Quakers stuff Tigers into cellar

Jason Scott set a school record with 45 carries and the defense recorded six sacks in the victory. PRINCETON, N.J. -- With the national elections over and Bill Clinton preparing for another four years in the White House, there is still one important vote left after Penn's 10-6 week eight win over Princeton. With two games left in the Ivy League season: who should win the Munger Award -- the most valuable player on the Quakers? For Penn (4-4, 2-3 Ivy League) the contest is quickly becoming a landslide victory for tailback Jasen Scott, leaving defensive stars like Mitch Marrow and Tim Foster in his dust. Against Princeton (2-6, 1-4) this past Saturday, Scott rushed 45 times for 155 yards (giving him 959 yards total on the season). The whopping number of carries broke Terrance Stokes old school record of 42, set back in 1993. However, when Stokes rushed over 40 times three years ago, he steamrolled Princeton for 270 yards. One major reason for Scott's lower yardage total was a Princeton defense that was keying on the run. While he amassed over half of Penn's total offensive output, only three times did Scott break out for more than 10 yards. On the Quakers' only successful drive all day, the key moment came when Tom MacLeod hit senior Kenny Hall out of the backfield for a 13-yard gain on a third-and-short situation. That play kept the drive alive, and two plays later Scott waltzed into the end zone from 26 yards out for his longest run of the day and six points. "On that particular play, the offensive line had a lot of push up front and our guard [Matt Julien] was able to lay a nice block, and I just basically walked in," Scott said. Aware that coach Al Bagnoli wanted to rest both fullback Rich Granata (who was out with a knee injury) and tailback Aman Abye (nursing a pulled groin), the senior from Hazelton, Pa., took advantage of his opportunity to carry the team to a victory. While the play of Penn quarterback Tom MacLeod was hardly spectacular, it was enough to win. MacLeod completed 12-of-27 passes for 137 yards and threw two interceptions. Of course, had the Princeton defenders demonstrated surer hands, MacLeod's numbers may have shown a few more interceptions. On two or three occasions, the Tigers got a hand on a MacLeod pass, only to watch it fall to the turf. MacLeod was also sacked twice and fumbled once at the Princeton 10-yard line in the second quarter, nullifying Penn's only other real threat to score a touchdown. Instead, the Quakers' only first-half score was a 31-yard Jeremiah Greathouse field goal. But the play of the Penn defensive front seven was even stingier than Princeton's defense. Tigers quarterback Brett Budzinski was sacked six times on Saturday, three times alone by senior guard Tom Foley. Nearly every time Budzinski dropped back to pass, Foley was breathing down his neck -- that is when he wasn't ringing it. Besides the trio of sacks, Foley also pitched to lead the team in tackles with six, including four hits for losses. Lineman Doug Zinser and linebacker Darren MacDonald were also omnipresent. Zinser chipped in with one-and-a-half sacks, and MacDonald came up with five tackles and two assists. When Budzinski wasn't running for his life, his passes were flying every which way but the right way. Minus one 33-yard pass to star receiver Kevin Duffy , the play of defensive backs John Bishop, Larrin Robertson, James Finn and Joseph Piela was their best of the season. That 33-yarder set up the Tigers' only score of the game, a four-yard touchdown scramble by Budzinski in the third quarter. Princeton kicker Ben Mulinix missed the point-after attempt, though, so the Tigers still needed a touchdown to win. But big stops by Piela and hard hitting by Robertson and Finn in the fourth quarter quelled any attempt by the Tigers of a comeback. But the final nail in the coffin came from Bishop, who had admitted the 33-yard pass to Duffy was his mistake. With two minutes remaining in the game, Bishop made a perfect read on a crossing pattern and picked off a pass intended for Duffy. It was his fifth interception of the fall. "I was just trying to make up for getting beat on the big play that lead to Princeton's touchdown," Bishop said. "I saw Duffy coming, and I got a good read on the ball, and luckily I was able to reach my hands over and grab the ball away from him." Bishop's pick plus a miserable offensive game for the Tigers had Princeton coach Steve Tosches looking distraught after the loss. He strongly felt that the absence of his injured star running back and captain, Marc Washington, was not the sole reason why the Tigers collapsed offensively. Tosches gave credit to the Quakers defensive front seven. "I thought their defensive line won the football game for them today," Tosches said. "I thought their defensive line played very well. They are the ones that had us on our heels, and they are the ones were putting the pressure on us." While Scott may run away with team M.V.P. trophy, according to Tosches, the Penn defense deserved the honor for at least a day.