WEST POINT, N.Y. -- In the torrential downpour on Friday in Michie Stadium, two titans of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL), Penn and Army, fought for a win that could greatly help their cause for a CSFL championship.
Having beaten Princeton by a score of 42-0 and possessing a 2-0 record, Penn was relaxed and prepared to face West Point after a bye week. However, the Black Knights' defense was too strong as Army prevailed 24-6.
Although this win would have helped Penn on its way to a CSFL championship, it was more crucial for Army to win this game, considering that it had already lost to Navy 33-3. Another loss on Army's part would have spelled elimination from contention for the championship.
Despite the current circumstances Army was facing, it has been a dominant force in the CSFL. Although considered a newcomer to the league, joining in 1957, it has won 30 CSFL championships.
Even though every year Army seems to produce a strong team, according to coach Gene McIntyre, it does not actively recruit for sprint football.
Instead, the only form of recruitment the team employs is sending out letters to every freshman male cadet who is less than 190 pounds and has scores in the top 25 percent of the physical aptitude exam, asking if they would like the opportunity to play college football. As a result, there are usually many freshmen that try out in the summer before the start of the school year.
McIntyre said he believes that the sprint football program fits well with the structure of the academy, especially because the size of a sprint football player is about the average size of a cadet and the game requires great physicality and strength.
Before the game McIntyre said that he believed Penn was the best Ivy League team out of the three in the CSFL (the others being Cornell and Princeton), citing that Penn has been the only Ivy they have lost to in the past 10 years.
The Quakers have also been a stood out in the league. With a 4-2 record last season, they consistently overpowers their opponents with their quick running game and strong defense.
Penn coach Bill Wagner acknowledged that although the sprint football program at Penn is less regimented, with many players also taking part in activities other then football and attending classes which conflict with practice, the Quakers are always contenders for the CSFL title and come out strong every year.
On Friday, the Penn-Army game became an intense defensive battle, as the weather conditions restricted the play mostly to rushing.
Even while losing, the Penn defense shined, scoring the only points for the Quakers. Defensive end Nicholas Kopec blocked a punt and linebacker Kevin Piro returned it for a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
This momentum was halted when kicker Peter Stine missed the extra point, and the Black Knights -- who boasted a defense of only seniors -- held Penn scoreless for the rest of the game.
On defense, it was Penn freshman Mike D'Angelo, usually a quarterback but brought in to replace injured junior linebacker Nick Dinges, who shined in the game with a game-high 16 tackles.
Freshman defensive back Andrew Feigenbaum and Piro both had impressive defensive performances with 13 and 15 tackles respectively.
Penn's first-quarter lead was short-lived. Army running back Patrick Hall scored a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and later added two more touchdowns.
Afterwards, Wagner noted that Penn did not perform as well as it could on offense and special teams, although this may have been attributable to the weather.
"We came out of the bad end of it," Wagner said. "And it will be with me until we beat Cornell next Friday ... it was a big disappointment because our goals were so high."
