After its 17-12 win against then-undefeated Cornell last Friday, the Penn sprint football team is now in control of its own destiny going into the final two games of the season.
Wins against Army and Princeton would give the Quakers their first championship since 2000.
Though the Quakers’ (6-0, 3-0 conference) offense hit a roadblock against the Big Red (5-1, 3-1), their defense came up big, keeping Cornell out of the endzone the entire contest.
With an Oct. 2 victory over conference powerhouse Navy already in the books, the Quakers are one win closer to a sprint football championship. The 24-14 win snapped a 24 game winning streak for the Midshipmen, who had won the last three consecutive titles.
“Beating Navy was huge, but we viewed that as one step closer to getting the championship,” Bagnoli said. “We knew it was going to be tough, but it wasn’t like a defining moment.”
Heading into the final two games, especially against one-loss Army, coach Bill Wagner emphasized the importance of having a defense that can hold the line when his normally potent offense sputters.
“It gives me and the coaching staff a lot of confidence that both offense or defense has the ability to step it up and to bail us out,” he said.
Penn’s defensive stand against Cornell is just the latest in a series of performances that have put them in the drivers seat toward a championship — the place where running back Mike Bagnoli expected the team to be from the very beginning.
“We expected to definitely control our own destiny,” Bagnoli said. “[T]his is exactly where we thought we’d be.”
After key wins against Navy and Cornell, the Quakers are finally in a position to win their first championship in ten years — a situation the coaches and the players can savor.
“It’s a tremendous uplift to the players and the coaching staff because we’ve all put a lot of effort, time, energy and sacrifice in order to get into this position of opportunity,” Wagner said.
But the trophy isn’t theirs yet. Saturday’s matchup with Army still stands in the way of Penn and an outright championship.
“They’re playing for a championship too,” Bagnoli said. “It’s definitely going to be a war out there.”
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