FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Football regroups after shootout

The Penn football team needs to focus on defense this week after allowing 58 points to Brown in Rhode Island. The Penn football team is catching its collective breath after a wild 58-51 shootout loss at Brown last Saturday. The two offenses combined for 58 points in the fourth quarter alone, making the game more reminiscent of a Wild Wild WAC Friday night air show between BYU and Fresno State than an old-fashioned Ivy League slugfest. Brown had three receivers -- Sean Morey, Stephen Campbell and Zachary Burns -- with more than 100 receiving yards, while Penn running back Jim Finn broke just about every conceivable Penn rushing record in his six-touchdown, 259-yard performance. But rather than dwell on a game whose equal Penn coach Al Bagnoli guessed will not be seen more than once in a generation, the Quakers are focusing on Yale and its balanced offensive attack -- a far cry from Brown's aerial assault. "We're looking for a more consistent effort," Bagnoli said. "We're facing a team that's been a little bit different than some of the other teams we've faced." Bagnoli also stressed the need to get "back to basics" on defense, after Brown's offense torched them for 528 total yards last weekend. "We're trying to get back to the tenacity that we showed in earlier contests," Bagnoli said of his defense, which was at one point in the season ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA. "[We are] trying to get a little bit of the pride and respect back defensively." · The Penn offense probably needs little to no tinkering this week, especially if Finn can do even half of what he did at Brown. "Offensively we're just trying to carry out and execute the way we've been doing," Bagnoli said. "We've got some minor bumps and bruises on some kids, and hopefully we'll get them back [today]." The Quakers offense will have to contend with a steadily improving Yale defense. The Elis surrendered 1,459 yards of total offense in the first three weeks of the season. But in the three weeks since Yale has given up only 546 yards. · Not counting the abnormal Brown game, as Jim Finn goes, so goes the Penn offense. Penn is now 9-0 when Finn rushes for between 77 and 258 yards. · Speaking of bumps and bruises, Penn may have to play through a few injuries this Saturday. Bagnoli is hopeful linebacker Jim Hisgen can play against Yale, and said if he can, he will get the start. The offensive line has been banged up all year, and tackle Matt Bane will sit out another week. But guard Mike Bertolino and tackle Jason Lebron will return to practice today. The receiving corps is also affected, as wideout Dave O'Neill will miss his second straight week due to an ankle injury. While wideout and special teams regular Kris Ryan will also watch Saturday's game from the sidelines, tight end Ben Zagorski is expected to return to practice today. · Penn football has gone 10-8 overall on Halloween. The first Halloween contest was not a memorable one for Quakers historians, as Penn lost 70-10 to Princeton. But over the next 57 years, the wins flowed as freely as Halloween candy, with Penn running up an impressive 9-1 mark, including a 72-0 demolition of Virginia in 1890 and a 1914 thrashing of Swarthmore, 40-6. Also included in the stretch was a 19-0 victory over the 1942 Army squad, which was most likely distracted by World War II. In his first year as the head man at Penn, Bagnoli and his 1992 Quakers squad ended a 39-year drought in which Penn lost six straight Halloween games by a total score of 163-74. And the team with which Bagnoli ended the streak on Oct. 31, 1992 -- Yale, 13-10.

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