After lining up across from the same faces day after day and tackling the same players day after day, the Penn football team enjoyed a well-deserved break from the monotony when it took on Widener in the team's annual preseason scrimmage.
No scores or official statistics were kept in Friday's game at Franklin Field that pitted the Quakers against the Division-III opponent from nearby Chester, Pa. However, Penn's offense clearly had its way with the Widener defense, especially the secondary, and the Quakers defensive unit held its ground well against the Pioneers.
Penn coach Al Bagnoli and his team used the opportunity to get a look at some different players and formations and just to look across the line of scrimmage at some different faces.
"Any time you get a different color jersey, it's beneficial and it also give you an idea of where you are," Bagnoli said.
After a slow start, senior quarterback Pat McDermott played a strong first half before giving way to backup Bryan Walker, a sophomore who started in McDermott's absence at the end of last season.
On the first five possessions, the offense suffered two three-and-outs and a red zone interception.
Then McDermott, who will enter his second season as a starter, really got rolling.
He led a long drive that he capped off with an 11-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Billy May.
May was just one of the many weapons that McDermott had in his arsenal, which he utilized on that drive and an earlier one that ended with a 13-yard touchdown run by Kyle Ambrogi.
"I've been amazed at how many different receivers we've been hitting, which is nice."
And when McDermott came out in the second quarter, it was time for Walker to go to work on the Widener defense.
On Walker's first drive, it was running back Joe Sandberg, with the Quakers after transferring from Penn to Rutgers and back, who stole the show.
Sandberg's run of 30 yards put Walker in position to float one up to the end zone.
And Sandberg did the rest, getting only his right hand in the air and pulling the football down.
"I guess I was lucky," Sandberg said. "I just kind of put my hand up there and it stuck to my glove."
It is for players like Sandberg -- players who are trying to get back in the flow of game day -- that the preseason scrimmage, regardless of the opponent, can be so valuable.
"He's made very good progress," Bagnoli said. "He's still trying to get reaccustomed to our system."
Walker also found two other new targets, connecting with Dan McDonald for a 40-yard touchdown and hitting Nick Okoro for a score to cap Penn's added two-minute drill after the first half.
Even with quarterbacks and receivers cycling in and out, the Quakers offense was as in sync as ever.
"There's always that first getting the jitters out," McDermott said. "Once we got through that, I think it was smooth sailing."
While a game against a D-III opponent is not an accurate measure of how a unit will perform during the season, it was clear that the Penn defense was as ready to play as the offense was.
The defense stopped the Pioneers in their tracks, rarely allowing them into Penn territory and giving the offense very short fields to work with.
But captain Ric San Doval and Bagnoli agree that the defensive unit -- particularly young in the front seven -- still has a way to go.
"It was a pretty solid defensive effort," San Doval said. "Obviously, there's going to be room for improvement."
The defense lost three members of the All-Ivy first team -- cornerback Duvol Thompson, linebacker Luke Hadden and defensive lineman Michael Sangobowale. Also departed are second-team defensive end Bobby Fallon and honorable mention defensive back Kevin Stefanski.
Still, Bagnoli hopes that the defense will recover from the losses.
"We've got a chance to be a decent defense. We're not there yet," Bagnoli said.
One area that has room for improvement is the kicking game, and it showed again Friday.
Sophomore Derek Zoch, who was 6-for-7 on extra points and 2-for-5 on field goals last season, got off to a shaky start, missing two of his first three extra points. Zoch missed one wide and bounced one off the upright.
Bagnoli is confident that Zoch will be the starting kicker over sophomore Braden Lepisto when the Quakers open the regular season on Sept. 17 against Duquesne. He attributed the struggles in the kicking game to the constant personnel changes during the scrimmage that will not be present in 10 days when the season begins.
"That's an opportunity to mix and match," Bagnoli said. "We had three different snappers, we had three different holders, we had two different kickers."
Just because starters will be named for the Duquesne game, doesn't mean an end to personnel decisions, especially for a team that used four kickers last season.
So with a crowded backfield around Sam Mathews, a multitude of of options at receiver and a young defense, there are still plenty of questions heading into the season.
