FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Football seeks balance vs. Bucknell

The Penn football team hopes to use a balanced attack this weekend after a tough loss Saturday to Richmond. "There's not much I'm not worried about," Penn football coach Al Bagnoli said after practice yesterday. Bagnoli may be right to remember the Rolaids when Bucknell visits Franklin Field this Saturday, as recent history has been exciting for fans -- and heart-stopping for coaches. Last year, the Bison squeaked out a 20-16 victory. In 1996, the Quakers needed two overtimes to prevail 30-21. Penn clinched the win when a game-tying Bucknell field goal was blocked and run back for six. The year before, the Quakers won 20-19 on a Jeremiah Greathouse field goal with :30 left in the game. · Penn's offensive line will still be aching on Saturday. Starting tackle Jason Lebron will sit out his third consecutive week. "He's been working out, he's been taking his steps," said Bagnoli. "I'm guessing right now he'll be out for this week and hopefully we'll get him back for next." Center Carmelo Rubano and guard Jesse Simonin both went down with injuries for stretches last week against Richmond, but they are both expected to start against Bucknell. "The offensive line is playing pretty well, despite its inexperience," Penn quarterback Matt Rader said. "I'm getting a lot more confidence in them." · Rader has distributed the ball well. Over the last two games, Rader has used 12 different receivers. Even backup quarterback Jason Battung has a touchdown catch. "We have a core group of about five kids that we work through at the position," offensive coordinator Chuck Priore said. "That has to do with how much throwing we're doing, how many one-back sets and how many three and four receiver sets we're running." Bagnoli chalks up the pass distribution to Rader's style. "Matt is very good at coming back to his second and third receivers," Bagnoli said. "He has confidence in a lot of different kids." Doug O'Neill leads Penn receivers with 158 yards and 11 receptions. · The tight ends, Brandon Clay and Clint Burhorn, have been conspicuously absent from most of the passing game. Between them, they have only three catches in two games. But Rader says it is not by design. "The teams have been covering them pretty well," Rader said. "I'd like to get them the ball a little bit more, but we'll see how things go on Saturday." The tight ends have also been occupied with blocking responsibilities, especially at Dartmouth, where running back Jim Finn alone comprised more than 50 percent of the offense. · In last Saturday's game against Richmond, the Quakers ran the ball only twice in their first four offensive series. But they anticipate a more balanced attack against the Bucknell defense. "Physically, they're not a big team, so I think we match up well," Priore said. "I think you'll see the game won in the trenches." Rader expects to run the ball in the wake of the 46 yards on 22 carries produced by Penn against Richmond. "Obviously we didn't run the ball well [last Saturday]," Rader said. "I think we're going to have to reestablish the running game for Bucknell." · On the injury front, defensive tackle Edward Galan sustained a knee injury during the Richmond game. Bagnoli said he hopes to have him available for Bucknell, but Galan is listed as day-to-day. · Bagnoli is keeping an eye on the much-maligned special teams unit. "We have to do everything perfect," Bagnoli said. "We got a little bit sloppy against [Richmond] and they were athletic enough to exploit it." Freshman punter Ryan Lazzeri will continue to start, but Bagnoli says backup quarterback Reed Werner may get in some kicks.

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