ball and all of them are going to have a chance to help us," Bagnoli said. Scott, in turn, gave the company line about the running back strategy. "I did what was asked of me," said Scott, who entered the season-opener with a 4.3 yards-per-carry average in his previous two seasons. "All I can really say is things worked out well for me. I couldn't really compare myself to the other players. I guess the way they have the rotation going there is not one of us who stands above the others in their eyes, so I'm not one to compare myself to them." But would he like to get 30 carries a game? Well... "I would love to get 30 carries a game," Scott continued, his face lighting up. "A lot of schools have a stud -- someone they just ride and give the ball to all the time. But that's the coaches' decisions. I'm not saying they're wrong, but of course I would love to have all those carries." · Although all-American Miles Macik is the the key to the Penn offense, the situation got a little ridiculous against Dartmouth. Two-thirds of Mark DeRosa's passes and 83 percent of his passing yards went to the Quakers' No. 1 target. According to Bagnoli, this did not reflect a lack of confidence in Penn's other receivers. Rather, it was a product of Dartmouth's defensive strategy. "If they're going to continually cover Macik one-on-one and blitz 50 times, we're probably going to throw the ball [to Macik] 50 times," Bagnoli said. "But if they overload on Macik, then we have some other receivers who are very, very capable. Felix [Rouse] made some big catches, and we've got to get [Mark] Fabish more involved in the offense." · Although the performance of sophomore Mitch Marrow -- eight unassisted tackles and five tackles for loss of yards -- surprised many of the Penn faithful, Bagnoli knew he had a stallion going into the game. Still, the coach was gratified that Marrow's enormous athletic ability was translated into a defensive highlight show. "The only question we had to answer had nothing to do with his athleticism," Bagnoli said. "It had everything to do with that this game was going to count, he's going to start, he's never actually played that position in a varsity contest and how well he's going to adapt." · On the injury front, Bagnoli said the Quakers were "relatively injury-free." Quarterback Mark DeRosa has a slight ankle sprain, but that did not stop the tough junior from practicing today, and he should be fine for Saturday's game against Lafayette.