ITHACA, N.Y.
As the Quakers took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at the half, their Ivy League fate was becoming increasingly clear. At the same time, 330 miles to the east in Boston, Harvard was lighting up the scoreboard in familiar fashion, leading helpless Yale, 21-0.
Although Arthur Mintz, the Schoellkopf Field PA announcer, refrained from calling the Harvard-Yale score while the teams were on the field, everyone around the stadium knew it: the Crimson was headed for a perfect season, and the Quakers would be relegated to second place.
As the second half started, Penn was playing for pride. And there has been an awful lot to be proud of over the last four years. The class of 2005 can walk off the field knowing that they leave behind an impressive legacy. If you're scoring at home, the Quakers have won more games in the past four years than any other team in a four-year span since the creation of the Ivy League in 1956.
Harvard.
Villanova.
Villanova.
Harvard.
That's all. Four losses in four years. In that span, Penn won 35 games, outscoring opponents 1,164 to 445, or an average of 20.5 points per game. Throw in a pair of Ivy League titles, a perfect season and an Ancient Eight record 20-game win streak and that adds up to an impressive body of work.
"Not too shabby," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said about the last four years.
It was only fitting that the record-setting 35th win came on the shoulders of Penn's senior leadership. Defensive end Bobby Fallon scored his first-ever touchdown on his first-ever interception in the opening quarter. Wide receiver and holder Gabe Marabella recorded his first-ever touchdown pass just before halftime on a broken field-goal attempt. Cornerback Duvol Thompson was just a cheap interference call away from another interception. Michael Sangobowale, Luke Hadden and Kevin Junge set an example with a strong defensive effort in the first half.
And who could forget wide receiver Dan Castles, who moved into second place all-time with 2,444 receiving yards for the Red and Blue.
"He's been an absolutely terrific player," Bagnoli said of Castles, who last week caught his 27th career touchdown -- a new Penn record. "He goes down as one of the best receivers in the history of Penn football."
Castles added 124 yards on Saturday, including a 53-yard strike -- his longest of the season -- from rookie quarterback Bryan Walker.
Meanwhile in Boston, Harvard was putting the finishing touches on a 35-3 drubbing of the Elis to officially eliminate Penn from the Ivy title hunt. While the Quakers were hoping for a chance to finish better than second place, Cornell was playing for a chance to tie for second place. The Big Red, after all, was wrapping up an impressive turnaround season after finishing with just one win in 2003.
This year was a different story in Ithaca, N.Y., as new coach Jim Knowles brought new life to a down-and-out Cornell squad. And Cornell's record showed it -- the New Yorkers posted a winning mark at 4-3 in the Ancient Eight for the first time since 2000.
"That's a heck of an accomplishment for them, when everybody picked them last," Knowles said of his team's third-place finish. "They have a lot to hang their hat on."
Knowles is bringing pride back to Schoellkopf Field, and to a Cornell program that had hit rock bottom when Penn hammered the Big Red, 59-7, last season in Philadelphia.
Cornell quarterback D.J. Busch described the attitude on the team toward previous meetings with the Quakers. "The last two years I've been around here, we play Penn and we get down we think 'this team's too good,' and 'let's just try and get out of here without getting embarrassed,'" he said. "Today we went out there and actually competed."
For Penn fans of late, anything less than a 10-0 season and an Ivy title has become a disappointment. But to put things in perspective, there are a handful of Ivy League programs that would be thrilled just to finish with a .500 record. Dartmouth and Columbia each finished with just one win this season.
The Ivy League football trophy will not be back in Philadelphia for a third straight year. But when you think that some teams have not come anywhere near winning the championship for decades, it could always be worse. Cornell's class of 2005 went 11-28. Ivy title or not, Penn's 35-4 is, well, not too shabby.
Jeff Shafer is a junior Marketing and Management concentrator from Columbia Falls, Mont., and sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jshafer@wharton.upenn.edu
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
