Sprint beats Cornell to stay undefeated

Penn's Tim Ortman was held to under 200 yards due to a slight injury. Four down, two to go. The Penn sprint football team is two wins away from its first undefeated season under the reign of Penn coach Bill Wagner. Penn (4-0, 2-0 Collegiate Lightweight Football League) handily beat Cornell (2-3, 1-2), 34-6, on Friday to set up a showdown between Penn and Army, the only undefeated teams remaining in the league. "It was an outstanding game both offensively and defensively," Wagner said. "The team answered the call and the challenge to overcome the five hour ride, the revenge factor, and [Cornell's] home field advantage. The Big Red was struggling to keep title hopes alive, and to avenge the 41-0 loss suffered to the Quakers earlier in the season. Despite the fact that Cornell recruited some new players and made many improvements since the last meeting between the two teams, it still made many of the same mistakes and achieved a similar result. Cornell once again failed to stop Penn's running game, as the Quakers gained 348 yards on 62 carries. However, Cornell is the only team that has been able to hold Penn running back Tim Ortman under 200 yards in a game this season, and that was due to Ortman's minor injury. Ortman twisted his ankle during the second quarter, and he left the game in the second half to assure that he would be healthy for the Army game this Friday. Wagner stated that Ortman did practice Sunday, and he will be starting in Friday's game. The Ortman injury allowed Penn to concentrate on its passing game and to "discover" its "versatile offense," according to Penn wide receiver Todd Johnson. Both Johnson and wide receiver Robert Reeves caught a touchdown pass from quarterback John Kernan, who completed four passes on eight attempts for the day. Defensively, Penn played much better after giving up 14 and 20 points against Navy and Princeton respectively. The Quakers did not give up any points until the fourth quarter, when their second unit gave up a touchdown run to Cornell quarterback Eric Thul. Wagner pulled his first string after suffering as many as six minor injuries relating to the bad conditions of the astroturf. "We are happy with how we played, although we had a couple of plays we'd like to have back," Penn defensive back Carter Byrnes said. The Quakers showed improvement in their special teams, including a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown by Reeves. "We improved in some areas that are going to help us beat Army," Penn defensive back/punter Keith Lotman said. Now that Penn has accomplished what it set out to do at Cornell, it has to focus its attention on the approaching matchup against the Cadets. The winner of the Army-Penn game is assured of at least a share of the ELFL title. The Quakers will be practicing all week in hopes of avenging last season's 38-0 blowout by Army. Penn will work on blocking and protecting the quarterback, according to Johnson. "We've got to prepare to stop the wishbone offense," Wagner said, referring to Army's dangerous running game and the Quaker's defensive game plan. "They're undefeated and we're undefeated, and basically, the league championship comes down to this game," Byrnes said. "The whole season comes down to this Friday night."