Penn is 4-1 in last five homecomings

Penn blocks Princeton comeback.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 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). "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." 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. 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 the middle of the third quarter Penn quarterback Matt Rader used his athletic ability, carrying the ball into the endzone five yards on a bootleg to the right side. Rader was jarred several times on the play, causing a concussion. 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. Although the Quakers' offense hit a lull with MacLeod in at quarterback, the team felt comfortable with the 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 the field." Defense leads Penn to first Ivy victory. The Quakers held Yale to 166 yards of total offense and just one field goal to snap a three-game losing streak. By Brett Cohen The Daily Pennsylvanian Yale coach Carm Cozza guided his team into Franklin Field for his last time on Saturday. After 32 years and 300 games, the legendary sideline general made his last trip to Penn's historic field before his retirement at the end of this season. The game was one Cozza will not soon forget. "That's about as poor an offensive showing as I think I've had in my 32 years at Yale," Cozza said. Displaying a spark which had been lacking in its previous games, Penn played with a confidence one would not expect from a team that had entered the game with a 0-3 Ivy League record. Penn's defense shut down the Yale offense, allowing just a field goal in the 20-3 win, while the offense continued its progression under junior quarterback Tom MacLeod's leadership. Penn wasted little time in assuming a lead it would never relinquish. The Quakers relied on their one offensive constant this season, tailback Jasen Scott, to march them downfield after taking the opening kickoff. Scott, on his way to his second straight 120-yard game, carried five times in a drive punctuated by a 43-yard field goal by Jeremiah Greathouse. Late in the first quarter, Penn began a drive that would net the Quakers all the points they would need to top Yale. MacLeod capped the methodical 12-play, 84-yard drive with a seven-yard scoring toss to Scott that put the Quakers up, 10-0. On the other sideline, the two-headed quarterback tandem that is Kris Barber and Blake Kendall was struggling to move Yale past midfield. After the scrambling Barber failed to advance the Elis past their own 47 in his three series, Kendall, a stronger, more conventional quarterback, was brought in. Yale immediately took to the air, and once again Penn's inexperienced secondary was the all-too-familiar target. Chris Rodriguez faked out cornerback Joe Piela, and, when Piela stumbled, Rodriguez hauled in a 31-yard pass just past midfield. In its most dominant performance of the season, Penn held the Elis to 166 total yards of offense, including just 66 yards in the second half. Spearheading the relentless rush into Yale's backfield was defensive tackle Mitch Marrow, who led Penn with seven total tackles, including four for losses. While it was Yale that was twice called for having 12 men on the field, it appeared as if the Quakers constantly played with a man advantage on defense. The Quakers finally broke through with their first Ivy League win, and a 4-3 league mark is not completely out of question. "This was a win we needed badly," Bagnoli said. "It is a whole new season, and we still have some big games left." Princeton dominates Quakers 22-9, virtually assures itself the Ivy title By Srikanth Reddy The Daily Pennsylvanian On Nov. 7, 1992, the Penn football team lost at Princeton, which would go on to win the Ivy League title, 20-14. It would be the Quakers' last setback until their 24-14 defeat at Columbia earlier this season. In between the losses, Penn dominated its opposition, winning 24 consecutive games and claiming two straight undisputed Ivy League championships. Saturday at Franklin Field, almost exactly three years after that long-ago loss to Princeton, things came full circle. The Tigers once again defeated the Quakers, 22-9, ending for all intents and purposes Penn's reign atop the Ancient Eight, and in the process taking a huge step toward an undisputed league title of their own. "They did a good job of executing and making big plays," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "There wasn't one drive on either side that you would say was a classic, 80-yard, 14-play drive. There were no classic drives, but they just made more plays than we made." Princeton (8-0, 5-0 Ivy League) seized the early lead with the sudden quickness of a lightning bolt, taking the life out of the Quakers' Homecoming crowd early. On the third play of the game, just as the 34,504 spectators were settling in, Tigers quarterback Brock Harvey made his first big play of the day. Harvey sidestepped heavy Penn pressure up the middle and ran, loping down the right sideline for 50 yards to the Quakers' 20-yard line. Harvey struck again just three plays later, on third down from the Penn 15. The score put Princeton quickly on top, 7-0. Penn (5-3, 3-2) went three-and-out on its first possession, setting the stage for another quick strike from the Tigers. Harry Nakielny, taking his turn in Princeton's rotating quarterbacks scheme, lobbed a bomb over Quakers cornerback Kevin Allen and into the hands of split end Kevin Duffy. Duffy ran it in to complete a 37-yard touchdown pass. Penn quarterback Mark DeRosa completed only one of his first nine passes. Favorite target Miles Macik, who caught only three balls for 35 yards in the game, was constantly blanketed by a cornerback, safety and linebacker, and under the Princeton pass rush, DeRosa could not find anyone else. Still, the Quakers had their chances to come back. But one lengthy drive in the third quarter ended when Princeton safety Jimmy Archie stepped in front of Macik and intercepted a DeRosa pass. Two consecutive opportunities deep in Tigers territory midway through the fourth period ended unsuccessfully on downs. The Princeton defense, which finished with five sacks, blitzed often and effectively, not allowing DeRosa time to complete passes. Football squeaks past Yale, 14-6 By Nicholas Hut The Daily Pennsylvanian When it was over, Yale simply had nothing left. Even from the upper deck, the look on the Elis' faces as they trudged off the field was plain to see. It was the look of a team that had given everything and come away with nothing. Penn had a hard-fought 14-6 victory, the 700th win in the program's history. It also marked the Quakers'18th consecutive victory, the longest streak in Division l-AA and second longest in the nation behind Auburn's 19. Penn takes sole possession of first place in the league, because Brown upset Cornell, 16-3, in Ithaca, N.Y. Yale (3-4, 1-3 Ivy League) threw everything in its arsenal and then some at Penn Saturday at sun-baked Franklin Field. But all the fake punts, bootlegs and daring passes could not overcome the Quakers (6-0, 4-0) at their homecoming party the top-ranked defense in Division l-AA just would not allow it. Six times the Elis ventured inside the Penn 35, but only once did they come away with even a single point. "We came up big when we had to," safety Nick Morris said. "The guys just really came up strong. The look in our eyes [a touchdown] just wasn't going to happen." And while the Elis continued to move the ball in the fourth quarter, they were too often unable to finish what they started. On Yale's first possession of the quarter, kicker John Lafferty missed a 49-yard field goal. Next, the Elis had to punt, and then Mayer was intercepted by Morris. Yale held after that turnover, and regained the ball for its final possession with 90 seconds remaining. The Quakers should have had three touchdowns by halftime. Up 7-0 in the first quarter after Turner snuck in from less than a yard out, Penn's defense pounced. Johnson blasted Hetherington on Yale's next possession, and the ball popped out. Morris recovered the fumble, and Penn was in business at the Yale 19. Penn quarterback Mark DeRosa was 11-for-23 passing with two interceptions and a 16-yard touchdown strike to Miles Macik in the last minute of the first half that was set up by yet another Morris interception return. The only two sustained Penn drives ended in missed Andy Glockner field goals. "I really don't have an answer for the problems we were having," DeRosa said. "But we better get our act together, or every game is going to be like this." Fans savor victory, as goal posts tumble By Peter Morrison The Daily Pennsylvanian Just like Princeton's undefeated season, the goal posts at the west end of Franklin Field came crashing down Saturday as emotional fans swarmed the endzone following the Quakers' decisive victory Saturday. Before the final down, thousands of ecstatic fans were already poised to jump onto the artificial turf. And, as the final whistle blew, many in the crowd hopped the railing surrounding the field and headed straight for the goal posts, climbed onto the cross bar and brought down the uprights. This emotion and die-hard enthusiasm was the climax of a Quaker spirit that began building even before kickoff. "If we win this one, we should win the Ivy League title," Engineering sophomore Cary Sawyer said as he walked through Franklin Field's gates. "There's no question we're going to win this game." Even before entering the stadium under Saturday's overcast skies, Quaker faithful were loud and animated in anticipation of the battle of the unbeatens, Penn and Princeton. A victory would keep the Quaker football team undefeated and in an excellent position to bring a long-awaited Ivy League title to the University. Throughout the game, fans tried to keep their team inspired. They screamed defense "and jingled their keys on important defensive plays." Students joined alumni in choruses of "Hang Jeff Davis" after every score. And after the third quarter, enough toast flew onto the field to fill a lecture hall. Some spoke of the possibility of both a football and basketball championship. Others felt the Quakers had their revenge for last year's defeat at Princeton. And to some alumni, the game meant a resurgence of Quaker football and a satisfying victory over a team that used to run up the score during the 1960s. As the game came to a close, students stormed the field, flying right past the security guards and heading straight for the goal post anchored at the west end of the field. After struggling with the uprights for a few moments, students managed to pull the posts down, carrying them out of the field and dumping them into the Schuylkill River. "We saw people rush the field from the endzone and someone said we have got to go'," said a College junior, who asked to remain anonymous. Then all these people started jumping on the goal posts and they snapped loose. We carried the uprights out of the stadium and into the river."

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