Defense makes fourth down stops

The Penn football defense struggled overall against Columbia, but made several key fourth-down plays. The Penn football team had its share of rough moments at the outset of Saturday's 20-0 win over Columbia. Without the services of defensive lineman Mike Germino and inside linebacker Jim Hisgen, the right side of the Quakers defense was immediately attacked by Columbia halfbacks Norman Hayes and Kirby Mack. The Lions used a mix of run, pass and screen plays, eating up the opening five minutes and setting the stage for a 35-yard field goal attempt. The kick by Columbia's Sam Warren, however, was blocked by several Quakers up the middle. The Lions gave a repeat performance on their next possession. Columbia put together a 10-play, 4:36 drive -- ending up with fourth down and one yard to go. "We felt that when we're inside the 20 in four-down territory," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said. "We had to make some decisions with short yardage. "During the week, we felt if we get down deep in Penn territory, we're going to go for it more unless we absolutely needed a field goal. And we didn't make it." Penn held the Lions inches short as Columbia tailback Johnathan Reese was gang-tackled two inches away from the first-down marker. Once again, the Lions' offense was left with nothing to show for its efforts. The Columbia offense would come to regret these squandered opportunities because after surrendering two strong drives downfield, the Quakers defense changed its play. "At first, we were a little surprised and I was a little winded on Columbia's first couple of drives," Penn defensive tackle Jason Maehr said. "But when it came down to it, we stopped them." From there, the Quakers defense forced punts and turnovers for the rest of the first half. The Lions blew another three points when Warren missed a field goal just before halftime. As a result, Penn's defense could exclusively defend the goal line as the Lions essentially had no choice but to drive the full length of the field. Hoping that a third potential scoring drive could prove a charm, Columbia challenged the Quakers defense one more time. Late in the third quarter, a 14-play, 7:12 drive came down to a fourth-and-two, just inside the Penn 30-yard line. With the Lions still down 7-0, Reese tried once more to bring his squad back into the contest. Again, the Penn defense stopped him. Quakers linebacker Darren MacDonald and co-captain Joe Piela kept Reese six inches shy, setting the scene for the Penn offense's 13-point fourth quarter barrage. "We move the ball between the 20-yard lines and we're making some plays, but obviously not enough big ones," Columbia receiver Mark Cannan said. "It's been the same story all year. Penn's defensive front seven played well in the absence of two integral starters. Defensive tackle Ed Galan filled in and responded with five tackles, including a sack that forced a 12-yard loss. In addition to the timely stops, the rest of the defensive line applied frequent pressure. Penn defensive linemen Justin Gallagher, George Khouri and Maehr combined for 25 tackles. The Quakers secondary had its share of work and came out hitting. Piela led the defense with nine tackles, Joey Alofaitulli tallied six and Bruce Rossignol notched five. More importantly, the last line of defense did not let any large gains get behind them. "We've been talking about not giving up the big play," Piela said. "Fortunately, Columbia's big plays did not turn into points, and we were able to make stops when we had to." "We had plays to throw deep a couple of times and spread the defense," Columbia quarterback Ted Schroeder said. "A couple of times we completed the deep pass, a couple of times we didn't." The final score, however, is misleading as to how the Quakers fared in the early-going. During those moments, passes underneath the Quakers defense and laterally were not well defended. "We've consistently allowed big plays," Piela said. "We were only up 7-0 at halftime, and if Columbia scored, that would've changed the game. That's a problem we have to eliminate if we want to win down the road."