O'Neill has career day in victory

PRINCETON, N.J. -- He isn't the largest, fastest or flashiest wide receiver on the Penn football team. He doesn't lead the Quakers in scores, receptions or the number of double-teams he's faced. But it seems that whenever Penn needs a big play in a pinch, Doug O'Neill is there. The senior wide receiver put on a display in the first half of Saturday's 40-24 win at Princeton that is not soon to be matched by anyone wearing red and blue. In the first 30 minutes of action, O'Neill hauled in six passes for 135 yards -- a career high. While the Tigers were able to stifle Penn's rushing attack to the tune of 1.4 yards per carry in the first half, Princeton had no answer for O'Neill and the Quakers receivers. "Their wideouts were doing a good job of juking our guys, and we have to do a better job of tackling -- that's fundamental football," Princeton coach Roger Hughes said. On Penn's third drive, O'Neill caught a quick slant on the right hashmark and ran 40 yards untouched through the Tigers' defense, all the way down to the 16-yard line. Penn's second-longest pass play of the day set up Jason Feinberg's second field goal, which cut the Princeton lead to 7-6. But the importance of O'Neill was never more apparent than as the Quakers drove down the field trying to beat the clock at the end of the first half. Down 24-6, with 60 yards to go to reach the end zone and only 43 seconds to traverse that distance, Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman looked to O'Neill. And to no one's surprise, the senior delivered. First came a seven-yard reception along the right sideline, and then came a 14-yard catch in nearly the identical spot. And then came the play of the year to this point -- O'Neill's 42-yard miracle touchdown catch with 0:00 showing on the clock. Scrambling from the pocket, Hoffman did his part of the Hail Mary by chucking the ball down toward the end zone -- and O'Neill did the rest. Reacting like a cat, the senior snapped the ball out of mid-air after Princeton linebacker Chris Roser-Jones tried to bat it down. O'Neill then used a quick dash to the right and a John Holahan block to find his way into the end zone for the improbable score. "I'm supposed to be a couple of yards behind where the ball is actually going to land. And if the ball gets tipped back to me, I'm just supposed to go up and get it," O'Neill said. "I thought I was going to be able to get around the outside to get to the end zone, because everyone was clustered around where the ball was originally tipped. But I saw an opening and just cut in there." And just like that, an 18-point deficit was cut to 24-13, and Penn's confidence was restored. "The last play before half certainly was a momentum changer," Hughes said. "That being said, the first thing I tried to get across to my players was that it's just one play. "But then they did a nice job of capitalizing on the momentum that they generated from that play." O'Neill then came back and caught the Quakers' first pass of the second half, as Penn blitzkrieged the Tigers to the tune of three touchdowns in under eight minutes. But this 13-yard reception across the middle also left O'Neill on the sidelines for the rest of the afternoon, and must have brought back memories of last season for the senior. An honorable mention All-Ivy pick in his sophomore campaign of 1998 with 42 receptions for 506 yards, O'Neill looked to lead the Quakers receiving corps last fall. But a knee injury kept O'Neill out of his entire junior campaign, and in his absence, Penn's offense found another go-to guy in junior Rob Milanese. Yet this fall, without the pressure of necessarily being the first option that Hoffman looks to, O'Neill has flourished. The Colts Neck, N.J., native has caught a pass in a Penn-record 27 consecutive games and is an ever-present force in the Quakers attack, as well as an ever-present thorn in opponent's sides. "We knew their offense could make some big plays," said Roser-Jones, who was burned by O'Neill more than once. "It seemed liked we would stop them for the first few plays of the series, and then we'd make a little mistake and they'd really capitalize on it." With that score, as well as his other three touchdowns this fall, O'Neill has shown he can help Penn take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself. As one of the four captains of the 2000 Quakers, and as one of only a few seniors on Penn's offense, the team looks to O'Neill for leadership. And his performance on Saturday was nothing less than what Quakers coaches and fans have come to expect from the senior. Even after absorbing that vicious hit early in the third quarter that saw him hobble off the field, the fighter in O'Neill was still prepared to re-enter the game and do whatever was necessary for the victory. "I'm sore. I got hit in the ribs on one of those plays," O'Neill said. "[But if it was a closer game], I think I would have gone back in."

News and Notes: With 43 receptions for 581 yards through eight games, O'Neill has moved into third-place in Penn's record book for receptions in a career, and second-place for receiving yardage... Penn senior kicker Jason Feinberg, who scored 16 points on Saturday, was named this week's Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week.

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