When Teodecki went down early, MacLeod stepped up

MacLeod looks impressive after completing 50 percet of his passes to six Quakers receivers in the overtime loss Most college football players need some time to adjust when asked to fill in for an injured starter. No coach expects the back-up to provide heroics in his first meaningful time on the field. But for Penn coach Al Bagnoli, the play of second-string quarterback Tom MacLeod Saturday against Columbia was more than he could have asked for. The junior from Kettering, Ohio completed 50 percent of his passes, threw for 123 yards and scattered 13 completions to six different Quakers receivers in the 20-19 overtime loss. All this on a day Penn, which had been averaging over 185 yards from its running game, managed just 72 on the ground. The game started with senior Steve Teodecki calling the plays. But midway through the first quarter, Teodecki scrambled for 15 yards and, in an attempt to gain even more, collided head on with Lions all-Ivy linebacker Rory Wilfork. Teodecki stayed in the game, but was later examined on the sidelines, and it was determined that he might have separated his non-throwing shoulder on the play. With the news of Teodecki's injury, MacLeod began his warm-up tosses on the sidelines. In the second quarter, he entered the game set to play his first minutes in a Quakers uniform, save for a few mop-up tosses two weeks ago against Colgate. The first three series for MacLeod were rough, to say the least. The quarterback went 0-for-4 with one pass knocked down, an interception and a sack for a loss of seven. It wasn't until the second quarter was halfway over that MacLeod finally got on a roll, completing seven of his last 10 passes of the half for 66 yards. With 1 minute, 32 seconds left on the clock and the Quakers offense going nowhere, Penn took the ball on its own 26-yard line. Following two carries for 14 yards by Aman Abye, MacLeod passed six times in row, completing four for 37 yards. The biggest play was a 17-yard pass to Mark Fabish, who quickly became MacLeod's favorite target, totaling seven catches on the day for 75 yards. "We have great athletic receivers who can do a lot after they catch the ball, so my No. 1 objective was to get the ball in their hands," MacLeod said. With a new quarterback at the controls, Penn went with a short-yardage passing attack, which was at times was successful. However, the Penn offense fizzled in the second half, but with the game going into overtime, the Quakers were given a second chance. Immediately, MacLeod and his teammates took advantage of the opportunity. On the second play from scrimmage, he gunned a 16-yard pass right into Fabish's chest, setting up a one-yard TD run by Jasen Scott. Bagnoli commended MacLeod after his first chance at extended play. "Yes, he got some confidence, and it is a game of confidence," Bagnoli said. "I thought that Tommy had excellent poise at the end of the first half, in the second half and in the overtime." Despite Bagnoli's praise, MacLeod only managed to complete 4-of-10 passes for 44 yards in the second half. Columbia eased up on Penn's green quarterback and keyed on the run game, which managed less than 30 yards in the second half. "We wanted to stop the run first coming into today, no doubt we wanted to stop the run and then take our chances with the pass," Columbia coach Ray Tellier sad. That is exactly what took place. In the second half, MacLeod twice failed to read the Lions' defense fast enough and was dropped for losses of 14 and eight yards. And after a fumble by MacLeod on first-and-goal, Penn's only chance to score a touchdown in regulation was stifled. Still, MacLeod was called the "bright spot" for the Quakers offense by Bagnoli. Bagnoli has yet to decide who will be his starter this weekend versus Lehigh. "Right now, it is too early to tell," Bagnoli said. "I have to find out how serious Teodecki's injury is, go back and look at the films and take inventory of where we are. Then I will make a decision."