Finn finally finds his spot

The junior safety and running back was in the middle of all the action against Columbia. NEW YORK -- Following the ball is typically a good strategy for watching a football game. But it had a rival at Saturday's Penn-Columbia football game. Any spectator following the trail of Jim Finn would have caught all of the game's big plays. Finn put three seasons of flip-flopping between offense and defense to good use against the Lions, scoring both on offense and defense in Penn's 24-7 win. A junior from Fair Lawn, N.J., Finn was in the center of the action all day Saturday. He made great plays and major blunders -- sometimes on the same play. Finn first made his presence felt late in the first quarter. Columbia drove into Penn territory, earning a first down on the Quakers' six-yard line. Columbia quarterback Bobby Thomason, chased under pressure, dumped to tailback Norman Hayes in the right flat. Hayes scampered past would-be tackler Finn into the end zone for a 7-0 Lions lead. The next play from scrimmage, however, Finn took a handoff to the right side and found running room. "It was basically an outside zone play and I made the read to cut it upfield, inside," Finn said. "[Columbia cornerback Roy] Hanks was back deep there, and I turned and? when I turned the first time I should have went to his back, but I kept running to the way he was going. He just spun me around and I lost the ball." For the record, it was one carry for 51 yards and one Penn fumble lost. But Finn did not have time to sulk on the sidelines. It was back to his usual strong safety spot. Penn quickly forced Columbia into a third-and-24 from its own 10. Thomason felt the heat of a Penn rush and lofted a ball over the middle of the field. The throw was too high for intended receiver Claude Roxborough, but just perfect for Finn five yards behind him. Ball safely in hand this time, Finn cruised 18 yards for Penn's first touchdown. "Thank God," said Finn in describing his feelings going over the goal line. "It was frustrating that I brought it all the way down and I just gave it right to them." Finn's second touchdown came in more conventional fashion. Late in the third quarter, Penn got the ball near midfield. Behind two Finn first-down runs off the tackles and a Columbia personal foul, the Quakers moved to the Columbia 15. Penn got no points for originality, but six for power football, as Finn blasted through a hole behind left tackle and stumbled into the end zone for a 17-7 Penn lead. "I broke through the line and I expected there was a huge hole there and I saw daylight," Finn said. It was a memorable day on several levels for Finn. Hailing from the suburbs of New York City, coming to Penn via the Quakers football factory of Bergen Catholic, his big day came close to home. "The Finn kid played a real fine game today, playing both ways," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said. "He's been a real good football player for a long time? I don't know how many plays he had, but [playing both ways] is not easy to do." Although it was his two-way performance that drew attention, the game may have been Finn's swan song as a two-way player. That's what happens after a 138-yard rushing day for a Penn team that has struggled on the ground this season. The Quakers came close to moving Finn to running back a few weeks ago, when Jason McGee was still hurt, but further injuries in the secondary precluded the move, according to Quakers coach Al Bagnoli. Still, Penn is likely to let Finn, who said after the game he prefers his offensive role, share more of the ground load with McGee. "It's going to be tough, especially if we still use Jimmy on defense, which we'll probably be forced to do in nickel and dime situations," Bagnoli said. The last thing a Penn team coming off a 17-point loss to Lehigh the week before wanted was for Columbia to cause more questions. But if the question is where to play Jim Finn, Penn can live with it.

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