Football finishes over .500 by beating Cornell

Penn took the field against Cornell Saturday in a fight over one thing: pride. Although their records would have been an easy excuse for either team to go through the motions, neither team did. Instead, the Quakers' 33-20 win against the Big Red was one of their toughest of the season. The season-closing victory at Franklin Field allowed the Quakers (6-4, 5-2 Ivy League) to avoid a second straight 5-5 season and avenge last season's 24-21 loss in Ithaca, N.Y. Penn was eliminated from the title hunt last week by Harvard, which completed its first perfect 7-0 league campaign with a 17-7 triumph over Yale. Joe Piela was the Quakers' inspirational leader on a cloudy day which attracted only 5,918 to Franklin Field. Piela started the scoring with a 74-yard punt return midway through the first quarter. Piela started slowly, cut right and then freshman defensive end Brian Person threw a levelling block on a pair of Cornell (5-5, 4-3) pursuing coverage players. Piela broke down the right sideline with only one man to beat. "He did get a piece of me," Piela said. "He got me on the three- or four-yard line. I dove and he hit the back of my foot, but there was no way I was not going to score after running that far." Up 20-13 almost five minutes into the fourth quarter, Piela lined up across from Cornell's explosive wide receiver Eric Krawczyk. Piela stepped between Krawczyk and Cornell quarterback Scott Carroll's out pass and then coasted 25 yards down the left side for his second touchdown of the game, his third of the season. Prior to Piela's punt return, both team's fourth-down units spelled trouble. Punting from Penn's 42 yard line, Cornell's punter was forced to fall down on the ball at his own 21 yard line after watching the snap sail over his head. The 37 yards lost on the play did not hurt as Penn's Jeremiah Greathouse missed the ensuing 32-yard field goal. After getting its special team units in order, Cornell settled down and controlled the play of game in the first half. Doubling Penn's time of possession, the Big Red had little problem moving the ball. Passing on eight of 10 plays in Cornell's drive after the Piela's score, Carroll methodically led the Big Red down the field. The key play of the drive was also the final play of the drive. On fourth-and-four from Penn's 24-yard line, Carroll lofted a pass to Krawczyk near the goal line on the left side. Penn defensive backs John Bishop and Larrin Robertson circled around the receiver, but Krawczyk was in position to make an easy grab for the score. For only 38 seconds in the second quarter, Penn showed the fans its offensive capability. After a 31-yard field goal by Cornell's John McCombs gave the Big Red its only lead at 10-7, the Quakers moved the ball 61 yards in three plays, mostly by tailback Jim Finn. The drive consisted of a 19-yard run by Finn, a 20-yard pass from Penn quarterback Matt Rader to wide receiver Doug O'Neil and Finn's 22-yard draw for the touchdown. "I was not running the ball well," said Finn, who finished with 140 yards on 25 carries. "I wasn't running hard. I was making the decision too quick, and I don't run well like that. [Penn offensive coordinator Chuck] Priore pulled me aside during the game and told me I have to run the way I can run." With two Greathouse field goals and Piela's interception return, Penn took a 27-13 lead with 10:31 left in the game. Cornell backup quarterback Mike Hood's maneuverability wore through Penn at the end, allowing the Big Red to score a touchdown on a seven-yard Hood-to-Krawczyk pass with just over seven minutes left to play, making the score, 27-20. "Definitely when Hood is in the game you have to take a whole different approach to the pass rush," said Penn defensive end Doug Zinser, who forced and recovered a fumble on a sack of Carroll in the third quarter. "You have to keep one eye on him and one eye on the lineman you are trying to beat. It slows you down when there is a guy running out of the pocket." Finn finished the scoring, carrying the ball six times for 65 yards in an eight-play, 73-yard drive. Although Greathouse missed the extra point, the 33-20 lead with 2:52 to play was insurmountable. The sole highlight for Cornell was Krawczyk who finished the game with 13 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Krawczyk finished the season with 89 balls for 1042 yards and 11 touchdowns. During the game the Quakers changed punters. After playing the season with Jeff Salvino, Bagnoli sent in Rader to try a few, with the mentality that he had booted a couple of punts last year at Duke. Rader punted five times for 166 yards, (33.2 per punt) including three inside the 20-yard line.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.