The Ivy League office today announced its All-Ivy teams, and five Penn players were named to the first team: DL Brandon Copeland, P Scott Lopano, OL Joe Bonadies, LB Dan Davis and DB Sebastian Jaskowski.
This is Copeland's third time on the first-team, something only 39 other players have done in the past (Brown DB AJ Cruz also earned his third first-team nod). He has a shot at being named one of the defensive finalists for Ivy Player of the Year, which will be announced next Tuesday.
None of Penn's first-team picks were unanimous selections. Also, Penn was outdone in first-team picks by Harvard, which had 10 first team All-Ivy nods and 19 total.
Eight others were named to the second team or honorable mention. Click the jump to see those:
Penn fell to 1-4 on the season Monday night after another tough two-point loss, this time at the hands of Fordham. The Quakers relinquished a five-point lead down the stretch, and last-second plays came up just short. Meanwhile, the Rams registered their first win of the season. SEE RECAP:
THE GOOD:Drumroll please … it's Fran Dougherty. He put up 20 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes of play for his fourth straight 20+ performance. While his three-point shooting and jump shots weren't quite what they've been in earlier games, Doc once again looked strong driving the lane and finished at the rim. He's setting the right example on the court, and off the court he's letting his teammates know that they need to hold each other accountable better.
THE BAD:Miles Cartwright's shooting down the stretch. On Saturday, Cartwright fumbled a his final possession of the game and lost a chance to win the game or send it into overtime. Monday was much of the same for the junior. He missed an open look from beyond the arc in the corner with 9.4 seconds on the clock that would have sent the game into overtime. Instead, Dougherty had to pull down the offensive board and put it up for two. But the Quakers needed three. Then, at the buzzer, Cartwright had a pretty bad look from 3 to win — not as egregious as Saturday's bumble but still not impressive play in the clutch.
THE UGLY:Jerome Allen's technical with 1:34 to play. This is nowhere near the first time I've witnessed an Allen T, but this was probably the least timely that he's had. After Dougherty made a lazy defensive play and was called for the foul, Allen let his "emotions get the best of me," and threw down a pen to the ground in anger. He was mad at Doc, not the referee's call, to be clear, and the ref T'd him up for his antics. Fordham then had four freebies and turned a two-point deficit into a two-point lead. Definitely changed the game and Penn might have won this without the technical.
Two days after clinching the outright Ivy League title for the Quakers in his first career start, senior Andrew Holland received yet another award for his play against Cornell.
Holland was named the Ivy League’s Offensive Player of Week on Monday after finishing out the contest against the Big Red with two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing), and 255 passing yards.
He went 18-for-22 through the air, and came through when the Quakers needed him most.
With the game tied at 28, and the outright Ancient Eight crown on the line, Holland orchestrated a six play, 63-yard drive during which he completed all three of his passes for 38 yards, setting up a short touchdown run to take the lead.
His ability under pressure was evident at the end of the first half as
well. He drove the Quakers from their own 11 with just a minute
remaining in the half, and went 4-for-4 on the drive for 80 yards. The
drive culminated in a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jason Seifert.
The only other player on the Quakers to receive this honor this year
was fellow senior quarterbackBilly Ragone.
I'm here with Allison Bart at Lehigh as Penn (1-3) takes on Fordham (0-3) in the consolation bracket of the NIT TipOff Tournament. The Quakers are fresh off a two-point loss to Drexel on Saturday.
The Palestra was rocking for Battle of 33rd Street, as the Quakers matched up against the Drexel Dragons. Though Penn led by eight with 13 minutes remaining, the Dragons charged back to win, 61-59, behind a 15-point second half performance from freshman guard Tavon Allen.
THE GOOD: Surprise! It's Fran again.
The junior forward tallied an efficient 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Dougherty scored most of his points inside, often driving from the three-point line, drawing contact and finishing on short jumpers. Perhaps even more important than his offensive production, Doc was the only Quaker with more than three rebounds on the night.
THE BAD: Lots of turnovers, and not like the pastry.
Eighteen turnovers for the Red and Blue, including 11 in the second half, made the difference against Drexel. In particular, freshman center Darien Nelson-Henry struggled in the post and recorded four giveaways in just 14 minutes of playtime. An uncharacteristic six turnovers from junior guard Miles Cartwright also hurt the Quakers.
THE UGLY: Drexel fans (almost) starting a chant with Cartwright down.
Late in the second half, Cartwright drove inside and collided with a Drexel player before falling to the floor and staying down. While sports trainers attended to him, a couple of Dragons fans tried to get a chant going on the Drexel side. The chants ended when a couple of Penn fans yelled down to the Dragons' side to "have some respect." To the relief of Quaker fans, Cartwright returned to the game a few minutes later.
The Quakers (1-2) look to rebound after losing two straight in the NIT Tip-Off Tournament, while Drexel (0-2) is seeking its first win of the season. Sports Editor Alyssa Kress, Associate Sports Editor Kenny Kasper and basketball beat writer John Phillips are at the Palestra to bring you all the action:
Will Penn football win its third outright Ivy League title in four years? It all comes down to today's season finale in Ithaca, N.Y., where senior quarterback Andrew Holland will make his first and only career start for the Quakers (5-4, 5-1 Ivy) in place of injured QB Billy Ragone. Opposing him will be Jeff Mathews of Cornell (4-5, 2-4), who set an Ancient Eight record for passing yards against the Red and Blue a season ago at Franklin Field. Sports Editor Mike Wisniewski and staff writer Steven Jaffe bring you the action live:
After a one-year hiatus, the Battle of 33rd Street is back Saturday afternoon, as Penn takes on Drexel. The last time the two teams played was in November 2010. The West Philly rivalry returns with the hopes to pack the Palestra. To get the hype up, "Dac Pack films" — the Dac Pack being Drexel's equivalent of the Red and Blue Crew — made a promotional video with the two student groups along with Drexel and Penn Athletics. The Quaker vs. Mario rivalry is seen below along with students from the respective schools.
Previewing our final Penn football game of the season, Senior Sports Ed. Megan Soisson, football writer John Phillips and I break down the Quakers' 30-21 win over Harvard (see story) and debate whether or not that momentum will carry over into Saturday's bout against Cornell in Ithaca with an outright Ivy League title on the line:
Think you can make a 20-yard field goal? It's tougher than it looks. Our very own Senior Sports Editor Megan Soisson gave it a shot and turned to freshman backup kicker Jimmy Gammill and senior punter Scott Lopano of Penn football to teach her how:
Breaking down last week’s Three Up Three Down is simple: the ups were right and the downs were wrong. That’s because the Quakers had to be on the up and up in every way to beat Harvard and they were. I predicted they’d be flagged a lot, struggle on third downs and struggle in the running game. They weren't, and they didn’t.
At least I nailed the positives, of which there were so many for Penn last week. Dave Twamley came up with another interception and Conner Scott had a few big catches, including a touchdown. And attendance was even pretty respectable. So who’ll be up and who’ll be down at Cornell?
Three Up —
Andrew Holland: This is Holland’s time to shine, and he couldn’t ask for a better setup for success. He’s going up against the Ivy League’s worst pass defense and looked more than tolerable under center in the final quarter against Harvard, throwing the dagger touchdown to Mitchell King. Up is better than backup, and Holland will get his moment.
Steve Lias: In his final collegiate game, Lias should keep up the stellar linebacker play of the last couple of weeks. Penn linebackers combined for six tackles for a loss and two sacks last week. Against Cornell’s mediocre offensive line, Lias and the rest of this linebacking corps should go out on top.
Field position: Cornell comes in ranked last in the Ivy League in kickoff returns and seventh in punt return average. Penn consistently secured great field position in the second half last week, and that shouldn’t change with senior super-punter Scott Lopano (who booted six punts inside the 20 against Harvard) on board for one final game.
Three down —
Secondary: It will be nearly impossible for Penn’s secondary to replicate last week’s performance, in which it held Harvard to just 174 net yards passing and accounted for two touchdowns. Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews will likely surpass that total and give Penn’s defensive backs a more sustained challenge.
Discipline: Penn had just two penalties for 15 yards last week, and the law of averages says the zebras won’t be so kind to the Quakers two weeks in a row. Penn ranks second-best among Ivies in penalties but is still averaging 5.33 penalties per game, so expect a little more laundry on Saturday.
Lyle Marsh: After carrying the ball 27 times for 133 yards last week, expect Marsh to shoulder less of the rushing load this week. With Billy Ragone out of the rushing equation and Jeff Jack coming off a quiet seven-carry, 12-yard performance on the ground, Jack should be a bigger factor in Penn’s backfield on Saturday. Meanwhile, Marsh could and should be utilized more as a receiving threat Saturday as senior Joe Holder will still be limited in the slot upon his return.
The Quakers halt a Crimson comeback, 32-24
November 15, 2003
There’s been quite the trend in years past of vying for the Ivy League championship against Harvard. For the second year in a row, Penn clinched the Ivy title outright in a close matchup at Harvard Stadium, one game before finishing the season undefeated in the league.
But the Crimson wouldn’t let a win come too easy for the Quakers, who jumped out to an early lead.
The Red and Blue reached a 22-point advantage, 22-0, before Harvard came charging back.
To commence the game, Penn QB Mike Mitchell found tight end Brian Adams five plays in for an 11-yard touchdown, putting the Quakers up by seven.
This scoring streak continued for Penn. In the following scoring drive, and in the first play for that matter, Mitchell passed the ball 44 yards to wide receiver Dan Castles for the second Quakers touchdown, putting them up 14-0.
And it was still the first quarter.
Another pass from Mitchell to fullback Kevin DeSmedt a couple minutes later for a seven-yard touchdown followed by a two-point conversion put the Quakers at what seemed to be a huge advantage.
The Crimson answered with a 65-yard drive for a touchdown, which the Red and Blue matched in the second half with a 91-yard drive, running into the endzone.
The second half was big for Harvard, who scored on a safety followed by a touchdown on a 5-yard pass. The Quakers answered yet again, countering with a field goal.
In the final minutes, Harvard fumbled the ball but managed to get it back in time to drive down the field for the eight-point touchdown play. Penn began their drive, but ended up needing to punt with less than a minute to play.
Within the final minute, Harvard made it 71 yards down the field. But in the final moments of the game, six yards from potentially putting together a game tying play, Penn linebacker Steve Lhotak tackled Harvard QB Matt Fratto, ending the game and securing the title for the Quakers.
Coming off of a Monday night loss to Delaware, the Quakers failed to reverse their momentum, falling to Fairfield on Tuesday night, 62-53, in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off (see recap). Despite the loss, the Quakers made some changes from Monday night that altered the tone against the Stags.
THE GOOD: Fran, again. The 6-foot-8 big man took leadership of the team from both inside and outside the lane, accounting for 31 of the Quakers’ 53 points. He also led the team with 10 rebounds and attacked the boards underneath, capitalizing on several missed shots by Jamal Lewis (more on that later). Penn’s rebounding was much better overall, as the Quakers outrebounded the Stags, 38-30 and outscored them in the paint, 30-20.
THE BAD: Shooters not named Fran. Penn shot 35.8 percent from the field for the game overall, connecting on just 19 of their 53 shots. Taking Dougherty out of the equations, they hit on just 6-of-32. The Red and Blue were even more dismal from three-point land, hitting just 2-of-14 shots from beyond the arc. Despite numerous attempts, Jamal Lewis could not capitalize on any his four three-pointers and Miles Cartwright had a terrible night, shooting just 2-for-8 from the field. Cartwright didn’t display the same vital leadership on the court he did against UMBC, or even Monday night against Delaware. With 55.6 seconds leftin the game, he fouled out for the second consecutive night — but this time he was the only Penn player to do so.
THE UGLY: Penn's first-half defense. Fairfield sunk three three-pointers in the first half to which Penn defenders responded lackadaisically, jogging back on offense with little display of emotion. The Quakers made all those treys easy too, routinely failing to get their hands up on defense to challenge long-range shots.
THE BETTER, Part 1: Penn’s white uniforms. They proved far less abusive to the eyes and made look Penn slightly more professional than those tacky red monstrosities they sported on Monday night. Shame then, that Fairfield sported jerseys almost identical in color scheme (red background, black lettering) to Penn’s uniforms from last night.
THE BETTER, Part 2: Coach Bowman’s teaching moments from the bench. Bowman emphasized the learning process rather than the loss. As the assistant coach told Cartwright on the bench immediately after he fouled out, “You try, you learn, you move on.”
As the early signing period comes to a close, Penn picked up its fourth commitment in the Class of 2013 in Dylan Jones.
Jones, the son of former NFL defensive end Sean Jones, is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound power forward from Houston. He committed to Pepperdine at the end of August, but shortly reopened his recruiting and announced his decision Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
In his second recruiting period, he chose Penn over Tulsa, Sam Houston and Holy Cross. He also initially had offers from Columbia and Rice. ESPN wrote that one of his strengths is rebounding, which the Quakers will benefit from greatly. He needs to bulk up, however, and "extend his shooting range," according to ESPN. He is ranked No. 29 in the state.
Following a dramatic comeback win over UMBC in the season opener, in which the Penn basketball team erased a 22-point deficit, the Quakers fell flat in their second game: an 84-69 defeat to the hands of Delaware in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off (see recap). Here's a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly points:
THE GOOD: Fran. Dougherty was the Quakers’ leading scorer on the night, with 21 points. And hey, he only racked up three personal fouls (more on that later). He also had four assists and took a floor-shaking charge with 2:13 remaining in an attempt to reinvigorate the Quakers’ momentum. Doc made a notable effort to keep control of the ball outside of the lane when the Quakers faced foul trouble at the end of the second half, and he even hit two treys.
THE BAD: Beatdown on the boards. Penn never rebounds, but Monday it was especially atrocious. The big men underneath did nothing to snatch the ball away from Blue Hens, who waited under the basket with open arms. Once again, Fran led in this category with six rebounds, and Henry Brooks and Darien Nelson-Henry followed with three apiece. Box out, men!
THE UGLY: A combined 55 fouls. Miles Cartwright, Tony Hicks and Jamal Lewis all fouled out, and Henry Brooks was one foul away from joining them on the bench. In fact, a year ago Brooks averaged only 14.3 minutes a game but racked up an average of 3.2 personals per game. The trend continued Monday, when Brooks picked up three fouls in his first three minutes on the floor. Penn committed 31 fouls total, and Delaware was charged with 24. Dougherty called the referees "a bit touchy."
ALSO UGLY: Penn's new red unis. The tacky, poorly designed, bright red mesh the Quakers sported shouldn't be worn again. Maybe the 15-point loss will convince them they're bad luck.
Following its 80-75 season-opening victory over UMBC, the Penn men's basketball team is ready to kick off the NIT Season Tip-Off against Delaware (0-1). Sports Editor Mike Wisniewski and Associate Sports Editor Mike Tony are at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., to bring you the action live:
The DP wasn't the only publication today with Penn on the cover page. The Harvard Crimson featured the injured Billy Ragone celebrating after the Quakers won and got at least a share of the title Saturday afternoon. Below is the top portion of the front page of today's Crimson:
Monday's front page of the DP is an ode to our coverage of Penn's loss to Harvard last season in Boston. The Quakers had one loss on the Ivy season and, like this season, needed to beat Harvard to stay alive in the title race. The Crimson played like champions and clinched a share of the title with their 37-20 victory. As Penn was on a 'Watch the Throne' tour last season after winning the previous two Ivy championships, we headlined the story 'Dethroned.'
Playing off that, here's what we went with this season. It's a fitting comparison.
The Penn football team entered its Ivy tilt against Harvard and final home game of the season as a significant underdog against the No. 25 team in the FCS. But the Quakers proved their resolve and determination could not be matched as they marched to a 30-21 victory over the Crimson to clinch at least a share of their third Ancient Eight title in four years and 16th championship overall (see recap). Here's a rundown of the good, bad and ugly points in case you missed them:
THE GOOD: What else? An Ivy League title. There was no doubt coming into the season that Harvard was the favorite to defend its Ivy crown. And despite a loss to Princeton on Oct. 20, the Crimson appeared prime to do so, especially against Penn, which had squeaked out wins against lowly Columbia and Brown and even lost to Ancient Eight basement-dweller Yale (which, it should be noted, still has just one Ivy win this year — against Penn). But it wasn't meant to be, as the Quakers carried all of the momentum they had accumulated a week ago in Princeton into Saturday and never took their foot off the gas. Perhaps the ghosts of 1982 had something to do with it, too.
ALSO GOOD: Penn's ground game. On a single run in the first quarter, Lyle Marsh surpassed the yardage total the Crimson had allowed on average all season when he sprinted 47 yards from the Penn 23 to the Harvard 30. The Crimson entered with the best run defense in the FCS, allowing less than 44 yards per game, but they couldn't stop the Quakers, who totaled 227 yards on the day. Lyle Marsh became the first Harvard foe to eclipse the century mark, running for 130 yards on 27 carries. Billy Ragone also had a day with 95 yards on 16 rushes. More on him...
THE BAD: Ragone is done. On the final play of the third quarter, Ragone scrambled for seven yards and a first before he was met by the 6-foot-3, 270-pound frame of Harvard defensive lineman Nnamdi Obukwelu. His ankle twisted in a way it definitely isn't supposed to, and the senior quarterback had to be carted off the field. Andrew Holland replaced him for all of the fourth quarter and will be the starter in next week's season finale at Cornell.
THE UGLY: Ragone's twisted ankle. Watching what happened to Ragone is not for the faint of heart. It wasn't quite USC's Marcus Lattimore from two weeks ago, but it's disgusting enough that we'll give fair warning before divulging that you can see it here.
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