Ortman obliterates record book in finale

The Quakers were on fire this weekend at Princeton, N.J., as Tim Ortman once again dominated the field, breaking two Penn lightweight football records and virtually sweeping the Tigers off their feet. The Penn lightweight football team finished its season last Friday night with a 23-8 win against Princeton. The Quakers finished their season on an even note with a 3-3 record overall, 2-2 in the Eastern Lightweight Football League games. Once again, overshadowing the win for the Red and the Blue was the play of sophomore tailback Tim Ortman. Ortman had a record-breaking game for Penn, as he broke his own single-game rushing record set earlier in the season. In the Quakers' October 3 game against the Tigers (0-6, 0-4 ELFL), Ortman rushed for 227 yards, breaking Penn's previous single-game rushing record. Friday night, Ortman rushed for a total of 240 yards, scoring all three of Penn's touchdowns to win the game. In addition to breaking his own single-game rushing record, Ortman broke the single-season rushing record, amassing 960 yards in 1997. The previous record was held by Mark Dianno, who racked up 925 yards in 1989. "Ortman played one of his best games of the season. He always puts in 110 percent every game. He truly has been a leader for us this season," Quakers sophomore kicker David Sherman said. Sherman, too, had one of his best games of the season. He had a 28-yard field goal, as well as two extra points. After winning the ELFL title last year, this season proved to be a rebuilding year for the Quakers under the leadership of captains defensive tackle Jordan Matusow, center Marc Menkowitz and defensive back Mario Malcolm. Led by coach Bill Wagner, the Quakers demonstrated continual improvement throughout the season, Sherman said. "Although it was a rough season, we got a lot of positives out of this last game. With the many freshman and sophomores on the team, we have a lot of potential to be really good next season," Sherman said. Now that the season is over, Penn is looking to the future. The Quakers will be losing 13 seniors this year; however, they hope to continue to improve with a strong group of juniors filling the gaps. Ending their 1997 season with a .500 record, the Quakers fell short of their goals, but weren't completely displeased with their performance.