Great Games in Penn History: Nov. 5, 1988

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EASTON, Pa. -- Penn and Lafayette, ranked one-two in the Lambert Cup voting which rates the East's top Division I-AA football teams, were headed in opposite directions entering Saturday's showdown. The Leopards (6-2-1) possessed the most potent offense in the country and had been ranked as high as seventh in the Associated Press poll. Three weeks ago, they stood at 5-0; but a recent loss to Army and a tie with Cornell dropped them to 17th. The Quakers, on the other hand, had been engaged in a season-long quest for respect. They stood undefeated, but still unranked nationally -- indicating that the voters considered Penn's relatively lenient schedule to be more significant than its perfect record. So after the Quakers (8-0, 5-0 Ivy League) stunned Lafayette, 31-17, before 3,500 incredulous fans at Fisher Field, it was apparent that both teams had continued on their separate paths. "The Lambert Cup was very important to us," said Leopards tailback Tom Costello, choosing the past tense intentionally. "We thought we might be the best team in the East." "[The Quakers] hadn't really beaten a good, dominant team yet," said Frank Baur, Lafayette's star quarterback and the nation's top-rated passer. "I didn't have much respect for them? "?I do now." Since both Marshall and Western Illinois lost Saturday, the Quakers are now the only undefeated and untied team in Division I-AA. · If any Lafayette fans had arrived at the game a little late -- say, with eight minutes remaining in the game -- they would have been taken aback not just by the scoreboard, which showed Penn ahead, 31-17. But while the Leopards' faithful were expecting to watch Baur's magic, Lafayette ran the ball. And the clock continued to tick. "Throw the ball!" several fans desperately yelled. "Throw the ball!" Baur handed off to Costello or ran the ball himself six times in the next 10 plays, slowly moving forward but quickly devouring time. Lafayette's hopes were still alive with 3 minutes, 53 seconds remaining when fullback Tony Miller took Baur's handoff at the Penn seven-yard line. But the Quakers' opportunistic defense forced the Leopards' sixth turnover of the afternoon, and Penn cornerback Dave Smith recovered Miller's fumble in the end zone to secure the victory. So why didn't the Leopards rely on their potent passing attack (ranked fourth in the nation with 280 yards per game) with their backs to the wall? The fans who had been there all afternoon knew. Costello knew. "You can't pass on [the Quakers]," he said. "They have a million blitzes, and you can't learn them all in a week. We had to run to win the game at that point." "They blitzed us a lot like we expected," said Baur, who was held to only 188 yards passing, his lowest output in a full game this season. "Against their defense, you can't pick and choose how you're going to advance the ball." Although Lafayette outgained Penn on offense, 411 to 371, the Quakers' constant defensive pressure nullified the Leopards' output. In addition to forcing the timely turnovers, Penn recorded four sacks on the afternoon -- one more than Lafayette's massive offensive line (which averages 264 pounds) had given up the entire season. "We're a lot bigger, but they're quick," Baur said before the game. "We're not that mobile, and they might just run around us. That scares me." Four plays later, Penn linebacker Mark Fessler swooped by Leopards receiver Phillip Ng as he prepared to pass on a reverse from the Penn 33. Although Fessler missed the sack, Ng hurried his throw, which sailed into the awaiting hands of Quakers defensive tackle Eric Poderys at the Penn 18. The interception was one of three turnovers to abort promising Lafayette drives. "We were very poised out there," Quakers linebacker Bill Caughell said. "If they made a big play (Ng caught a 23-yard pass from Baur before Poderys's interception), we kept our heads up and concentrated on getting the job done. Everybody was calm. Defense is hard to play -- you're not going to stop them every time. But the idea is to make them snap the ball again by keeping them out of the end zone." "We could say that we beat ourselves," Lafayette head coach Bill Russa said. "But Penn flat-out beat us. A lot of those turnovers were a direct result of how well they played." Penn's defense kept the Leopards scoreless after Lafayette tied the game, 17-17, on Miller's 12-yard touchdown run with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter. And during the second half, Penn moved the ball with the diverse running and passing attack that it has showcased the past two weeks. Immediately following the Leopards' last touchdown, Penn marched upfield, using a 29-yard kickoff return from Steve Hooper, a key third-down completion from quarterback Malcolm Glover and an explosive 30-yard touchdown run from backup tailback Mike Waller to put the Quakers ahead to stay. Waller carried 12 times for 88 yards Saturday, including a two-yard touchdown plunge earlier in the third quarter. He and starting tailback Bryan Keys (22 carries, 125 yards) formed a running attack that prevented the offense from relying on Glover's long passes, as it had done during Penn's 31-23 win over Princeton last week. "We thought that we would have to pass a lot more and be more balanced," Waller said. "This proves the running game is back." "They're not a flashy offensive team," Russo said, "but they're very productive. They have and use a lot of weapons."