Klitzman | Quakers display depth at RB spot

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 11

On 1st and 10 from the Georgetown 47 late in the first quarter, running back Mike DiMaggio sprinted right on an off-tackle run. As the sophomore tried to hurdle, defensive back Sean McNally hit his legs from underneath, and with a thud he landed square on his left shoulder, in visible pain.

With regular starter Bradford Blackmon only dressed for emergency situations - "we had no intention of playing him," coach Al Bagnoli said after the game - the Quakers were down to their last tailback, freshman Matt Hamscher. At the time, they were leading by just 10 points, so an aerial attack alone likely wouldn't have been enough to hold off a Georgetown comeback.

But right when the situation looked bleakest, Hamscher responded with maturity well beyond his years. The Whitehall, Pa., product finished with 102 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate action, enabling the Quakers to roll to a 27-7 win.

Asked if he came into the day thinking he'd eclipse the century mark in rushing yards, Hamscher replied: "No, not at all. I was expecting to get the ball a little bit, but I wasn't expecting Mike to go down or something like that. When you encounter adversity, you just have to find a way to deal with it."

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This was just the win the Quakers needed. While Hamscher was clearly the player of the game, the whole team dominated on offense, defense and special teams.

Unlike the previous weekend, when Penn came out sluggish against an inferior Dartmouth squad, the underdog Hoyas never had a chance.

The Quakers didn't play a single down tied or trailing, thanks to Chris Wynn's opening kickoff return - Penn's first for a touchdown since Tyler Fisher's 96-yarder last year against Columbia.

(Ironically, that 59-28 thrashing over 2007 fall break was Quakers' last road win.)

In addition, Penn only surrendered the seven points to the Hoyas during garbage time, with its second-team defense on the field.

"This is the best full 60-minute game we've played all season," tight end Josh Koontz said. "There are only good things down the road."

As Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend. Last year, Penn beat the Hoyas by an even larger margin (29 points), but the Red and Blue only went 3-3 to end the campaign.

If the Quakers play like they did this Saturday, however, they'll definitely close out the year better than 3-3.

In addition to Hamscher's great game, Koontz had a career day with seven catches for 69 yards. Kicker Andrew Sansom hit field goals from 36 and 37 yards, and for the first time in six games, no Penn quarterback threw an interception.

So while DiMaggio's injury is a blow to the team, it didn't affect the Quakers' play for the worse. And that's as good a sign as any as the team heads into the meat of its Ivy schedule.

Zach Klitzman is a junior History major from Bethesda, Md. His e-mail address is klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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