Offensive line has fueled Lwt. Football's success

Guided by new asst. coach Bill Haines, Penn's line has opened enough holes for Greg Grabon to lead the league in rushing. They are young, they are consistent, and they are one reason Penn lightweight running back Greg Grabon is leading the Eastern Lightweight Football League in rushing. They are the Penn offensive linemen -- the unsung heroes of the Quakers lightweight football team. The regular starting line consists of junior center Marc Menkowitz, freshman Carl Jamison and sophomore Howard Goldberg at the tackle positions and sophomores Neil Batiancila and Jason Fabrikant at the tackles. Also included is senior tight end Zach Chan. In the last two weeks, junior Mike Steib has filled in admirably at right guard. They are a tight-knit group that mercilessly jokes about each other -- until game time. When the offense has the ball, this group functions as one cohesive unit, pushing back the opposition's defensive line and opening running lanes for Penn's trio of running backs: Grabon, senior co-captain Joel Correia and freshman Tim Ortman. "We are the closest unit on the field. No one here is a superstar," Batiancila said. "We're a well-oiled machine," Goldberg added. Statistics attest to the solid weekly performances of the offensive line. On the season, the Quakers have given up only a pair of sacks. In addition, Penn has not been shut out this year, while last year they were shut out twice. Against Princeton, when Grabon was injured, the offensive line blocked well enough for Ortman to top the 100-yard mark. In Penn's only loss of the season, against Navy, the Quakers offensive line was instrumental in leading the team to the first score the Midshipmen yielded this year. "We pounded it 80 yards down the field three yards at a time -- we must have had 20 plays on that drive," Menkowitz said. The offensive line gives full credit for their success to first-year offensive line coach Bill Haines. Last year, the offensive line had no coach at all, like a ship without a rudder. Haines has come in and steered the Quakers offensive lineman, or "fat boys" as he labels them, toward respectability. After working for 13 years in high school football, Haines accepted the challenge presented by Penn's lightweight program. "I was leery about coming here? but we have a lot of fun," Haines said. Haines has shown an ability to mold players from a potpourri of football backgrounds into consistent performers. Both Goldberg and Batiancila played tight end in high school, and Frabrikant had never before played football. "[Haines] knows how to bring up a player," Fabrikant said. "He goes through the same drills every day so we have the fundamentals down," Batiancila said. Haines reciprocated the credit from his players with praise of his own for his players. He noted that Penn's offensive linemen may not be as strong as the players from either Army or Navy, but the Quakers overcome that deficiency with technique. "They're all athletes. They're not big, dumb linemen like high school," Haines said. "They stick to what I've taught them? and we stick to what works." The Penn offensive line has shown a less traditional, more aggressive side than in the past. In the opening game of the season against Cornell, Fabrikant stunned his teammates and Haines when he got ejected for punching a Big Red player. "We have a defensive mentality on the offensive line. Their eyes light up when they get to pull block someone," Haines said. The versatility of the offensive line has been a plus for the Quakers this season. When Fabrikant was injured, Steib stepped in to his guard position, and Goldberg moved to tackle. Batiancila, who snapped on the winning field goal against Army, was forced into long-snapping duties because of an injury to sophomore Andres Martinez. The line will be forced to play harder to compensate for the loss of Chan, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Army. The contribution of the offensive line has not been lost on the rest of the team. "Haines got them whipped into shape," Quakers wide receiver Clint Schmidt said. "Menkowitz and Batiancila have taken a leadership role not just on offensive line, but on the team." "They've blocked great. I can't say enough. It's my fault I can't complete a pass," quarterback Matt Veneri said. The offensive line is not looking past this Saturday's final game, against Princeton, but they see big possibilities for the next few years. Given that every one of them is slated to return next year, the experience from this year will be invaluable if the offense is to expand. "We'll have a year of offense under our belt," said Jamison, who also starts at linebacker. "This is by far the best offensive line I've played with at Penn," Menkowitz said.