Lwt. Football runs over Cornell

Penn sophomore running back Greg Grabon promised to gain 10 yards for every friend who came to the Quakers lightweight football game on Friday night. Although Grabon was not sure if he accomplished this feat, his friends probably didn't care as they saw a masterful performance by Grabon in the first half and a defense that held off Cornell comeback bid, sealing a 12-9 Penn victory at Franklin Field. "We buckled down when we needed to," Quakers defensive tackle Jordan Matusow said. After the victory, Penn coach Bill Wagner was pleased, but also saw room for improvement. "We played better than I thought we were going to play," Wagner said. "If we take care of some of those problems, we'll improve." Cornell quarterback Tim Hodges opened the scoring with a touchdown plunge from one yard out, and with kicker Rob Williams' successful extra point, the Big Red took a 7-0 lead. Appealing to the cheers for Grabon, Penn stuck to the ground game. After the the Big Red score, Grabon fought off four would-be tacklers on his way to a 50-yard gain that put Penn in scoring position. But just two plays later, Grabon fumbled the ball back to Cornell at its 11-yard line. "It was the gloves," Grabon said. "I took them off and had no fumbles the rest of the way." Grabon atoned for his mistake on the next series as he repeatedly hit the the holes opened by Penn's offensive line and followed fullback Joel Correia's strong blocking until he had carried the Quakers to the Cornell five-yard line. Penn got its first score of the year with a little more than 12 minutes to play in the first half when quarterback Matt Veneri rolled right and fired a bullet to wide receiver Clint Schmidt in the end zone. "It was all Veneri," Schmidt said. "All I had to do was run down and turn around." A missed extra point left the Big Red with a 7-6 lead, which held up through the end of the first half. Heading into halftime, Grabon already had 109 yards, just one-yard short of accounting for an 11th friend at the game. Penn's first offensive possession of the half began after a 10-yard punt return by Grabon set Penn up at the Cornell 48-yard line. Six plays later, Grabon followed the right side of the line in for a two-yard score. The drive was highlighted by Schmidt's 34-yard catch-and-run. Veneri's pass for a two-point conversion attempt failed. Veneri was under extreme pressure from Cornell's defensive line all game. The only rush Veneri didn't scramble from was his girlfriend's post-game sprint from the seats. Wagner countered the Big Red's aggressive rush by employing a roll-out passing scheme. After Penn's score put them up, 12-7, Cornell marched down the field only to see running back Mike Matays fumble the ball. From its own two-yard line, Penn's offense went the wrong way. After a one-yard loss by Grabon, Veneri bobbled the snap and fell on the ball in the end zone resulting in a safety. "[The safety] was just a mix-up," Veneri said. "We'd only worked on the play once in practice." It was obvious that Cornell's defense was now focusing intently on Grabon, and Penn's lead was trimmed to just a field goal. After the safety, Penn's defense gave up a 30-yard completion to Cornell's Nolan Hecht. Penn's defense then began to concentrate on stopping the Hodges-to-Hecht combination. With the drive halted, Williams's 37-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. As the fourth quarter began, Cornell was driving again deep in Penn territory. On fourth-and-two from in the red zone, the Big Red ran an option. Penn strong safety Keith Lotman came up to lay a stinging hit on Hodges, who pitched the ball in the general direction of the Penn bench. Quakers nose guard Cameron Reilly fell on the fumble. "In the third and the fourth quarters, we had the second wind," Penn tackle Neil Batiancila said. Following another Quakers stalled drive, the Cornell offense was faced with another fourth-and-two with just over three minutes in the game. On a sweep to the right side of Penn's line, defensive end Carter Byrnes penetrated the backfield and latched onto the Big Red's Mike Matays' leg. Matusow came in and finished off the helpless Matays. "We're taught to swarm like bees," Matusow said. "Byrnes had him wrapped around the legs? It was a dream to be able to finish him off." To spotlight its defense for the boisterous crowd one last time, Penn's offense -- or more specifically, Grabon -- sputtered and handed the ball back at the Cornell 22-yard line. A couple of completions moved the Big Red across midfield. After three straight incompletions, Hodges' fourth- down pass to Hecht was broken up beautifully by cornerback Justin Reger. "Reger shut [Hecht] down in the second half," Penn defensive coordinator John Amendt said. "Our defense came up big the whole game." Penn's defense did look solid as the Quakers settled down following the initial Cornell drive and score. Offensively, the Quakers and Grabon were shut down after their last score. Grabon ended the day with 116 yards on 25 carries. "I give a lot of credit to the offensive line," Grabon said. "We played well tonight, but we can play better." Veneri also saw room for improvement, but was grateful for his first collegiate start at quarterback. "I learned a lot," Veneri said. If he learned anything, it should be to hand the ball to Grabon and let him keep his promises.