GAME ANALYSIS: Special teams falters against Spiders for football

The Quakers play was marred by poor special teams work against Richmond in a 34-18 loss. The Quakers' special teams are not turning out to be so special. Penn's special teams woes were blatantly obvious at the start of the second half against Richmond, as TyRonne Turner returned Kendall Hochman's kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. Turner actually dropped the kick but picked it up and scampered past the Penn coverage. The score gave the Spiders a 21-0 lead and essentially removed any hope of a Quakers' comeback. Penn coach Al Bagnoli said that the Quakers had been trying to pooch the kickoffs to the upbacks in order to avoid the explosive Turner, but Hochman booted the ball to the 17 yard-line. Making matters worse for the Red and Blue, Richmond's athletic kick returners frustrated Penn special teamers all game long. "You have to make the plays when you have them," Bagnoli said. "You work too hard to give up those field positions and that hidden yardage. "It was a combination of the kick, the coverage and a pretty exciting kid." Richmond coach Jim Reid admitted that Turner's 93-yard run nailed Penn's coffin. The Quakers did well to kick away from Turner on kickoffs; the only one he ran back was the one he returned for a touchdown. However, the Spiders' punt returner, Winston October, ran roughshod over the Penn punt coverage. October returned six punts for 89 yards, averaging a hefty 14.8 yards per return. "It's not really me making anyone miss. I'm just the guy that runs the ball," October said. "The credit really has to go to [defensive coordinator Joe] Cullen and the other 10 guys on the field blocking." Penn's special teams problems, however, were not limited to coverage. Placekicker Jason Feinberg also continued to have problems last Saturday. Although he did convert a 41-yard field goal attempt, he missed an extra point try, which drew the ire of Bagnoli. "He was hot and cold," Bagnoli said. "I expect him to be perfect on extra points. There's no excuse for that." The punting unit, too, was in disarray for most of the game. With long snapper Clint Burhorn bothered by injury, Bagnoli had to use a freshman long snapper for most punts. Also, because of the high temperature on Franklin Field, Bagnoli had to rotate his sprinters, who were playing a lot of defense. Freshman punter Ryan Lazzeri assumed full-time kicking duties against Richmond after splitting time with quarterback Matt Rader at Dartmouth. "[The punting game] was kind of patchwork," Bagnoli said. "We had the domino effect on that end of it." Although the punting game does not deserve all the blame, Richmond started its drives, on average, at its 46 yard-line. Lazzeri punted seven times for an average of 36.3 yards per kick, with a long of 55 yards. More importantly, Lazzeri seemed to have conquered his snap catching problems. Rather than let the ball hit his chest, as he had been doing early on, Lazzeri handled all of the snaps cleanly, including a high and wide snap. "He did okay for his first start," Bagnoli said. "He can hit the ball better, he can drive it better, he can put a little bit more hangtime." Despite all its troubles, however, Penn did tally one highlight on special teams. In the fourth quarter, when Joe Piela blocked a Richmond extra point try, Joey Alofaituli picked up the ball and ran it back 75 yards for two points. Piela also continued to make solid contributions, returning three Richmond punts for 33 yards. Despite the moderate successes against Richmond, the Quakers' special teams inconsistencies continue to hurt. For the second consecutive week, special teams performed below expectations. Two missed field goals, a missed extra point, countless missed tackles and an inexperienced punting unit all added up to missed opportunities in the first two weeks of the season.