Injuries seem to be spreading around Penn's running back corps.
First it was senior Sam Mathews, and now it is junior Joe Sandberg.
Sandberg strained his knee in the first half of Saturday's game against Dartmouth, keeping him sidelined for the rest of the matchup.
He underwent an MRI late last night. The results were unknown as of the time of publication.
"There's no swelling, there seems to be nothing catastrophic going on," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "He's got a strain in his knee, so we want to get an MRI and just see if there's anything floating around in there."
Bagnoli said that it has yet to be determined whether Sandberg will dress for this Saturday's game against Bucknell.
"We'll wait until tomorrow," Bagnoli said. "He's walking around without too much difficulty, but I don't know yet if there's any internal damage until we run the MRI."
Sandberg was thrust into the starting running back slot earlier this season when Mathews was forced to miss the Villanova game with a shoulder injury.
Sandberg responded by posting career highs in rushing (104) and receiving (99) yards, and in the process he made a strong case to carry the ball more in Penn's remaining games.
But against Dartmouth, it was Mathews' turn. The senior veteran ran 15 times for 55 yards, while Sandberg ran the ball just four times for a one-yard gain.
Kicking in control
After sophomore Derek Zoch missed a crucial 32-yard field goal attempt in a loss to Villanova, it appeared as if the Quakers were again lacking a consistent, dependable placekicker.
A week earlier, Penn sprint football kicker Peter Stine converted both of his field goal attempts, including a whopping 46-yarder.
Stine's impressive boot, combined with Zoch's well-documented struggles last season, led some to question why Stine was kicking for sprint -- not varsity -- football.
Now, just over a week and four converted field goals later, those questions have been answered, and Zoch has emerged as one of the premier kickers in the Ivy League.
Following Penn's victory over Dartmouth last week, Bagnoli said that Zoch was "a work in progress, but he's a pretty talented kid."
For a work in progress, Zoch is developing rather quickly. This season, he has converted seven of eight field goal attempts, and all 10 of his PAT attempts. The Kinnelon, N.J., native leads the Quakers in points with 31. The only other player who comes close is Matt Carre, with 18 points on three touchdowns.
Run stoppers
Normally, running for 16 yards would be an impressive feat --but not when those 16 yards are the only rushing yards a team tallies for an entire game.
But that's all Dartmouth racked up against the Quakers last Saturday, largely due to the play of junior linebacker Kory Gedin.
Gedin was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after posting three sacks and four tackles for a loss of 18 yards against the Big Green.
The Quakers' defense was "suffocating," Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said, as the Quakers shut down the Big Green's running game last week.
Two Dartmouth quarterbacks -- Josh Cohen and Charlie Rittgers -- ran a combined 10 times for a total of negative 61 yards.
Penn recorded eight sacks against the Big Green, as well as six tackles for a loss.
Gedin leads the Quakers in tackles with 15, nine of which were solo. The Washington native has five tackles for a loss of 22 yards on the season.
Gedin headlines a Penn squad that ranks third in Division I-AA in rush defense, having allowed only 52.67 rushing yards per game.
It was the first time Gedin has received Player of the Week honors. In high school, Gedin was ranked the No. 15 inside linebacker in the nation by rivals.com. It seems the Penn junior is beginning to live up to his potential.
Unfamiliar targets
After failing to score a touchdown in the first half against Dartmouth, Penn quarterback Pat McDermott turned to some unfamiliar faces when Penn reached the red zone in the third quarter.
Those unfamiliar faces stepped up to the occasion, though, as juniors Chris Mizell and Billy May scored their first touchdowns of their Quakers careers. Their scores were the only two touchdowns for Penn on the day.
For May, his first collegiate touchdown came on his first collegiate reception.
For Mizell, his three catches matched his career high in receptions, and his 36 receiving yards marked a new career high.
