Football Notebook: With MacLead out, Russell will again lead Penn

After severely bruising his shoulder against Harvard, Quakers quarterback Tom MacLeon is doubtful for the season finale. Once again, it looks like freshman quarterback Brian Russell will have to lead the Quakers to victory. As of yesterday, Penn coach Al Bagnoli listed starter Tom MacLeod as doubtful for this weekend after suffering a bruised shoulder against Harvard last Saturday. MacLeod did not practice yesterday and will not try throwing until Thursday. Bagnoli, though, will not make a final decision on who will start until he gets a chance to see MacLeod throw. However, having to go with the freshman signal caller doesn't have Bagnoli worried. "If Russell starts, I think he will do a good job," Bagnoli said. "He will need to take care of the ball a little better and continue to show poise in the pocket." Russell agrees that he needs to make better field decisions. In Saturday's 17-12 win over the Crimson, Russell threw two interceptions. "I know many people referred to my picks last weekend as freshman mistakes," Russell said. "But I know that if I am going to lead this team, I can't make any errors when I am out there." With MacLeod doubtful, senior Steve Teodecki, who entered the season as Penn's top quarterback, took reps in practice for the first time since week five. · Bagnoli's biggest fear when his team goes up to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell on Saturday is that the Quakers (5-4, 3-3 Ivy) will have no fear. The Big Red (3-6, 3-3) suffered a big loss last weekend when star running back Chad Levitt broke a bone in his arm which required season-ending surgery. The injury cost Levitt a chance to break the Ivy League record for career rushing yards. Instead, he finishes his career just 58 yards short of breaking Ed Marinaro's record of 4,715 rushing yards. Without Levitt averaging roughly 189 yards on the ground per contest, it is safe to say Cornell's offense is not half as scary as it was just five days ago. Bagnoli knows this and so do his players. Immediately following practice, Bagnoli sat the team down and warned them about the Penn-Cornell rivalry. "I hope they don't let down," Bagnoli said. "I just question our kids. We had this Penn-Cornell dinner last night in New York City, and you can just feel the intensity of that rivalry." Looking at film has not provided Bagnoli many clues on what to expect from the Big Red offense, since Cornell handed off to Levitt an average of 28 times each game. · Aside from missing Levitt, the Big Red have lost four of their last five games. Meanwhile, Penn has won three in a row and would like to end things up on a winning note, especially for the seniors. "Our upperclassmen have got it in their mind that they are going to play hard," Bagnoli said. "They have gone out there and tried to get the best win-loss record they can get." · For senior defensive tackle Mitch Marrow and the rest of defense it has been "a lot of fun" playing football the past three weeks. Marrow credits the winning streak to Bagnoli and the coaching staff for pulling everyone together and getting their minds focused on playing winning football. Even with the possibility of returning next fall to play a fifth season, Marrow has many fond memories of this year. "My three closest friends are [Chris] Osentowski, [Tom] Foley and [Mike] Kennedy, and, whether I come back and play a fifth year, I am going to miss them when this season ends," Marrow said. "I don't think there will any let down this weekend," said Marrow, who leads the Ivy League with 14.5 sacks. "We want to finish out the season with our fourth straight win." · Bagnoli rested Penn's leading rusher, Jason Scott, in yesterday's practice for two reasons. No. 1: Junior Rich Granata practiced for the first time since injuring his knee two weeks ago. And No. 2: Even Bagnoli admitted "Scott has carried the load" the past two weeks and is beginning to feel it.