Sprint Football opens with alumni win

Capping off a weekend of barbecues and memories, the 2002 Penn sprint football team proved to foes that it is still the team to beat in the Collegiate Sprint Football League.

In their first live action since last season -- which left them one game shy of the program's first back-to-back division titles -- the Quakers flexed their offensive muscle by defeating a team of former lightweighters, 27-20.

The alumni brought many powerful weapons to the table, including the all-time CSFL rush leader Tim Ortman, members of the 1996 championship team Clint Schmidt and Josh Kernan, and Brian Dubin, a captain of last year's squad.

But the current offense proved to be too much for the old legs of the alumni.

Led by Penn coach Bill Wagner, the Red and Blue came out throwing, with quarterbacks Jimmer Donapel and Brandon Geebers both throwing touchdown passes. Co-captain Jeff Bagnoli caught two touchdown passes, while Mark Gannon, another co-captain, ran for another one. A surprising standout was freshman receiver Greg Herman, who started in place of a Penn receiver who recently passed a kidney stone.

After the game, Wagner, in his 32nd year as coach, revealed that the offensive game plan was to tire the alum defense out early by going outside and passing the ball. Needless to say, this strategy was quite successful.

Thanks in large part to younger legs, the current Quakers' defense did not tire as the alums did. Facing some of the best players Penn sprint football has ever seen, the job was not easy for the young squad. Nevertheless, the Red and Blue shut down the alumni skill players, and showed great promise for the upcoming season.

"This game proved that our defense, once totally healthy, will be the best defense in the league," senior receiver Bagnoli said. Standouts during this scrimmage included 2001 All-CSFL defensive lineman John Pinto, 2001 honorable mentions Ray June and Mike Russo, as well as the versatile Chris Caputo.

One of the Quakers' main concerns going into this scrimmage was the offensive line. After losing four starters to graduation, Penn's starting line is now comprised mainly of underclassmen this season. In their first test, the largely inexperienced line surprised many, reassuring Gannon, Donapel and Bagnoli -- last year's team-leaders at their respective quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions -- that they will have ample time to work their magic come the beginning of the season.

According to Wagner, this scrimmage showed the Quakers' tremendous progress in only a few weeks of practice time.

"We are moving in the right direction. I am pleased with where we are," Wagner said. "Now we need the Cornell win to make the four weeks of practice mean something."

The Red and Blue face off against Cornell at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Franklin Field. In last season's first game against the Big Red in Ithaca, Cornell gave the Quakers a scare before Penn prevailed, 19-17.

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