Sprint demolishes Princeton

Penn's sprint football team had to expend little energy Friday night at Franklin Field as the Quakers toyed with the Princeton Tigers on their way to a 28-0 blowout win. Afterwards, Princeton coach Bob Dipipi glowed -- about the Quakers' all-everything running back Tim Ortman. "The key to the game, was No. 32," Dipipi said, referring to Ortman. "He's a good player.? Yep, 32 makes a big difference, we had him a couple times he just broke away, you know, he's strong, he's fast and he's quick. Everybody would love to have a back like that." No. 32 ran over the Tigers (1-1) for 151 yards and accounted for all four of Penn's (2-0) touchdowns -- three on the ground and one through the air -- before coming out of the game midway through the third quarter. Ortman's final score was the most impressive, a Barry Sanders-style scamper early in the third quarter on which he was cut off on a sweep to the left, reversed his field and ran all the way back to the right, then blazed down the sideline 30 yards to paydirt and a 28-0 Penn lead. "How do you prepare for that?" Dipipi said. "We worked on some things in practice, certain tendencies we thought we could stop, but when you get a tackler there to make the tackle and he breaks it, what do you do? He bounces off somebody else and goes.? It doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter." On the other hand, Penn's work in practice did pay off as they eliminated many of the penalties that plagued them in the first game against Cornell. The Quakers were flagged for 18 penalties against the Big Red but they slashed that number to eight against the Tigers. "The coaches hung up the list of the penalties on the bulletin board in the locker room and circled it with a big black marker," Penn nose guard/fullback Steve Schickram said. "And they just kept reminding us about it all week." "We just concentrated on focusing," Penn coach Bill Wagner said. "And I think we were successful." Schickram attributed the flurry of late hits and unnecessary roughness flags to the team's somewhat-bridled collective emotion. "I think everyone that made the penalties knew they were acting like jerks, myself included," Schickram said. "We're very emotional, that's why our defense sucks it up inside the 20." Princeton took the ball inside the Penn 20 on four separate drives -- including a first-and-goal at the Quakers three -- and each time they left a zero up on the scoreboard. "We used a lot of different personnel between the 20s," Wagner said. "Then, when they got back down inside the 20 we put our starters back in and each of the fellas took turns having some big plays." One of those plays came early in the third quarter when the Tigers moved the ball to the Penn three-yard line. On first and goal, Princeton running back Eddie Hwang ran the ball up the middle where he was met by a swarm of dark blue jerseys. Hwang coughed up the ball and it bounced harmlessly out of the back of the endzone for a Quakers touchback. "There's just something that clicks in," Schickram said. "We're kind of a bend-but-don't-break defense. There's always someone who steps up, whether it's myself or [linebacker Dave] Klein." That touchback was important to the Quakers for several reasons. It not only demoralized the Tigers, squashing any comeback dreams that may have been taking shape in their heads, but it also preserved the defense's shutout streak -- Penn has yet to allow a point this season. "That was one of the goals for the game, a shutout," Schickram said. "We managed that but I think it's really a big win since we got tested a little bit defensively [but didn't give up any points]." Wagner agreed with Schickram. "They're a good football team." Wagner said of the Tigers. "We got outstanding play from the defensive unit and the offensive skill players and Princeton stayed right in there. They were a pretty formidable opponent and they're only going to get better." Wagner attributed Princeton's success in moving the ball between the goal lines to the Quakers' substitution patterns. Because of the large lead, Wagner only put the defensive starters in when the Tigers entered the red zone. "We've really got to develop depth if we're going to play with the service academies," Wagner said. The Quakers play the first game of their CSFL season -- they play Ivy foes like Princeton twice, with the latter game counting towards the standings -- a week from Friday against Army. Penn gets another bye this weekend, which gives them two full weeks to prepare for Army. And, apparently, to get hungry. "The defense's legs were well-rested after the last bye," Schickram said. "Plus, we don't really get to hit the offense during the week, so by the time we get to the game, we go balls out."