Penn blocks Princeton comeback

John Bishop broke past the Princeton linemen to block a go-ahead kick. As the sun set and the mist descended on Franklin Field, Penn's John Bishop felt the roar of the remaining Homecoming crowd as his left elbow deflected Alex Sierk's 46-yard, go-ahead field goal attempt with 2:38 left in the game. Nineteen yards downfield, on the Princeton 47-yard line, Bishop picked up the loose ball, giving the Quakers one more chance to break the 17-17 tie in regulation. "I felt that this was the time," said Bishop, the Penn football team's captain. "My senior year -- this was my season. I did it a million times in practice and never came through that clean." From there, Quakers running back Jim Finn and the offensive line took over. With five straight rushes for 29 yards, Finn muscled Penn (5-3, 4-1 Ivy League) down to the Tigers' 17-yard line, setting up for a 34-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. After converting only seven of his previous 15 field goal attempts this season, Penn's Jeremiah Greathouse redeemed himself in front of the 15,841 fans, giving Penn a 20-17 win over the Tigers (4-4, 1-4). It sets up a showdown with Ivy League leader Harvard Saturday in Cambridge, Mass. "I was in a good situation with a 17-17 tie," Greathouse said. "I couldn't lose the game. All I could do was win the game. Guys on the extra-point field goal team block did a great job. They were the ones that put me in that situation." In ironic fashion, Sierk's 46-yard miss was his first this season in 15 attempts. Even with the game on the line in undesirable weather conditions, Sierk contends he felt little pressure. "Right before the kick I felt I was going to make it just like the other ones," Sierk said. "I was surprised by the block. We had not been blocked all year. We have a great offensive line and a great holder." The game was a nail-biter that never should have been. Down 17-3 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Princeton's second string quarterback John Burnham, who came in due to an injury to starter Harry Nakielny, led the Tigers on three straight scoring drives. One was a 78-yard romp which Burnham capped off with a 13-yard touchdown run. "He is a lot more of a scrambler," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We were practicing more for the drop-back game of Nakielny. All of a sudden this kid is running around on the corner. I give him a lot of credit. He came in and made some nice throws, showed some composure, and went to his second and third read. He made a lot of plays for them." Allowing Burnham to complete passes across the field, the Quakers were surprised by the talent of the inexperienced quarterback. Burnham finished 9-for-20 with 166 yards and an interception. "They were second-containing all game," Burnham said. "It opened up the back side?. I knew going in there in the beginning of the second half that we could drive the ball and score on them." Penn's defense stood strong in the trenches, allowing only six net yards rushing in the game. In the Tigers' last series, after Burnham completed a 21-yard pass to Philip Wendler on third-and-13, the Quakers' defensive line, led by Doug Zinser, stuffed Princeton running back Gerry Giurato for a two-yard gain. On the next play, Burnham's two fake handoffs did not draw any curiosity out of Penn's Mitch Marrow, who tackled the Tigers quarterback on a rollout to the left. Marrow finished with his best game of the season racking up six tackles, three tackles for a loss of 34 yards, including two sacks and a forced fumble. On third-and-seven, the Penn secondary kept it together, forcing Burnham to throw the ball away. Princeton was forced to try Sierk's luck at the 46-yard field goal. For the Quakers' offense, its silent fourth quarter came after consistent play in the first three periods, especially from Finn. The newly converted running back capped another big day with 146 yards on 33 attempts and a touchdown. In running sweeps to the outside, Finn found himself on many opportunities only one step away from making the big play. In the middle of the third quarter, Finn broke down the right side for a 57-yard gain. Princeton defensive back Tom Ludwig saved the touchdown. "They came in with a few different stunts," Finn said. "It took us time to adjust. I made a lot of wrong reads earlier in the game. The line made these holes. I had to run through them, they were so wide." On that same drive, Penn quarterback Matt Rader used his athletic ability, carrying the ball into the end zone five yards on a bootleg to the right side. Rader was jarred several times on the play, causing a concussion. Up to that point, the junior transfer from Duke was 10-for-19 for 139 yards and one interception. Rader was brought to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was immediately released. He is listed as day-to-day, but is expected to get the starting nod versus Harvard. Senior Tom MacLeod replaced the injured Rader. In Rader's absence the offense went cold. With only one first down before the final drive of the game, the Quakers' offense gave Princeton time to come back. "When you are up by that score and you're at home and you're getting the ball, you think you are in a pretty good situation," Bagnoli said. "We probably had a negative-20 on the first drive. We had to punt from our own four. We were punting into a wind. Before you know it the whole third quarter is spent in our territory." Although the Quakers' offense hit a lull with MacLeod in at quarterback, the team felt comfortable with change. "It did not affect our offense at all," Finn said. "Tom MacLeod is capable of doing the job. He proved that he can lead us down field. We weren't worried at all." Penn held a 10-0 halftime edge. Greathouse opened the scoring with a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter. Finn scored his ninth touchdown in four games early in the second quarter, a one-yard dive over the top.

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