DBsPiela, Finn emerge as double threats

Joe Piela and James Finn supplemented their defensive duties with successful stints on special teams. Saturday night against Towson, Penn juniors Jim Finn and Joe Piela emerged as sparkplugs for the Quakers, whose sputtering early season performance desperately needed ignition. In the season's first two weeks, Penn mishaps had led to gift-rapped plays for the opposition, with the Quakers offense unable to hold onto the football, and solid downfield punt coverage as scarce as grass in the Quad. Saturday, Finn and Piela turned the tables on the opposition. The defensive backs turned return specialists provided an equal scoring output to the Tigers' entire team, adding 180 yards and 14 points to the Quakers' output, despite playing just a combined one down on offense. "When you make an error against Penn, it's going to get glamorized," Towson coach Gordy Combs said. "Going into the game, we knew that." Finn was the first to capitalize on a Tigers' miscommunication. With seven minutes, 11 seconds left in the second quarter, Penn ahead 10-0 and an upcoming first-and-10 from the Towson 11-yard line, the defensive back/kick returner made an entry into the Quakers' backfield. On his first and only play from scrimmage, Penn quarterback Matt Rader handed Finn the football on a sweep right. The 6'1", 215-pound back dashed to the outside, ahead of the Tigers' linemen. With no Towson corner moving outside to attempt a tackle, Finn sprinted into the end zone unscathed. The touchdown and ensuing kick put the Quakers ahead by 17 points, a deficit too hefty for the Tigers to surmount. "Running the ball is what I've done all my life," said Finn, who played running back at Bergen (N.J.) Catholic High School. "So, it's not that much of a change. It's like riding a bicycle. Once you do something, you don't forget." Finn made his mark again just after halftime on special teams. Penn elected to receive the second-half kickoff, which Towson placekicker George Perdikakis booted toward Finn on the four-yard line. After a nifty move to the outside, Finn found a hole to the right and sprinted 41 yards until Tigers defensive back Ken Kraemer made the tackle along the sideline. While the Quakers' offense followed Finn's return with three failed plays and a Jeff Salvino punt, Finn's monstrous return reset the tone, forcing the Tigers to start their first second-half drive from deep within their own territory. "The first two games we didn't have much luck on kickoffs," Finn said. "So [the coaches] are making a big effort on the kickoff return team." On special teams, it wasn't a spectacular first half for Finn's counterpart, Piela, who fielded four Towson punts for 11 return yards. But after halftime, the 5'10" defensive back heated up, emerging as a big-time playmaker. In the third quarter, Piela knocked down a Smith fly-pattern pass intended for feature back Jason Corle. Then, less than two minutes into the fourth, Piela erupted for a perfectly timed interception, which he ran down the left sideline 24 yards for a touchdown. The pick was Piela's third in as many games, ranking him second in the Ivy League in that category behind Columbia free safety Chris Tillotson. "The heart of their team was that No. 19," Smith said. "He just stayed back and made great plays." Piela struck again late in the fourth. After a late Towson rally cut the Penn lead to 24-14, the Tigers set up for a two-point conversion. Smith dropped into the pocket and was hit by a mass of Quakers' defenders, fumbling the football as his head collided with the hard, Franklin Field turf. After a scramble, Piela emerged from the pack with the ball and ran down the sideline 83-yards with it for a two-point play. The run-back put a dagger in the hearts of the Tigers' comeback attempt. "I was on the other side of the field covering the fullback," Piela said. "And the next thing I knew, it was bouncing around, and I kind of got a lucky bounce in my hands. I got into the free and was gone." While Towson may not play to the same level as either Dartmouth or Bucknell, Finn and Piela's emergence provided auspicious signs for Penn's prospects in upcoming Ivy League games. Last season, defensive back was a sore spot for the Quakers. Considering the 1996 coverage difficulties, the development of Finn, Piela and seniors John Bishop and Larrin Robertson into formidable defensive backs was questionable. Bagnoli's quick fix to the secondary included dropping the man-to-man coverage for a zone package, mixed with blitzing and drop-back options. Finn and Piela's arrival on special teams was just as much a surprise. But the early struggles of Brian Bonanno and Brandon Carson returning the ball forced Penn special teams coach Ray Priore to consider alternatives. But Saturday night, the duo got the job done in all capacities. Now that special teams finally appears running, expect Penn coach Al Bagnoli to continue calling on both Finn and Piela to make the big plays defensively and on run backs.

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