Lightweights improve, rout Princeton 34-6

Whenever the Princeton Tigers have visited the Penn Quakers in any sort of football competition of late, total and complete Quakers domination has been the outcome. Friday night was no exception, as the rejuvenated Quakers lightweight football squad rolled over Princeton, 34-6. The humidity in no way dampened the Quakers' enthusiasm, as the team remained highly enthusiastic from beginning to end. Coming off a two-week layoff, the Quakers were well-rested and well prepared. "Basically, it all came down to execution. At Cornell we failed to execute, but on Friday night we simply made the plays," captain Rob Alwine said. The Quakers took it to the porous Tigers defense early, racing out to a 14-0 halftime lead and then exploding for 20 more second half points. Penn quarterback Sean Paras had a field day, throwing a touchdown pass and rushing for another. Star running back Rich Miller also had a touchdown on the ground. The offensive line, sparked by Alwine, Paul Diller and Mark Menkowitz, provided the passing attack with all kinds of time. The run blocking was equally solid. Defense wins games, as the old football cliche goes, and the defense was ferocious -- reminiscent of its strong second half performance in a 30-6 loss at Cornell. Princeton quarterbacks and running backs were feasted upon all night long. Pressure, sacks and lost yardage defined the Princeton offensive attack. The defense did not allow a single point, with the Tigers lone touchdown coming on a kickoff return. The play of the night was made by Penn linebacker Eric Visokey. Getting a quick jump on a Tigers option play, he managed to intercept the lateral and run it back for a touchdown in a play that is rarely ever seen. The Tigers' wishbone offense did not fool anybody. The Quakers needed this warmup before facing a much more potent wishbone-style offense in their next opponent, Army. "It was a great team win," Penn offensive lineman Ryan Neelsen said. "We are all very happy with our performance. We set out to prove that we were a better team than the one that showed up at Cornell, and we feel that we did." "We were just a stronger, faster, and smarter team than they were," Diller said. The philosophy of not looking past Princeton toward Army suited the Quakers well, but now it is time to think about the "Anthracite Bowl," the annual Army game. The large, fast Army squad will be a tough test for the Quakers.