'Coffin' it up: Penn buries itself in turnovers

Football gives a win to Dartmouth with six turnovers Football gives a win to Dartmouth with six turnoversKistakes by the Quakers offense and special teams led to 20 points. It was only the first game of the year, but Penn may have handed Dartmouth the Ivy League title on a platter Saturday during its 23-15 loss to the Big Green. More accurately, the Quakers fumbled it to them, committing six turnovers leading to 20 of Dartmouth's 23 points. "We just can't overcome six turnovers against a good defensive team because they are not going to make mistakes," Quakers coach Al Bagnoli said. "We just dug ourselves too big of a hole." The Quakers spirited defensive play -- Dartmouth only had five first downs the entire game -- was not enough to make up for the thrashing given to the rest of the team courtesy of Big Green kicker Dave Regula. Outscoring the Quakers 14-0 by himself during the first half, Regula broke the game open by picking up Brandon Carson's fumble during a kickoff return and running it 32 yards into the end zone. Adding in the 23-yard field goal Regula had made just prior to kicking off, and the extra point after his scamper into the end zone, Regula put 10 points on the board within 15 seconds. Regula added another field goal before the half and one midway through the third quarter, giving the senior kicker 17 points for the game. "I was ready to stick my head in and make the tackle, and then all of a sudden the ball bounced right to me," Regula said. "That probably won't happen much more. I just wanted to get to the corner [of the end zone]. No way [had I scored a touchdown before]. Nah. I just kick." "I felt that going into the season we had the best combination of kicker, punter and return people that we've ever had here," Dartmouth coach John Lyons said. "And I thought we used that to our full advantage today." Anyone who favors preseason football for college teams would have used Saturday's game as exhibit A. The crowd was treated to a punting war which might have continued for the entire game had Quakers kick returner Brian Bonanno not spiced things up by dropping a punt on his own 13-yard line. The drop was especially disheartening because Bonanno is the only Quakers returner who has experience. Senior leaders set examples for their teammates to follow, and Bonanno was no exception. Sophomore Brandon Carson -- one of many sophomores thrown onto the field for their first significant game-playing experience -- followed Bonanno's lead and dropped a kick of his own. Melvin Alexander, starting at running back in the place of injured Jason McGee, added to the sophomore slump by contributing his own fumble, which led to a Dartmouth field goal. "We had some fears and concerns that we were starting so many sophomores in a big game against a very good defense, and I knew there were going to be some bumps along the way, but you don't ever count on having five turnovers in a half," Bagnoli said. "It was just sloppy play with the ball." The rest of Dartmouth's offense was dominated by a Penn defense which played three quarters of the game without standout lineman Mitch Marrow, who left with a mild concussion. But with the Quakers special teams handing them two touchdowns and the Quakers offensive backfield gifting them a couple of field goals, the Big Green hardly needed to move to score points. "Defensively, we played great in every category except creating turnovers," Bagnoli said. "We dropped two interceptions. The only time we got a turnover, we scored." "I thought we didn't give up, but we didn't do enough," Quakers captain and free safety John Bishop said. "We didn't strip the ball. It was up to us to win that game, and we came up a little short." How bad was the first half? Some of the loudest cheers from the crowd of 11,123 came when James Finn kneeled for a touchback on the kickoff following Carson's fumble. And who could blame them, as Penn's offense managed four punts and five turnovers during the opening 30 minutes of the season. Not only did many of Penn's young offensive players look jittery, but even Penn quarterback Matt Rader who started much of last year at Duke, appeared tight in the first half, overthrowing his receivers on deep routes and constantly fighting to snap the ball before the play clock ran out. "I wasn't happy with the interceptions, and some of it was my fault, but our whole offense has to play better as a unit," Rader said. Those who remained in the stands past halftime might have thought the teams traded jerseys at halftime. It was Dartmouth who committed the turnover, an interception by Quakers cornerback Larrin Robertson. Two plays later, Rader connected with Bonanno for a 10-yard score, cutting the score to 23-15. The hope for a dramatic rally kept the fans -- usually quick to depart after throwing their toast -- glued to their seats. The Quakers couldn't piece together another scoring drive, however, with their final effort resulting in Rader's third interception of the game with just under two minutes to play. Dartmouth gained one first down and ran out the clock and maybe Penn's league-title hopes.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.