While football is most likely the last thing on anyone's mind after the death of senior running back Kyle Ambrogi, today it will be back to business for the Penn football team.
The news of Ambrogi's suicide prompted the team to cancel practice yesterday and instead hold an afternoon team meeting with coach Al Bagnoli.
Today, the Quakers will resume their normal practice schedule in preparation for their game against Columbia on Saturday in New York.
The Quakers sit at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Ivy League, and now enter their final six-game stretch, featuring exclusively conference opponents.
With the loss of Ambrogi, Penn's running back corps continues to shrink. It is now down to Sam Mathews, who missed a game due to a shoulder injury, Joe Sandberg, who has missed the last game and a half with a shoulder injury of his own and a freshman, Kelms Amoo-Achampong. Before Penn's game against Villanova, running back Von Bryant left the team due to a shoulder injury.
Especially under those circumstances this season, Ambrogi was an integral part of the Quakers' rushing attack.
His final game in a Penn uniform, on Franklin Field on Saturday, was a memorable one.
The big, bruising running back rushed for 18 yards and two touchdowns as the Quakers trampled Bucknell.
The game was also significant because Ambrogi's younger brother Greg, a sophomore defensive back, also scored a touchdown, on an interception return.
Over his career, Ambrogi carried the ball 89 times for a total of 348 yards and a 3.9 yards per carry on average. On six of those carries, Ambrogi found his way into the endzone. He also caught five passes for 23 yards.
In the four games he played this season, Ambrogi rumbled for 43 yards on 21 carries. He had already rushed for three touchdowns this year, a new career high.
He would have had a ways to go before reaching the 231 yards he rushed for in his junior year.
No. 31 was known as a banger who was especially good at running in between the tackles. He used his large body to run through tacklers rather than around them.
Blessed with a running back's body, standing 5-foot-11 and weighing in at 210 pounds, Ambrogi attended St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia and was extremely well-decorated for his service there.
In both his junior and senior seasons he was named All-Catholic, All-City, All-Area, and All-State. In his senior campaign, he was also named the Catholic League MVP and the Philadelphia City Player of the Year and played for St. Joseph's title team.
Despite these accolades, Ambrogi did not see action on the gridiron during his freshman year. However, he played in all 10 varsity games his sophomore year.
That season he recorded two solo tackles and two assists and rushed for a career-high 74 yards against Cornell.
In addition to the pressures of the short backfield and a conference loaded with parity, the Quakers will obviously face an overwhelming mental obstacle as well.
Players are being referred to Penn's Counseling and Psychological Services for any of their emotional needs.
No players were made available for comment yesterday because of the sudden and tragic nature of the situation.
The team will leave Philadelphia on Friday for New York to take on Columbia the following day at 1:30 p.m.
