Secondary was primary in third win of the season

This statement sums up the play of the Penn defensive secondary against Brown's passing game in Saturday's 31-10 Quakers victory. Limiting Bears starting quarterback James Perry to nine completions for a measly 62 total yards (34 of which came on one play), the Quakers' defense neutralized the No. 1 pass offense in the Ivy League. The Bears played so wretchedly on offense, they decided to hibernate in their locker rooms rather than face the media after the game. This poor showing of sportsmanship, comes after last year when All-Ivy wide-out Sean Morey basically spent the post-game conference gloating about his record receiving performance following a Brown victory over Penn. Not only did Penn defensive back Joe Piela, Morey's shadow for most of the afternoon, shut him down, apparently he also shut him up. The junior Bear managed only four receptions when facing Penn's starting defense and hauled in only two more balls in the fourth quarter, amassing a total of six catches for 73 yards. "They had maybe the best offense we have seen this year," Penn senior free safety John Bishop said. "I thought today we really stepped up when we had to. Piela was in great position all day and we didn't allow the big play." For the entire week, Brown's secondary, led by Roderic "Rocky" Parsons and Jamaal Stephensons -- the two have combined for 12 interceptions in the first five games -- had been receiving an enormous amount of praise and attention. In addition to their No. 1 ranking in the Ivy League, Parsons was leading the nation with eight interceptions. Flattened by a second-quarter collision with Penn running back Jim Finn, who then scampered 14 yards for a touchdown, Parsons spent the rest of the afternoon on the Brown sidelines with a badly bruised left knee. The injury, according to Bears coach Mark Whipple, could cause him to miss at least the next two games. Without its leader, Brown's highly touted pass defense crumbled, as Quakers signal caller Matt Rader picked the Bears apart for 334 yards. Meanwhile, the Penn secondary continued to put the clamps down on Morey, and any other Brown receiver who attempted to catch a Perry pass. With the exception of long bomb to Morey for 34 yards, Piela, Bishop, Larrin Robertson (who had the game's only interception) and Mike Ferguson had their best game of the season. "I thought we did some smart things on defense" Bagnoli said. "We showed them different looks. It was a combination of our kids are playing well in the secondary and playing with a lot of confidence. We seem to be generating a good pass rush today and when you combine those two things, good things tend to happen." When Bagnoli remarked, "Our kids are playing well in the secondary," it may have been the first time in two years the coach had said that. Plagued by inconsistency last season, and, at times, this fall as well, the Red and Blue defensive backs and safeties had an outstanding afternoon and finally were able to put together 60 solid minutes of football. Even when Morey was double- and triple-teamed by the Quakers, Perry continued to try to force the issue. This mode of attack by the Brown offense did not surprise Bagnoli, who considers Morey on the same level as ex-Penn wide-out Miles Macik, at all. Whipple did have the decency to show up to the post-game press conference, but apparently was not ready to answer questions. He seemed perplexed, if not outright confused, when questioned about why Penn's secondary manhandled his core of Bears receivers. "Oh, I don't umm? You know umm?" Whipple stuttered. "I would have to look at the tape more. I mean obviously their secondary played better then ours played." Well, thank you, Einstein. In all fairness, Whipple did tip his cap to the Penn football team, but overall the Brown coach seemed a bit stunned by the turn of events that took place on Franklin Field Saturday. For Whipple and any other disbelieving Bear, what occurred this past weekend was quite simple: A Penn secondary, which had underachieved all season, had a breakthrough game. Piela, Robertson, Ferguson and Bishop shunned Morey and his fellow cubs all day. The Quakers' defensive backs' solid performance took the Brown offense by surprise, and neither Whipple nor anyone else on the Bears' sideline had an answer.