As the Penn football team looks to become the first Ivy League team to repeat as champions since the Red and Blue did it in 1993-94, they will have to rely on their 15 returning starters to carry the bulk of the workload. A year ago, the Quakers dominated the Ivy League, going 7-0 while leading the league in both scoring (36.3 points per game) and defense (13.2 ppg allowed). The 36.3 points per game was the highest for Penn since it joined the Ivy League.
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Quarterback
Senior co-captain Mike Mitchell will once again be looked upon to anchor the Red and Blue offense this year. Last year, as an unproven and untested first-time starter, Mitchell threw for 2,803 yards and 20 touchdowns en route to being named the best quarterback in the Ivy League and leading his Quakers to the Ivy League championship.
This year Mitchell is the proven veteran and will be looked upon by teammates to shoulder the load on an offense that has very little experience at the skill positions.
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Running Back
Sam Matthews, a sophomore transfer from the Navy, will fill the void left by the graduated Stephen Faulk, a second-team All-Ivy selection as a senior. In his only season with Navy, Matthews rushed for 80 yards on only 12 attempts. Assisting Matthews in the backfield will be Michael Recchiuti. The junior was Penn's second-leading rusher last season, compiling 330 yards in 79 carries as the backup to Faulk. Senior Jake Perskie also made positive contributions from the backfield with 160 yards on just 43 carries and should see increased time this season.
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Fullback
Senior fullback Michael Kapusta will be returning to the Red and Blue backfield this year. Kapusta carried the ball only 14 times for 30 yards and made five catches for 38 yards in 2002. However, his run and pass blocking was invaluable to Penn and he will be expected to bring senior leadership to a relatively inexperienced group in the backfield.
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Tight End
Senior Brian Adams will be stepping into the tight end position, replacing the graduated Matt Michaleski. Last year, Adams had eight catches for 54 yards while backing up Michaleski. Also returning is junior Joseph Pankratz. While playing in just four games, Pankratz contributed two catches for 21 yards. Both players should expect to see more time, and with the inexperience at the wide receiver position, the tight ends may become a more popular target for Mitchell.
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Wide Receivers
Last year's starters Rob Milanese -- who holds virtually every receiving record at Penn -- and Erik Bolinder have graduated and left the Red and Blue with a relative lack of experience at the position. Senior Joe Phillips and junior Dan Castles are the starters, but will have to improve their statistics from last year for Penn's offense to duplicate its success. Phillips had 19 catches for 266 yards and Castles had 24 catches for 369 yards. Fifth-year senior Jonathan Robinson will also see more time this year after only making three catches for 34 yards before having his season cut short by injury after two games.
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Offensive Line An experienced offensive line will be returning all five starters from last year. The five seniors -- co-captain Matt Dukes (honorable mention All-Ivy), Chris Clark (first-team All-Ivy), Ben Noll (second-team All-Ivy), Chris Kupchik (honorable mention All-Ivy) and Michael Powers -- should give Mitchell the same superb protection that allowed him to pick apart opposing defenses last season.
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Defensive Line
Losing seniors Chris Pennington and Andrew Altman left the Red and Blue slightly shorthanded on the defensive line. Further depleting depth, the Quakers lost starters from last year in senior Kyle Chaffin, who quit the team this preseason, and Ric San Doval (31 tackles, six sacks), who has been moved to linebacker. However, with the emergence of Michael Sangobowale (21 tackles, four sacks) and Steve Small (15 tackles, two sacks), joining second-team All-Ivy selection Ryan Strahlendorff (29 tackles, four sacks), the defensive line should be strong once again. Returning defensive end Blake Bourne, coming off an injury last year, should also help to solidify the line.
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Linebackers
The Red and Blue defense does return one first-team All-Ivy selection in co-captain Steve Lhotak. Lhotak had 64 tackles and seven sacks last season, both team-highs. Joining Lhotak will be San Doval and junior speedster Luke Hadden (15 tackles). Despite the loss of Travis Belden -- a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection a year ago and the defense's MVP for the third straight season -- the linebackers should be a strength for the Penn defense.
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Secondary
Losing senior safety Kevin Stefanski for the season to a knee injury hurts a secondary that is already dealing with the graduation of first-team All-Ivy players Vince Alexander and Fred Plaza. Stefanski had 20 tackles and two interceptions last season after missing the entire 2001 year with another knee injury. At the corner position, seniors Patrick McManus and Rudy Brown will be the starters. Brown missed last year with a concussion, while McManus was second on the team in interceptions with four and added 33 tackles. Duvol Thompson, the third corner, had one interception and was also able to recover two fumbles. The push provided by the Red and Blue's front seven should take some of the pressure off the secondary, but losing Stefanski this close to the season's start may be difficult to overcome.
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Special Teams
The loss of place-kicker Roman Galas to graduation is made easier by the return of third-team All-American Peter Veldman. Last year Veldman went 12-for-15 on field goals and was perfect in 43 tries at extra points. Honorable mention All-Ivy punter Josh Appell will also be returning to the team and should aid the Red and Blue in the field position battle. Last season, Appell averaged just under 38 yards per kick. Also coming back are Thompson at kick returner and Phillips at punt returner. Thompson averaged almost 19 yards per return a year ago and Phillips amassed 199 yards in 38 attempts. Robinson should also be joining Thompson in the kick returning duties after gaining 107 yards in the action he saw before getting injured.
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