Penn sprint football will look to reverse history this weekend.
The Red and Blue (3-1) have received a walloping at the hands of Post — located in Waterbury, Conn. — each of the past two times they’ve played one another. The Quakers lost by 21 in 2012 and by 31 in 2013.
The annual Post-Penn game has been rather high scoring in each of the past few years: Penn defeated Post (1-2) by scores of 42-14 and 48-35 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The Red and Blue will look to improve on last year’s 14-point effort against the Eagles with an offensive attack led by sophomore quarterback Mike McCurdy, senior captain and running back Mike Beamish and sophomore wide receiver Mario del Cueto.
Del Cueto, who came into the season as a defensive back, has seen ample playing time as a wide receiver and punt returner this season.
“He’s got a lot of ability,” said coach Bill Wagner, citing del Cueto’s growth on offense and special teams. “I don’t want to spread him too thin, though.”
Del Cueto has logged 234 receiving yards and 11 receptions this season, resulting in a team-high average of 21.3 yards per catch. Three of those receptions went for touchdowns. The La Cañada, Calif., native also saw time as a kicker last week, filling in for absent sophomore Aron Morgan.
However, Morgan will be back at his usual position this week.
The Quakers’ defense has also been strong this season, allowing only 15 points per game — a number that is second in the CSFL only to Navy, which has allowed 9.8 points per contest.
That defensive effort has been led by junior linebacker/defensive back Stu Helgeson, who earned CSFL Defensive Player of the Week honors after his seven-tackle, one-interception performance in Friday’s 14-7 victory over Franklin Pierce.
Post’s 1-2 record on the year may be a bit misleading. Its two (rather lopsided) losses have come against the military academies — Army and Navy — which historically have boasted the best teams in the conference. The Eagles return sophomore quarterback Greg Volpe, who is coming off a successful freshman season. Volpe passed for 378 yards in last year’s game against Penn.
While Volpe hasn’t been quite as sharp this year, Post features a powerful ground game that revolves around freshman running back Joseph Lynch and senior running back Dashawn Wingate.
Helgeson and the Quakers will look to neutralize Lynch and Wingate to move to 4-1 on the season.
If they do, they’ll be creating a bit of history for themselves in the process: The Red and Blue haven’t started 4-1 in a season since 2011.
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