Bill Wagner has not coached a team that has finished below .500 in the last 10 years, but this year may break that streak.
After a second loss to Cornell 21-7, for the Penn sprint football team, the goals have drastically changed from the beginning of the season. It's not about winning the CSFL championship anymore or even staying in the race - the Quakers are simply trying to stay afloat as they go into their last two games of the season with a 1-3 record.
The last time Penn beat Cornell was at the beginning of last year, but it couldn't muster enough strength to beat the Big Red once this year. Cornell made its mark at the beginning of the season with a hard fought win 20-12 against Penn at the Allegiance Bowl, and with this win Cornell was able to keep its five-game winning streak alive.
A combination of penalties - nine for 95 yards - and missed opportunities spelled the worse for the Quakers on Friday. According to Wagner, suspect officiating played a big role in these penalties.
"The game should have been I think instead of 14-0, it should have been 7-7 by halftime," Wagner said. "In the second half, neither team should have scored."
For Cornell, Friday was a night to celebrate, especially for running back Michael Fullowan, who ran for two touchdowns. His first score on a three-yard run put Cornell up 7-0 early. This was the beginning of the end for the Quakers, as the Big Red rushed for 260 yards compared to Penn's 29 yards.
Fullowan wasn't finished yet, as a 10 yard scramble got him his second touchdown, and Cornell a 14-0 lead. Penn was having problems on offense as well, as quarterback Mike Loguidice was sacked four times and his team fumbled twice times.
Not until the fourth quarter did Penn finally respond with a touchdown of its own when Loguidice connected with sophomore Mike D'Angelo for 33 yards, resulting in Penn's first and only score of the night.
Despite the end result, some of the highlights for Penn included performances by captain Nick Dinges, who made 11 tackles, and sophomore Andrew Feigenbaum who had an interception. On the offensive side of the ball, D'Angelo collected 107 yards receiving.
But still, according to Wagner, the Quakers didn't perform for the entire 60 minutes.
"There were four or five plays where offensively and defensively where we didn't have the consistency we needed to make a run at a good football team, and Cornell is a good football team," he said.
