FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Fabish's career ends with shoulder injury

Senior wide receiver markSenior wide receiver markFabish suffered a season-Senior wide receiver markFabish suffered a season-ending fracture in the finalSenior wide receiver markFabish suffered a season-ending fracture in the finalminutes of the Brown game. The Quakers lost more than just a game at Brown last weekend. Senior wide receiver Mark Fabish suffered a fracture near his left shoulder in the final minute of the contest, meaning his college football career has come to an end. Fabish continued to add to his school records for punt return and kick-off return yardage right to the end. Fabish was the first returner to benefit from freshman-eligibility changes that came in 1993. The Hohokus, N.J. native could have expected to become the fifth Quaker to pass the 3,000-yard mark in career all-purpose yardage this weekend against Yale. You may think Fabish's accomplishment is watered down since he has had an extra year to compile his stats. But the senior wideout's situation is unique in other ways. Of the top six in career all-purpose yardage, he is the only one to have gained less than 2000 yards rushing, in his case about 2000 yards less. His receiving yards have also been depressed since he spent his first three years behind a deep corps of wide receivers like NFLer Miles Macik and 1995 all-Ivy Felix Rouse. · Losing the explosive Fabish, who despite nagging injuries was far-and-away the team's leader in receptions (29) and receiving yards (302), is another setback for the struggling Penn offense. In his absence, junior John James is expected to step into the starting role, along with senior Erik Thompson. James, considered a possession receiver, did not have any catches last week. For the year he has amassed 122 yards on seven receptions. The Quakers will also look to another sure-handed receiver, senior Brian Bonnano, whose catches have been few (13), but crucial. Against Brown his one-handed stab was a key in the Penn comeback, while his twisting grab at the Bucknell two-yard line on a broken play set up the lone Quakers touchdown in regulation. · While the national media are falling over each other to worship 6-0 Columbia, who surprisingly top the Ivy League standings with Dartmouth, fewer have noticed the rare pair sharing the cellar. Penn and Princeton have been synonymous with Ancient Eight football success in the '90s, with Penn taking two outright titles and Princeton winning in 1995 and sharing the title in 1992. This year neither has won a game in the league. Never before have the two schools both started 0-3. The last time the Quakers and Tigers ended the season in 7th and 8th place was 1978, when Penn finished last at 1-5-1 and Princeton just squeezed ahead of them at 1-4-2. For the record, Princeton's only league win that year was a 21-0 drubbing of the Quakers at Palmer Stadium. · In recent years it has been commonplace to watch Penn greats chase the school records. Last season, Miles Macik's pursuit of the Ivy League career reception record was one of the exciting aspects of the 1995 campaign. If Macik's chase exemplified the success of the Penn program in the mid-90s, then its 1996 equivalent shows what a difference a year can make. The man racing for glory this time is? Jeff Salvino, the Quakers' punter. Through six games, the junior has been trotted 46 times, putting him on pace for 77 punts for the year. That would smash Ed Graminga's 15-year old Penn record of 69. Salvino's place in immortality looks a safe bet unless the Penn offense suddenly shows it can move the ball. The Quakers are averaging 296 yards per contest in total offense, a far cry from recent years when the offense was a Penn strong point. Just three years ago, the Quakers set a school record for total offense, averaging over 430 yards per contest.