Catch this: Penngets first victory

Matt Rader found seven different receivers and amassed 307 passing yeards as the Quakers beat Townson. If Penn finally wins a football game, but nobody is there to see it, does it still count? Apparently yes. If front of a sparse Franklin Field crowd surprisingly reported at 6,806 strong, the Quakers (1-2) got their first win of the season by defeating Towson, 26-14, during a rare Saturday night game. What a difference scoring first makes. Penn scored five minutes into the opening quarter with a 38-yard Jeremiah Greathouse field goal on their way to building a 17-point halftime lead. It was the opponent playing the catch-up game for a change, and it didn't work for them either as Towson never got within one score. The game breaker was Brian Bonanno's 64-yard scamper down the sideline for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter. After receiving a short pass near the Towson sideline from Quakers quarterback Matt Rader, Bonanno broke free from Dwane Exeter's tackle with a nifty spin move and was then free to run the rest of the way untouched. "In the first half we did some real good things, and we finally got a big play," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "It was nice to see that we finally got a home run. [Rader] made a nice play. They put a blitz on, and he was able to stand firm in the pocket and throw the ball downfield. You love those one-play drives." Bonanno was about the only recognizable receiver in the game for the Quakers on Saturday. With leading receiver John James out with an injury, the Quakers' coaching staff chose to roll out a trio of new receivers rather than elevate the number of plays run to Penn's other regular wide-outs, Brandon Carson and Alex Dafferner. "They stepped up, that's all you can ask for," Rader said. "Bonanno had a great first half -- that's what we need to do. [Dropped passes] are still a little bit frustrating, but it's not as many as have been in the past couple of games." Especially impressive was the play of sophomore Doug O'Neil, who grabbed three balls for 49 yards, including a 31-yard pass on third-and-nine from the Penn which was the key play in Penn's second touchdown drive. That drive, capped off by two-way demon James Finn's 11 yard touchdown run, put the Quakers ahead 17-0 with seven minutes, 11 seconds to play in the first half. "We tried to get some other kids involved to make some plays," Bagnoli said. "I thought the young kids played pretty well. Give our kids some credit. They broke some tackles and made people miss." While Bonanno and company were making Franklin Field look like a game reserve by running in endless empty space, Rader was consistently pummeled by the Towson pass rush. Some of the hits were delivered on plays that were quarterback runs by design, but many of the hits occurred because the offensive line could not consistently pick up the Tigers' blitzes. The line also suffered when tight ends were running receiving routes and did not stay in to block. Penn's five down linemen were too often overmatched by a four man Towson rush, leaving Rader to scramble for his life. "Both quarterbacks, I thought, took a lot of hits tonight," Bagnoli said. "And it's probably going to happen with everyone releasing four and five receivers and with both teams blitzing." Apparently still reeling from the "strip" show performed by the Towson Band Flag Girls at halftime, the Penn defense came out in the third quarter and let Tigers quarterback Kevin Smith lead his team 58 yards to the Quakers 22. Smith thought he had put six points on the board with a nicely placed pass to the front corner of the end zone, but his receiver Jason Corle dropped the ball. Disgusted with his team's inability to hold on to the pigskin, Smith found more success by throwing his next pass in the direction of Penn defensive back Larrin Robertson, who after batting it up in the air with his arm cast pulled it in for a backbreaking interception. "That takes the wind right out of your sails when you are trying to get back in the ball game," Towson coach Gordy Combs said. "The ball down there in the corner to Jason was a tough catch, but it was a great throw by Kevin." Down 24-0, Towson put together two scoring drives in the fourth quarter against a lax Quakers defense littered with second stringers. Towson fans held out hope until Smith was sacked on a two-point conversion attempt which would have cut the lead to 24-16 with 1:44 left in the game. As he was being driven into the ground by Larry Rascoe, Smith fumbled the ball. In the ensuing melee, Joseph Piela picked up the ball and ran 83 yards the other direction for a Quakers conversion, making the score 26-14. "I made the fake, and I was looking, and Adam [Overbey] was just about to come open, and I didn't see what happened from there," Smith said. "I sort of went black. The turf has more impact on your head compared to grass." One new Quaker on the field is one who didn't think it would be week three before he saw playing time. Jason McGee, injured in preseason workouts, regained the starting tailback roll from Melvin Alexander, who was hobbled by an injury of his own. McGee ran 23 times for 76 yards.

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