Army blanks Lwt. Football, 38-0, in ELFL revenge-fest

"There are not too many excuses for our defeat," Penn lightweight football coach Bill Wagner said. "They used the revenge factor to their advantage." Last year was only the second time in Penn history that the Quakers beat Army. That win enabled them to earn a share of the Eastern Lightweight Football League title. Army looked to punish the Quakers for last year's defeat, as they came out hitting hard. The vengeful Cadets handed Penn a 38-0 defeat in its first ELFL game of the season. Two big offensive plays and stellar defense were the difference in Army's victory. Army (4-1, 2-0 ELFL) scored on its third play of the game on a 60-yard halfback option. A 50-yard bomb to the end zone a few drives later made the score 14-0. Meanwhile, the Quakers gained only one first down in the opening quarter. Penn (1-2, 0-1) had a couple of opportunities to keep the game close, but it failed to capitalize. The Quakers got inside Army's red zone twice, only to be pushed back by holding penalties. Their failure to convert when inside the 20-yard line combined with 10 Army points in the second quarter put the game out of reach, with the Red and Blue down 24-0 going into the locker room. "They have the best front line I've played against in my four years at Penn," said senior co-captain Mark Menkowitz, who starts at center. "Mostly juniors and seniors start on their program, so they very prepared by the time they get a chance to play." Despite the dominance of the Army defensive line, Quakers tailback Tim Ortman was still able to gain over 90 yards. "He's still the best back in the league," said Wagner. On the other side of the Penn ball, senior cornerback Justin Reger and freshman linebacker Mike Viney led the defense with solid play, even though the defense surrendered 38 points. "After Army's two big plays the defense settled in and continued to hit and played hard until the end of the game," Wagner said. "This is a young team, so there should be a big improvement over the next few weeks." The team hopes Wagner is right, as it will try to duplicate last year's resiliency. After opening ELFL play with a loss last year to Navy, the Quakers bounced back win three consecutive wins for a share of the ELFL championship. "The season certainly isn't at a loss because there are a lot of games left to play," Wagner said. "Navy beat Army earlier in the season which is an indication of how good they both really are." The main focus for the Quakers right now is to respond with a win against Cornell on Friday. Cornell defeated Penn earlier in the season 21-7 at Cornell in a non-league encounter, but the Quakers are confident they can do what Army did to them: use revenge to their advantage.