ON THE SIDELINES: Marrow proves he is Man of Steel

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to shed blockers with a single push. No it wasn't the Man of Steel who appeared on Franklin Field for the Quakers against Harvard, but when Mitch Marrow walked into the post-game press conference wearing a Superman t-shirt, the analogy seemed appropriate. In a game where the Penn defense continues its remarkable resurgence of the last three weeks, no one played a greater role than Marrow. The Quakers tackle was a consistent 275- pound obstacle in the Harvard backfield. For the game, he totaled four sacks, upping his season total to 14.5. But he isn't concerned with individual numbers. "I just want our team total to be high," Marrow said. Penn's defensive line as a whole has been the most solid part of the defense throughout the year. Marrow's performance Saturday was due in large part to Tom Foley's monster game last week versus Princeton. The double-teaming Foley commanded freed things up for Marrow. The tackle was at his most disruptive in the first quarter. Both of Harvard's first two drives ended with Marrow flying in to sack quarterback Rich Linden. The freshman signal caller had undoubtedly never seen anything like the pressure Marrow applied in his previous Ivy League games. Yet for some reason Harvard coach Tim Murphy refused to double-team Marrow early on. "We had seen film on him, and we'd ask each other 'didn't we just see this play','" Murphy said. "Then we realized that it was just another offensive lineman he was throwing around like a mannequin." After Marrow picked up three sacks in the first quarter, Harvard altered its blocking scheme. The Crimson realized if Marrow wasn't on his feet, then he would not be able to get into the backfield so quickly. "They started cutting me, which hindered me a little bit," Marrow said. "But I adjusted." He was still able to create havoc, no matter what the Harvard game plan was against him. In one key sequence Harvard started a drive at the Penn 20-yard line after an interception. Marrow quickly erased any hopes the Crimson had of putting together a long drive when he reached the backfield so quickly running back Eion Hu could not hand off on a reverse and instead took a seven-yard loss. "He just does not belong in this league, its as simple as that," Murphy said. "He is better than any of the defensive lineman we had at (Division I) Cincinatti, and three of them are now in the NFL." Yet Marrow was more concerned about winning the current game than his pro-prospects. He saved his last sack of the game for when it mattered most. On Harvard's final legitimate scoring threat, Marrow put the nail in the coffin when he charged up the middle for his fourth sack. After his performance, Marrow was quick to designate his t-shirt, which he obtained from freshman defensive lineman Adrian Puzio before the game, as his good luck charm. Yet it seems the one thing the single-most dominant defensive player in the Ivy League doesn't need is luck. "He just makes it look so easy," Murphy said.