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(05/17/96 9:00am)
Looking back, it seems sort of strange that I knew nothing at all about the world of Penn athletics as I first plopped myself down on the hard mattress that took up almost all of that tiny room. As a mop-headed five-year-old, I was determined to be the next slick-fielding Yankees shortstop, following in the footsteps of Bucky Dent. Needless to say, that dream died a quick death, as did most of my other childhood allusions. Since that 198O Yankees season, though, sports has been a major part of my life. I played ball for hours after school every day. And every summer night, I listened to the Bronx Bombers on the radio -- nothing sped up my heart rate more than Phil Rizzuto's ninth-inning call of a one-run game. Holy Cow... During my high school years at Andover, I played football and tennis, but I was resigned to the fact that our final tennis match against Exeter would mark the end of my competitive athletic career. I felt I had a good run, but it was time to move on in life -- to grow up. Those who know me understand what a silly notion that was, and I suppose that sheds some light on why I became so involved in the Penn sports scene -- this time as a frustrated athlete, ah, I mean journalist. Feeling the need to get out of that cramped dorm room as much as possible, I expressed interest in writing to the sports editors at the DP, and they told me women's tennis would be my first beat. When I showed up at my first practice to introduce myself to the coach, a slender and stunning blond was hitting backhands down the line with a perfect Chrissy Evert stroke. When she finished her drills and looked over at me, she instantly figured out I was the ignorant freshman that had been sent to cover the team for the semester. She smiled. Holy cow! "This journalism thing is the best," I thought to myself. Throughout my four years of service for this fine rag, including a year as editor, the biggest knock against me from colleagues, superiors, friends and foes was that I was more a fan than a journalist. There is no doubt that was true. For some reason, I felt a much greater responsibility to the athletes than to our readership -- perhaps because readership was such a nebulous concept. Maybe the reason was that I knew the athletes I was writing about and could associate a face with the name. More importantly, every Penn athlete I encountered, with almost no exceptions, gained my immediate respect and affection. From that first encounter with Leanne Mos at the Lott Courts to the Jerome Allens and Miles Maciks of this campus, I couldn't help but cheer for those guys and gals. I couldn't help but think of how much they all gave back to the Penn community. Think about how much electricity is generated on campus by trouncing Princeton at the Palestra. That is a product of 12 guys and three coaches busting their balls for hours and hours every day. Sure it's something they love to do, but I couldn't help but be appreciative. The Quakers gave me an opportunity to travel all over the country, to get on national television, to drive through the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich., and talk trash to all the cocky Jimmy King-lovin' Wolverines fans, to watch one of John Chaney's 5 a.m. practices, where he teaches much more about life than match-up zones, to ask Joe Paterno about the toast thrown at Franklin Field, to be pictured in Sports Illustrated -- to laugh a lot and, occasionally, to cry. My love affair with the Quakers added texture to my life here at Penn. Everybody gets through the academic portion of life here in West Philadelphia. But for most people, the passion in life comes from elsewhere. For me, a big part of it came from the Red and the Blue, from Fran Dunphy and Al Bagnoli, from the Big 5 and the Palestra. Before everyone graduates, I would encourage them to walk into that place just one more time and look up at the light pouring in and listen to the echoes of the cheers. Sorry, I digressed. For me, I feel again as though I am ready to move on. I passed up a professional sports writing job in New York to get into the real estate business. I can't exactly put my finger on what triggered that decision, but I think most important was that it was not journalism that I fell in love with during my tenure at the DP, but the interaction with all the fabulous people I had the opportunity to deal with as a result of my obligations to the paper. Journalism was only the medium through which these relationships developed. It was the hundreds of players and coaches who I cheered for, who I felt nervous for, who I pissed off and aggravated that made it all worth while. Thank you.
(02/01/96 10:00am)
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Any of the 750 spectators who arrived late to Nassau Coliseum last night missed a hell of a ballgame. En route to an 83-55 rout of Hofstra, Penn managed to accomplish a series of firsts. For the first time all season, Penn has a winning record at 7-6. And, perhaps more importantly, Fran Dunphy's Quakers finished off an opponent early and never looked back. After relinquishing all of a 15-point lead Saturday against La Salle before eking out an overtime victory, Penn made sure an undermanned Hofstra squad (7-10) was never in the ballgame. A fast-break dunk by swingman Ira Bowman gave the Red and Blue a 20-point bulge just over nine minutes into the ballgame, and that margin never slipped below 17. "Life's not all roses," Hofstra coach Jay Wright said. "You've got to deal with some tough times, and tonight was one of those times. We're trying to build a program here and if we're going to do that, we have to give a team like Penn a better game." Penn's dominance came in all phases. It came early, and it came often. Quakers center Tim Krug began the contest with a pair of three-pointers. Those efforts were followed by a pair of free throws from freshman forward Paul Romanczuk free throws, a tip-in by Krug and two more inside buckets by Romanczuk. 14-0 Penn. But more impressive than Romanczuk's brilliant inside play (18 points on 6-9 shooting in his second career start) or Krug's 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists was the Penn defense. In the first ever meeting between the two schools, the Quakers held the Flying Dutchmen to just 22.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half and caused 10 turnovers in that opening stanza. The majority of those takeaways led to easy buckets at the opposite end, leading to a commanding 37-16 for Penn at the intermission. "We played smart and we played hard," said Krug, the MVP of the evening's doubleheader, which also included a 65-52 Adelphi victory over the University at Stony Brook. "The defense did a good job -- especially the guards who cut off penetration. That makes our job on the inside much easier." And it made Hofstra's job a lot more difficult. "Penn is a great defensive team," Wright said. "They knew who to take away and who to let shoot open jumpers. But we took some shots we do not normally take." One reason for that was the absence of sophomore forward Seth Meyers, who has averaged 13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season since transfering from UNLV. Myers suffered a mild concussion in practice Monday and is currently listed as day-to-day. Prior to the contest, Wright thought his troop's major challenge would be to take Bowman away from the Quakers' offensive mix. Wright accomplished that when Penn's leading scorer (averaging 16.4 ppg coming in) fouled out with 7:46 remaining in the contest, having tallied only 10 points on the evening. Unfortunately for Wright, the outcome had already been written in the books and the ink had long since dried -- in large part to the continued hot hand of senior guard Donald Moxley. Moxley poured in 22 points and corralled 11 rebounds. He is averaging 17.9 points over the last eight games. Hofstra did not have a Moxley of their own. The Flying Dutchmen did not have anybody step up at all. While Penn got balanced scoring with all five starters in double figures and shot 44 percent from the field on the game, Hofstra committed a total of 18 turnovers, gave up countless second-chance opportunities and failed to disrupt the Quakers' offensive rhythm during the competitive portion of the game. Junior guard Lawrence Thomas led Hofstra with 15 points, and senior forward Rob Ogden chipped in off the bench with 12. But the Dutchmen never got started last night. "I think having Seth would have made a difference, but Penn is an excellent team," Thomas said. "We just seemed lost out there. We were out of sync. Seth gives us defense, scoring and rebounding, and we were outplayed in all of those phases tonight." Heading into a pair of important Ivy League contests this weekend and with 11 of the remaining 13 contests against Ancient Eight foes, the Quakers hope to use this solid overall effort to catapult themselves to a fourth consecutive Ivy League championship and a NCAA Tournament birth. With Penn's Ivy League winning streak at 46 (John Wooden's UCLA teams of the early 1970s hold the record for consecutive conference wins at 50) and a fourth consecutive invitation to the Big Dance well within reach, now is the time for the Quakers to capitalize on the momentum they established at Nassau Coliseum last night. Ironically enough, Penn's last Tourney win (a 90-80 victory over Nebraska two years ago) came on the same Coliseum hardwood as last night's laugher. "This building has some very pleasant memories for me," Dunphy said. Dunphy had one more memory to smile about as he went to sleep last night.
(01/24/96 10:00am)
For the second time in four days, La Salle could not handle the pressure. Well, actually, it was the Explorers offense that got flustered. Saturday night at the Palestra, St. Joe's used a three-quarter court trap to force the Explorers out of their offensive rhythm and ignited a 10-0 run late in the ballgame. And just like Saturday, La Salle lost to a Big 5 opponent in what was officially an Atlantic 10 contest. Last night, the opponent was Temple and the venue was the Civic Center, but the cause of defeat was the same for Speedy Morris's Explorers, who dropped to 4-12, 1-4 in the Atlantic 10 with the 68-48 loss in front of a sparse crowd of 2,199. After an evenly played opening stanza, which saw the teams trade baskets from the perimeter, the Owls (9-7, 6-0) broke open the 29-29 halftime tie with a 28-12 run to open the second half. The key was an adjustment Temple coach John Chaney and his staff made during intermission to put more pressure on the basketball. Chaney reconfigured his patented matchup zone defense into a triangle and two, using the two guards at the top to trap La Salle's guards. "We wanted to make them combine two skills," Chaney said. "In the first half, we were letting them just stand around and shoot. In the second, we were trying to force them to dribble and shoot or pass and shoot." The immediate result was three turnovers in two minutes and a six-point Owls' lead. "John did a great job pressuring us," Morris said. "We didn't expect them to do that, and we did not discuss it at all at the half, so that's my fault. It definitely threw us out of sync." After some adjustments by Explorers guard Mike Gizzi and floor general Shawn Smith, La Salle started to generate open looks for its struggling offense. But nobody could knock down open jump shots from the corner. "There's nothing wrong with open shots from the corner," Morris said. "I'll take that all night, but nobody except Romaine [Haywood] was shooting the ball with any rhythm. We just needed someone to knock those shots down. "That's [Brian] Flickinger's spot. He can make that shot 10 times in a row in practice. I realize games are different, but we need him to make some shots. Tonight, we just didn't make them." Certainly not enough of them. The Explorers shot just 10-41 from behind the stripe on the evening -- a paltry 24.4 percent. Once you remove Haywood's admirable 5-of-9 performance, the rest of the Explorers were 5-for-32. That checks out at just 15.6 percent. That is no way to beat the Owls and their stingy interior zone defense. Especially not without the services of 6-foot-10 sophomore center Olaf Landgren, who sat out the contest with the flu. Most of Haywood's game-high 21 points came from the perimeter, and fellow frontline mates Jasper van Teeseling and Everett Catlin chipped in just eight points combined. Even more staggering was the fact that La Salle never got to the free-throw line all game. The Owls' attack came from long range as well, but they were considerably more successful than their counterparts. La Salle did an excellent job of collapsing on Temple's top scoring threat, center Marc Jackson, who was coming off a 28-point performance in Temple's 67-59 loss to Tulane Saturday. Jackson netted only 10 points and corralled eight rebounds last night, but Temple shot 37 percent (10-27) from beyond the arc. "Speedy did a hell of a job tonight," Chaney said. "He had his guys well prepared and they had Jackson thoroughly confused." The other difference was that Temple defense created easy transition baskets throughout the second half, when Temple outscored La Salle, 39-19. The Explorers just do not have the guns to compete with teams of Temple's calibre this year. After losing their super guard tandem of Paul Burke and Kareem Townes, La Salle does not have any go-to guys on the offensive end. Next year could be an entirely different story, however -- if Morris and Chaney have their way. The nation's most highly touted high school senior, Kobe Bryant, is the son of La Salle assistant Joe Bryant. The younger Bryant, who is still torn in his decision between La Salle, a few other top college programs and entering the June NBA draft, was looking on last night. Nobody would love to see Bryant on the La Salle bench next year more than Chaney, who is always pulling for local talent to stay at home. "I going to get a baseball bat for that Joe Bryant," Chaney said. "That kid should have committed to La Salle a long time ago. It's very unfortunate and sad. It angers and frustrates me. Kids in this area should go to these schools." Morris will have an opportunity to take out all his frustrations on the Quakers when the two schools lock up for a Big 5 doubleheader Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the CoreStates Spectrum. Maybe by then, Morris will have two Bryants on his sideline. In the meantime, the pressure will continue to mount.
(01/22/96 10:00am)
On a day when their evil sister Villanova was beating up on No. 10 North Carolina down at Broad and Pattison, La Salle and St. Joseph's showed the spirit of the Big 5 was still alive and well Saturday night at the packed-to-the-brim Palestra. While the showdown was officially the first ever Atlantic 10 meeting between the two schools -- this is La Salle's first season in the expanded 12-team conference -- there was no doubt among any of the players, coaches or 7,408 Philadelphia patrons on hand that it was a Big 5 matchup. "What did you expect?" asked first-year Hawks coach Phil Martelli, who has seen his share of Big 5 thrillers while working as a St. Joe's assistant for the past 10 seasons. "If you thought it would be any different, you're crazy. Put two city teams in this building and crazy things happen." The Hawks' 67-65 victory had every element of the classic Big 5 script -- great defense, players diving on the Palestra hardwood for loose balls, and of course, a fantastic ending. That finish was set up by missed opportunities on both sides. After a lackluster first half -- which saw the Hawks build a 32-25 lead on the strength of their defense, and seven points apiece from forward Reggie Townsend and center Will Johnson -- both sides picked up the play in the second half. After shooting a miserable 25.9 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, the Explorers (4-11, 1-3 Atlantic 10), lit it up after intermission. After trading buckets for the first six minutes of the half, La Salle coach Speedy Morris called a timeout, encouraging his players to extend the Explorers' patented zone defense to defend the three-point shooting of St. Joe's marksmen Rashid Bey and Mark Bass. Bey had just made two consecutive treys from the right wing over La Salle guard Mike Gizzi, sending Speedy jumping off the bench and earning Gizzi a seat on it. The Explorers responded to the lecture, picking up the defense and executing efficiently on the offensive end for the first time all night. Several transition layups and made three-pointers later, La Salle had run off 14 consecutive points and taken a 55-47 lead with under 10 minutes to play. Everyone in the building expected the Hawks (6-5, 1-1) to make a run of their own, and sure enough, they did. Trailing 59-55 after a Gizzi layup, St. Joe's went to a three-quarter-court trap that flustered the Explorers and ignited a 10-0 run. "That's where we lost the ballgame," Morris said. "We had a lead late in the second half, and we went four consecutive possessions without even getting a shot off. It comes from experience, and we don't have a lot of experience." But sure enough, the Hawks six-point lead with 47.5 seconds remaining was as tenuous as La Salle's earlier deficit. Gizzi quickly responded with a layup, cutting the margin to four and then the Hawks tried to dig their own grave from the free throw line. After Johnson missed the front end of a one-and-one, La Salle quickly got the ball to junior forward Everett Catlin for an uncontested dunk. Timeout La Salle. The Explorers bench erupted as St. Joe's suddenly found itself in a ballgame they thought they had won moments ago. Off the inbounds pass, La Salle fouled Bey with 24.1 seconds showing on the clock. The senior, who was shooting 78 percent from the charity stripe on the season, did his share to add to the drama and missed the front end. The Explorers rebounded the miss and pushed the ball down to Catlin on the blocks. His layup knotted the score at 65 with 14.1 ticks remaining. But as anyone familiar with the Big 5 knows, the Hawks never die. Without calling for time, they raced the ball up the court, and Townsend converted a leaner from the right wing sending Townsend's fist into the air and the predominantly red-clad crowd into a frenzy. "It felt good coming off my hands," Townsend said. "I knew it was good." As the ball swooshed through the net, the clock showed 7.3 seconds remaining, which gave the Explorers one last chance to steal the game. Point guard and Philadelphia native Shawn "Reds" Smith took the inbounds pass and dribbled directly to St. Joe's three-point line. With the defense backing away, not wanting to foul, Smith let it fly just before the horn sounded. The referee's cry of, "Good if it goes!" was the only thing that pierced the hushed and anticipating silence until the ball clanged off the front rim, kissed the backboard and fell to the floor. "I thought it was going in," Townsend admitted. "I was standing under the basket and I said, 'Oh no, here we go again.' " "Shawn makes that shot 10 times in practice every day," Morris said. "The real difference was that St. Joe's knew they were going to win this game, and we always had doubts."
(12/11/95 10:00am)
Saturday's Atlantic City Shootout game was widely acclaimed as the homecoming for heralded Penn State point guard Dan Earl, a native of Medford Lakes, N.J., where he was honored as the USA Today New Jersey Player of the Year while a senior at Shawnee High School in 1993. Instead, the most memorable voyage related to the Nittany Lions' lopsided 88-61 victory was Pete Lisicky's trek into the zone. Lisicky, a 6-foot, 4-inch guard from Whitehall, Pa., singlehandedly shot down Penn's chances at the Atlantic City Convention Center with a career-high 35 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the floor. Perhaps more impressive than that was Lisicky's 9-of-10 explosion from three-point land. The sophomore's nine treys were a school record, breaking Tom Hovasse's record of seven set Feb. 4, 1989, at George Washington. Lisicky's bullseye shooting was unexpected to say the least -- both by him and the Quakers, who were much more concerned about Earl, the Lions' heady playmaker. Earl still dished out 10 assists on the evening, but was overshadowed by his backcourt mate. "Actually, during the shoot around, I thought I'd have problems," said Lisicky, referring to the immense amount of space between the baskets and the backdrop in the convention center more fit for slot machine makers than college hoopsters. "The guys were just setting me good screens and getting me the ball." That they were. And the Quakers did nothing to stop it for most of the game. En route to building Penn State a 46-27 halftime edge, Lisicky piled up 24 points, just three less than his opponents combined. The onslaught started early. After a Tim Krug tip-in gave Penn its last lead at 4-2, Lisicky buried consecutive trifectas. Several minutes later, he exploded for eight points in 30 seconds, expanding the Lions' bulge to 21-11. He then added two medium-range jumpers prior to another spree from the long range. Back-to-back threes widened a 15-point spread to an almost insurmountable cushion of 21 just two minutes before the intermission. "The kid missed two shots all day," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I have to give him a lot of credit. He was just terrific out there. We played some man against him, and we tried some zone, but we needed someone to step up and say 'I'm not going to let him catch the ball any more.' That didn't happen until Jamie [Lyren] said that to me at the end of the half. It was amazing to watch. I just wish it didn't happen against us." His marksmanship was just as impressive in the second stanza. When the Quakers cut a 21-point margin down to 12 for the first time, Lisicky nailed a jumper from 17 feet. Another spurt by Penn cut the deficit to nine, at which point the cold-blooded Lisicky made it clear to all 7,962 spectators in attendance that there would be no comeback. Cutting off a down screen, he popped to the top of the key and sank his seventh three-pointer. That was the difference all night. Bigger, stronger Lions players were setting screens on Penn's inexperienced guards to free Lisicky for just an instant. He had the ability to square himself and fire before help could arrive. Before Lisicky had left his zone, the Quakers had left the building -- with a 1-3 record and 20 days to ponder their defensive hustle and their next opponents.
(12/04/95 10:00am)
Billikens outlast M. Hoops, 58-51 ST. LOUIS -- Spoonball made a home for itself at the foul line to spoil Cedric Laster's homecoming. In a sloppy but hard-fought contest in front of 16,595 fans and a national ESPN television audience, coach Charlie Spoonhour's Billikens (2-1) held off the Quakers for most of the game before capturing a 58-51 victory at the Kiel Center. "You all watching probably thought this was an ugly game," St. Louis coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "For us, it was just a very good win. This Penn team is very good. They're tough kids and they play a very physical game. Don't let their appearance fool you. They don't play a soft game, they play a very hard game. "They are well coached and they know what they're doing out there. They do stuff right. Luckily for us, they did not shoot the ball very well. They didn't miss during warm-ups, but they couldn't make a thing during the game. They got themselves plenty of open looks, though." Both teams struggled in vain to find the basket, or even any semblance of offensive rhythm. Penn (0-2) shot only 34.9 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from behind the three-point arc en route to its second consecutive down-to-the-wire setback. In fact, no Quaker with more than three shots made more than half of his attempts. The Billikens made only 41.7 percent of their field goal attempts -- not dazzling by any standard. All the way down the Penn roster, the numbers were disastrous. Senior captain Tim Krug shot 1 of 12; guard Donald Moxley was 3 of 12. The story was the same for everyone -- no Quaker could score consistently. As a result, Penn never put a run together or established control of a game that always seemed to be slipping just out of its reach. Finally, the game did -- literally. But not until the Quakers had given Spoonhour's club all it could handle. Once Billikens forward Vergil Cobbin knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing to give St. Louis a 9-7 lead 6 minutes, 23 seconds into the first half, the Quakers would never again have the upper hand. On four occasions, though, Penn would draw even -- the last being at 38-all with 9:43 to play in the game. But the Quakers could never get over the hurdle. In the game's waning minutes, they again got close before costly turnovers and clutch shooting by the Billikens put the final nail in a coffin Penn's marksmen had been painstakingly constructing all day. After junior point guard Jamie Lyren converted a layup on a beautiful feed from Ira Bowman, Penn had cut the St. Louis lead to 48-47 with less than three minutes remaining. Ferocious Penn defense forced a turnover on an errant pass into the backcourt then led to an over-and-back call, and the Quakers had a chance to reclaim the lead. A missed Moxley jumper was rescued on the offensive boards by Krug, who kicked it out to reset the offense. But Penn would never get another shot at the lead. Bowman tried to ignite the Penn attack by driving the lane, where he promptly lost control of the ball. It bounced straight into the hands of St. Louis forward Jeff Harris, who had an uncontested path to the Quakers' basket. His layup extended the Billikens margin to three, but the Quakers knew it was still a one-possession game. "There's no explanation," Bowman said. "Guys had to step up, and they didn't. The people who had to step up didn't, and I'm not talking about guys who haven't been in these situations before." After another television timeout, it was Lyren who tried his hand at slithering into the heart of the overplaying man-to-man defense St. Louis relied upon all day. The result was the same. Slightly out of control, he too lost the handle and was whistled for a carry. The final nail was supplied courtesy of Cobbin, who, with the shot clock running down, released a trifecta from the same spot as the one that gave the Billikens the lead over an hour before. As Cobbin's bomb splashed through the twine, the shot-clock horn blared, and the Quakers heard their death knell. The shot made it 53-47 with 1:17 remaining. Even though Penn stayed within striking distance throughout the defensive struggle, the Quakers blew valuable chances early. In the early portion of the first half, when both teams were ice cold, Krug missed a dunk and a layup. Moxley missed a layup on the break and Lyren missed a driving layup from the left wing. "I just never showed up today," Krug said. "My offense wasn't there. It's my job to be a leader for this team and I did not do it today. Sure there are positives to be taken, and when you lose, that's what you try to do. But it's enough of that. That's no longer acceptable. We have to start winning games." The missed opportunities close to the basket would prove costly. The St. Louis defense tightened and similar easy opportunities for points never again arose. On a day when the perimeter game was nonexistent, the Red and Blue failed to adjust. They never got the transition game going, Krug could not find himself on the blocks and unlike their hosts, they failed to get to the foul line. The Billikens, on the other hand, lived at the charity stripe. They took advantage of early Penn foul trouble in both halves to earn 24 of their 58 points at the line. Penn was just three of four there. In the opening stanza, Penn picked up its sixth team foul with seven minutes still to play, meaning the next infraction would send St. Louis to the line. Further complicating matters for the Quakers was that Bowman, on whom Dunphy relies to be on the court for the majority of every game, played only nine minutes of that first half with foul trouble. In the second half, the Billikens were in the bonus after only five minutes of play and the double bonus for the final five minutes. While Dunphy did not openly criticize the officiating after the game, he was clearly displeased with the lopsided nature of the foul calls, making several forays after the officials up and down the Kiel Center sidelines. Following the game, he could only muster a sigh and comment that "we're never real frequent visitors to the foul line, but we would have liked to have gotten there a few more times today, and we'd have liked if they had not been there quite as often." The foul calls proved critical for Dunphy, not only because they raised his blood pressure to dangerously high levels, but because the defensive risks Penn could take were limited down the stretch. And it was defense that kept Penn in throughout. By mixing in their trademark man-to-man defense with both a 2-3 zone -- to limit the effectiveness of highly esteemed St. Louis big men Jamal Johnson and Jeff Harris -- and a 1-3-1 trap that forced many of the Billikens' 21 turnovers, Dunphy and his Quakers kept St. Louis off balance all day. Johnson scored only eight points, 14.5 below his average coming in. Harris did score 14, but he was not the dominant presence Penn feared he might be. But as good as the Quakers defense was, most of St. Louis shots came from the free throw line, where all Penn could do was watch in despair.
(11/29/95 10:00am)
It is with heavy hearts and tears in our eyes that we here at Roundup officially bring to a close this 1995 Ivy League gridiron season by presenting our year-end awards, the Mishkins. For you readers that forget the great Mr. Mishkin for whom these glorious honors are named, let us just say that he was a man who could dig up more gossip than Liz Smith, a man who possessed more knowledge about bar fights than Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, and, most importantly, a man who could insult more people than Howard Stern. In short, he was a man we all emulate and measure ourselves against day in and day out here at Roundup headquarters. So, without further ado, let us commence. Try to hold back the tears. This is an emotional time for us all. Family Man of the Year The Roundup family values department would like to take a moment to salute Eric Keck. The 27-year old general studies student and nose tackle for the Columbia Sky Blue Panzies goes home from practice every day to change the diapers of his young daughter, Zion. We applaud that commitment to the young'uns, but Roundup's name experts have to question the Kecks' decision. Zion? Let's just say it wouldn't be at the top of our list. Seriously, when the poor kid's teacher scrolls down the roll sheet the first day of kindergarten, young Zion will have to raise her hand after, "Keck -- Ms. Zion Keck." It's stuff like that which causes serious psychological damage. But, then again, so does playing football at SUNY-Harlem. Jim McGeehan of the Year Award Sadly but truly, there were no Jim McGeehans active in the Ivies this season, so the award stays with Penn's former record-setting signal caller, Jim McGeehan. McGeehan, who has held the trophy in all three years of its existence, was unavailable for comment. Bar Fight of the Year You kids ain't gonna believe this one: A guy named Bourbeau (pronounced BAR-bow) went to his favorite bar to have a few Buds with his buds and got into a spat at Spat's. According to inside Roundup sleuths working deep deep deep under cover in Providence, R.I., a trio of Brown football gridders including Jon Bourbeau went to their favorite Providence watering hole to grow out their hair (more on Brown hairstyles later) and enjoy a few frothy beveragi earlier this season. Josh, as one of our "journalists" is known professionally, informed Roundup headquarters that Mr. Bourbeau, accompanied by teammates Joe Karcutskie and Jon Miller, had a little disagreement with some Rhode Island Yocals. Our source indicated that things got pretty ugly and the yocals (read: white trash) went home with a worse loss than the Bears have seen in years. Considering the Quakers whacked the lowly off-colored Bears to the tune of 58-21 in October, that must have been quite a bruising. The case will stand trial in the Providence courts in the upcoming days. Roundup's jurisprudence experts are under the impression that aggravated assault charges are being pressed. Original reports that the suspects fled Spat's in a white Bronco have since been proven false, as has the alleged assertion that Bears coach Mark Whipple will head the defense team. Anyone that knows anything about Ivy football should know the Brown coaching staff knows absolutely nothing at all about defense. Speaking of Brown, these kids are really freaky. And since we here at Roundup try not to be shortsighted or prejudiced in any way, we would like to take a moment to share some fairly amusing tidbits about football as they know it elsewhere on the globe. Since our friends in Providence (that New England town with the lovely statehouse) seem to have given up on producing a real team in any sport that matters, the Bears have committed trillions of dollars (by Roundup calculations anyway)to building the nation's preeminent soccer program. Since we're assuming you turned straight to this fine section of the paper this morning, we'll enlighten you that the Bears kickers have made the NCAA quarters in soccer (see back page). Not bad, considering they play in brown uniforms. But, either this success, or the inhaling of special herbs and spices, (Roundup forensic experts weren't really sure which) has gotten to their heads. In an exclusive interview, of which Roundup received a copy, Bears star John Beck sounded like Candide in a candid chat about why the Bears were hesitant to trim their flowing locks. "It seems like we're cutting away too many things these days, like cutting down trees. We shouldn't have to cut anything, except maybe, chaparral to make the land fertile? "If an organism is to function efficiently, each individual tissue must essentially surrender its ego in devotion to the survival of the whole. The team's effort of love must come from the heart." Naturally. Due to this abridged space provided by the courtesy of our fine production staff, Roundup has to bid you faithful readers adieu. Not for another long nine months can we reexamine the wacky, wild and wooly world of Ancient Eight gridiron action. To those Tigers fans out there: Enjoy that crown while you have it. It won't be long. And thank the Quakers every day for kicking Cornell's ass. Without us, your late season gagging would have cost you another title. Don't worry, we'll be back. Plus it's hoops season. That crown ain't goin' nowhere fast. You can send that in -- no, no, that's our bad. Ira can send it in.
(11/22/95 10:00am)
When the Penn men's basketball team sits down to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow evening, one thing each and every Quaker is sure to give thanks for is that the season starts Monday when Southern California visits the Palestra at 7 p.m. The consensus on the young team is the Quakers are eager for the regular season to begin after over a month of practice. "We're happy to get right into it and play a good team," senior forward Cedric Laster said. "Practice is getting messy. There have been some pretty nasty fouls going on because everyone just wants to get out and play for real." Last Saturday's scrimmage against the Russian Select team was helpful in giving the Quakers an indication of where further improvement is needed. "The scrimmage helped us very much," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "Lot's of guys saw significant minutes in a game situation. The shot selection was good the first half. But I was a little disappointed that we were up 18 with the ball and did not put the game away." Dunphy does feel that his troops need to tighten things up on the defensive end a bit more before the season tips off Monday. To that end, the Quakers spent a good portion of practice yesterday working on both the man-to-man and zone defensive sets. The same is expected when the Quakers gather this morning for a 6:30 a.m. practice. After getting Thanksgiving Day off to relax and spend time with family and friends, Penn will practice Friday, Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of the USC contest. Penn destroyed the Trojans two years ago in Los Angeles, 77-62, but none of those USC starters are still with the squad. Second-year coach Charlie Parker, who took over for the legendary George Raveling last year, has a youthful and athletic squad led by forward Jaha Wilson, guard Stais Boseman and 6-foot-11 JUCO transfer Avondre Jones. While the Quakers have not begun preparing for the Trojans in the form of watching films and running through sets, they are aware of the athletic team that will provide them their initial test of the 1995-96 campaign. "I'm not really familiar with anyone on their team," senior co-captain Tim Krug said. "I don't think they have anyone back that we saw much of two years ago. It will be a lot different than playing against those Russians, though. Come Monday, we'll be prepared." Someone Krug and the rest of the Quakers faithful hope is well prepared and rested is senior swingman Ira Bowman. Bowman's electrifying dunks and intense, in-your-face defense have been absent from practice for several days as a result of the flu. Bowman was running a considerable temperature yesterday, but Dunphy expects him back at practice Friday following a tasty home-cooked meal. Bowman's absence has been particularly tough on Krug. The two of them are the only ones on this year's roster who saw considerable time last season. The duo has tried to show the rest of the team what it takes to compete at the level the Quakers have over the past several seasons. "We're coming out to win all of our games," Krug said. "If we get a win, it will show teams around the country that we can play with anyone despite losing five starters from last year. Hopefully the fans will respond and we'll get plenty of support." The Quakers would gladly trade tomorrow's home-cooked meal for a roasting of the Trojans Monday night.
(11/15/95 10:00am)
With one shocking out of town score, Penn coach Al Bagnoli's football squad reentered the Ivy League title race. As most people are already aware, two scenarios this Saturday would leave a shared Ivy League championship for the 16th time in the league's 40-year history. One of those scenarios -- the one that involves a Quakers victory -- would create a four-way logjam at the penthouse of the Ancient Eight. If Penn and Dartmouth each win home games against Cornell and Princeton respectively, those four teams all finish 5-2 and the Ivies will have four heads wearing the crown. Should the Tigers and Big Red both win, they would share the championship with 6-1 league marks. If one but not both of those two leading contenders wins, the Ivy League will have an outright champion for the third consecutive season. The bizarre prospect of a four-way tie has raised some interesting questions about the structure of the league. The first and most obvious query is why there is no tiebreaker. The answer seems to be there is no practical reason to determine an outright champion. Unlike major college conference champions, who are slotted into New Year's Day bowl games or the NCAA Tournament in basketball, the Ivy League football champion goes home just like everybody else. "Tiebreakers exist in most instances -- even in the NFL -- to get teams into the playoffs. So, in that sense there isn't a reason to do it in football," Associate Director of the Ivy Group Chuck Yrigoyen said. The question of whether or not the Ivy champion ought to advance to the Division I-AA playoffs is one that has been greatly debated over the past several years, when the consensus was that Penn's undefeated teams could compete on a national level. The Ivy League presidents, who are responsible for making that decision, have come nowhere near to endorsing a trip to the postseason. Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky has spoken favorably of some type of postseason play for the Ivy League, although he questions whether the I-AA playoffs are the appropriate vehicle. He has discussed a bowl-type game in a warm climate against the champion of a similar conference, perhaps the Patriot League or the Yankee Conference. Were this to happen, the Ivies would need to determine an outright champion -- something nobody seems prepared to deal with considering the status quo. "Certainly when you end up with half the league tied for the title, you expect some complaints," Yrigoyen said. "[But] I think most people will see this as an isolated instance of a very balanced league. I think a four-way tie could be seen as a kind of a positively interesting thing rather than a negatively interesting thing." For now, that is the way the Ivy League will continue to see it. The more teams that share the title the better. A tie leads to more happy fans and alumni. Many players and coaches may like to see a resolution of sorts, although it certainly depends on perspective. "It depends on where you were," Bagnoli said. "If you are us or Dartmouth, you're perfectly happy with a share of the title after what we've been through. If I were Princeton, I'd be disappointed with that result, although them and Cornell certainly have a shot to win it outright." "Yeah, as a player, you'd like to see it resolved," Penn's all-world wide receiver Miles Macik said. "But if it happens as a tie this year, we'd certainly feel proud. We will have reached our goal." The big issue of who will keep the prestigious Ivy League trophy has yet to be fully resolved, although it would rotate between whatever teams do earn a share of the championship. "We'll have to circulate some piece of paper asking each of the four schools when they would like to have the trophy," Yrigoyen said. "Everyone might want it in February, when recruiting season reaches its climax. There are four weekends in February, so I imagine each school would get it for one weekend." · Penn records are falling by the wayside. Sophomore kicker Jeremiah Greathouse will break the Ivy League record for field goals in a season with his first successful kick Saturday. Greathouse's next field goal will give him 11 in Ivy games for 1995. Macik needs 201 yards to break Penn's all-time receiving yardage mark. Don Clune holds the record now with 2,419 yards. "I'm going in under the impression that anything can happen," Macik said. "My major goal was to break the league mark for receptions and I did that. So, I'm happy with what I've accomplished. If I had a huge game, I'd certainly love it, but I can't say that I'll have any regrets either way." While Bagnoli certainly hopes his players are able to break all the records they can, he does not see breaking the normal flow of a game with the league title on the line to accomplish anything on an individual level. · Elsewhere in the record books, junior speedster Mark Fabish has broken the Quakers' all-time punt return record against Harvard with 802 return yards, eclipsing Tim Chambers' 734 yards. In the kickoff return category, Fabish trails the legendary Adolph Bellizeare by only 57 yards, 909 to852. Obviously, that mark also is breakable Saturday when Cornell visits with the 40th Ivy title on the line.
(11/13/95 10:00am)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- After scampering for 133 yards on only 18 carries in the Quakers' 38-21 victory at blustery Harvard Stadium Saturday, Penn running back Aman Abye was still not smiling -- not until a reporter told him Princeton had fallen to Yale, 21-13. The ramifications were obvious and a wide smile, a grin that reached almost ecstatic proportions, creased Abye's face. A Penn victory over Cornell next week and another Princeton loss, this time in Hanover, N.H., will give Penn a four-way share of its third consecutive Ivy crown. But beyond the miracle Yale worked at Old Nassau, Abye made sure his Quakers took care of business. They took care of that business the way business on the gridiron is supposed to be taken care of in blustery New England in November -- on the ground. "That's they key to the football game," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "When you can't run the football, you really struggle, especially when you get into wind and rain and cold and everything else you face in the last two, three, four weeks of the season." Saturday in Cambridge, the Quakers had wind, they had rain and they had cold. And they ran the football. Using dominant offensive line play, a solid game plan and a pair of explosive tailbacks, Penn racked up 304 rushing yards against an overmatched Crimson defense. For the first time since Nov. 21, 1987, two Quakers rushed for over 100 yards. Abye tallied 133 on the day, and backfield mate Jasen Scott outdid him by a sole yard. Bryan Keys and Chris Flynn had been the last Red and Blue duo to accomplish the feat. Abye dominated the first half after setting the tone with a 50-yard touchdown dash early in the second quarter. That play, like most of the running plays that followed it, utilized inside zone blocking, in which Penn's offensive line effectively sealed the Crimson defensive ends to the outside and isolated a running back on the linebacker. One misstep or slipped tackle, and the Quakers ballcarriers were in the secondary with daylight ahead. So it was with Abye's long score, when he dashed through the line untouched before breaking it outside, leaving Harvard linebackers without an angle to cut him off. Whenever the Harvard ends pinched down in an effort to stop Penn's ground dominance, the tackles sealed off the outside and Penn offensive coordinator Chuck Priore designed a rollout for his quarterback, leaving him with all day to exploit the Crimson secondary. Penn's quarterback rotation of Mark DeRosa and Steve Teodecki combined for 207 passing yards and a touchdown on a day when the gusty wind turned most spirals into ducks. "It's a tough combination," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said of Penn's attack. "They have a very solid, fundamental system. You can't take both [passing and running] away necessarily." Harvard couldn't take anything away. After Abye's 102 first half yards set the Quakers out to a comfortable 21-0 lead at the intermission, Scott took over. Recovering from an early fumble deep in Harvard territory, Scott used his slashing, cut-back style to give a slightly new look to Penn's ground assault. The results were eerily similar to the 7,622 watching under the darkening Cambridge sky. On the first possession of the second half, Scott paved the way for the Quakers to go 80 yards in 12 plays. He carried the ball on seven of those 12 plays from scrimmage, eating up 46 yards and finally hitting paydirt on a 1-yard plunge at 9:51 of the third quarter. The outcome of this Ivy League contest was never again in question and many on the Penn sideline started thinking more about the out-of-town scoreboard than the one looming over Harvard Stadium. After all, it was just a week ago when the Quakers' gained just 95 net rushing yards on 35 carries. Had Penn's ground attack been effective last weekend against the Tigers, Bagnoli and his Quakers wouldn't have had to worry about the other scoreboard so much. And Abye would have smiled a lot sooner.
(11/09/95 10:00am)
Harvard junior running back Eion Hu was in a particularly good mood last night. Hu was not pleased about his Crimson squad's 1-7 record on the season thus far, nor its 0-5 mark in the Ivy League. Nor was he particularly pleased by his personal performance to date in 1995. Last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year dashed for 1,011 yards and 11 touchdowns on 234 carries. With two games remaining in the '95 campaign, Hu's statistics have dropped considerably along with the Crimson's success this year: 158 carries for 766 yards and six scores. Hu was unusually cheerful because it was Wednesday. And Wednesday means only one thing to Eion Hu -- comic books. Having collected them since he was 10 years old back in Ringwood, N.J., Hu's shelves make a cozy home not just for that Rookie of the Year trophy and the Frederick Greeley Crocker Award for Harvard's most valuable player, but for Hu's 5,000-plus comic books. V "Spiderman is definitely my favorite," Hu said. "Every Wednesday me and my roommates go check them out." This hobby typifies the self-deprecating economics major both on and off the football field. He enjoys life. He plays hard, but he does not take his football off the field with him. In fact, Hu was unaware that he was fourth on the all-time Harvard rushing list, only 326 yards behind Vic Gatto, who tops the list with 2,130 yards on the ground. "I'm not any better than any of the other backs in the league," Hu said. "Last year, Coach just gave me the ball more [than other running backs in the league] and people saw my stats and thought I was great. I don't really have good speed so I just hit it up the middle. I don't need to make decisions that way. I just attack the first little crease I see until I get smashed." What Hu described as shunning the responsibility of making snap decisions is what football scouts everywhere call instinct. Countless coaches all across America at every level encourage their running backs to hit holes as hard and quick as Hu does. Hu has never thought about doing it any other way -- he's been doing it just like that as a tailback since he was seven. "My mother wanted me to play football as a little kid so I wouldn't just sit on the couch all day," Hu said. Harvard coach Tim Murphy thanks Mrs. Hu every day. Hu has been one of the few bright spots since Murphy took over the Crimson's reigns last year. The Crimson have not posted a winning record since 1987, but this season is shaping up as one of the worst in the school's long history. "As good a player as he is, and he's probably the best player on the team, he's an even better guy," Murphy said. "He works harder than anybody else on the field and he's the most humble kid you've ever seen. If we had 40 of him, we'd be in the position Penn's been in the last three seasons." Even though the Quakers held Hu to just 52 yards on 14 carries during last season's 33-0 Ivy title clincher at Franklin Field, the Penn coaching staff knows the Quakers have their work cut out for them. "We were fortunate to get a lead and take them out of their ball-control offense last year," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "He's a very good back. He's a violent north-south runner. He's durable -- the type of kid you can give the ball to 35 times a game. He's a legitimate player." Quakers defensive coordinator Mike Toop echoed Bagnoli's thoughts: "He's got great vision and a good forward lean, so he's a tough guy to get a clean hit on. You rarely see him stopped for negative yardage." As his coach mentioned, Hu is sheepishly modest about his personal success. "It's not fun running the ball every weekend," Hu said. "It hurts to be 1-7. I'd much rather win than think about all my personal stats." Hu wants nothing more than for that first Ivy League victory of 1995 to be against the Quakers Saturday at Harvard Stadium -- nothing except maybe coming to Penn one day. "I want to go to business school some day," Hu said. "Maybe down there at Wharton. That's about as good as it gets."
(10/30/95 10:00am)
It took seven weeks, but the 1995 model of the Penn defensive unit finally mirrored its highly regarded predecessors. Throughout the Al Bagnoli era and the 24-game winning streak that has earmarked it for anyone familiar with the Quakers or the Ivy League, defense has been Penn's trademark. This year, something has been missing -- until Saturday. And it was not simply a matter of box scores. Sure, last year's defense ranked first nationally in total defense and scoring defense, but, more importantly, the Quakers' defense was a presence throughout the past two seasons. Those defenses made the plays to win games. Last year, they stopped Dartmouth from the one yard-line to eke out a 13-11 victory in Hanover, N.H., In toto, the Penn defense shut out three opponents and held two others without a touchdown. Back in 1993, the defensive corps caused numerous turnovers to upset Princeton. Penn held current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jay Fiedler without a touchdown in that year's season-opener against the Big Green at Franklin Field. A slew of sacks and a key interception shut down Cornell's attack in the second half and sparked a 17-point rally to clinch the season finale. Until Saturday, this season had been a different story. When Bucknell came to West Philadelphia at the end of September, Penn's defense allowed the Bison a 27-yard touchdown pass with the Quakers protecting a tenuous 17-12 lead. In the past, such a lead was as secure as Fort Knox. The following week, Penn allowed Columbia quarterback Mike Cavanaugh to run the option to perfection, galloping for over 100 yards while leading the Lions to a 20-12 streak-breaking upset. Never before had the Penn defense looked so porous for so long -- until the next week, when William & Mary exploded for 48 points and Tribe running back Derek Fitzgerald rambled for 219 yards, the most ever against a Bagnoli squad. The statistics were not always terrible, but the Penn defense lacked that dominating presence. The Quakers no longer controlled the line of scrimmage. Opposing quarterbacks had not made a habit of hobbling to the sidelines. Opposition turnovers had been few and far between this season, and the defense no longer battled the offense for the team lead in points scored. Saturday at the Yale Bowl, the 1995 defensive unit finally came together for the Quakers. It came together as 11 men and it came together for 60 minutes. Well, almost. The Quakers lost their shutout with 14 seconds left, but the 16-6 victory was already in the bag. Earlier in the fourth quarter, with more than four minutes remaining and Yale still within two scores, the defense made a goal-line stand reminiscent of those in years gone by. After a penalty gave Yale a first down at the Penn 2, the defense let the Elis nowhere near the end zone on four consecutive running plays. When Kena Heffernan was stopped for a 2-yard loss by Mike Soyster on fourth down, the Quakers knew they'd leave the Yale Bowl as victors. Penn coach Bagnoli Bagnoli knew his defense had matured enough as a unit to make the big plays with the game on the line, something nobody on the Penn sidelines had really seen all season. "We definitely came together as a unit," senior linebacker and ECAC Player of the Week Joey Allen said. "From the seniors on down, it was a total effort by everyone. Even for a soggy and stormy day when the Elis were without star quarterback Chris Hetherington, the Penn defense was dominating. The Elis and their three quarterbacks got only 12 first downs. They ran 36 times for 97 yards and racked up only 183 yards on 33 attempts over the airwaves. In fact, until midway through the fourth quarter, the Elis had only 45 yards on the ground. The Quakers made 11 tackles for a loss, racked up five sacks, intercepted one pass and recovered one fumble. They also stopped a fake punt and a two-point conversion attempt. Just like the days of yore, many stars shone brightly for the Penn defense. Strong safety Nick Morris led the way with 10 tackles, but five of his teammates had five or more. Four different Quakers sacked Yale's trio of signal callers. Bagnoli could be nothing but pleased. "We really played very well defensively," he said. "Especially in the third quarter. That was as good a quarter as we've played in a long time. The game plan was an accurate reflection of what Yale was trying to do and the kids did a nice job of digesting what we were telling them." The 1995 edition of the Penn defense will be able to prove that it, like its predecessors, is a collector's item when the first-place and undefeated Princeton Tigers invade Franklin Field for Saturday's Homecoming game.
(10/19/95 9:00am)
Last Sunday marked the first day of official practice for the men's basketball team. Even though there were a lot of new faces for coach Fran Dunphy and his staff, Dunphy is optimistic. "I'm pleased with the work ethic," Dunphy said. "Everyone came back in relatively good shape." Dunphy did confirm that expected started George Zaninovich was not present at the first several practices and is not expected to play at all this season. The reasons for Zaninovich's departure from the team are said to be personal and not related to basketball. Senior Ira Bowman will be moved to point guard, the position he played at Providence as a freshman. Senior Donald Moxley is the favorite to earn the starting nod at shooting guard, while senior Tim Krug will anchor an inexperienced frontcourt. The Quakers have just over a month to prepare for their season opener -- USC comes to the Palestra November 27. · Former Penn stars Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney are still alive and well in their respective NBA preseason camps. Allen signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the weekend. The Wolves also signed free agent point guard Terry Porter, a bad omen for Allen fans. He scored five points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor in last night's game against Portland. As for Maloney, he had a potential game-winning shot blocked at the buzzer Tuesday night when his Golden State squad fell to San Antonio. · The Palestra is nationally renowned as college basketball's most historic gymnasium. Unfortunately, its luster and greatness are getting pushed further and further into the past. Yesterday, the Palestra lost another of its cherished tenants when the Atlantic-10 signed a four-year deal to play its conference championships at the CoreStates Spectrum every March. This year, the 12-team league, which includes national powerhouse UMass in addition to local favorites Temple and La Salle, will play its championships at the Civic Center. Starting in 1997, the week-long tournament will move to Broad and Pattison. This will enable the conference to play all of the games at one sight, instead of playing early rounds at the Palestra and the finals at the favored team's home court as they have in the past. Although saddened by the A-10's decision, Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky was realistic about the conference's needs. "They felt the need to play the entire championships at one sight," Bilsky said last night. "Because they now have 12 teams, they feel they need a larger arena. "This further highlights the need for us to renovate the Palestra. We just don't offer the amenities for these schools to entertain high-profile corporate clients." Plans are currently under way to modernize the Palestra, possibly beginning as soon as this summer.
(10/09/95 9:00am)
NEW YORK -- After each of the first three games of 1995, Penn coach Al Bagnoli complained about his Quakers. They committed too many turnovers. They missed too many assignments. They were flagged for too many penalties. Too many times they failed to execute. As Penn jumped out to a 3-0 start, extending its nation-best winning streak to a Division I-AA-record 24 games, nobody listened to Bagnoli's griping. After eking out 20-12 win over Dartmouth in the season-opener, Bagnoli spoke of botched quarterback exchanges and an interception deep in Dartmouth territory. Following a 28-8 thrashing of Lafayette Bagnoli was nothing shy of verbose in criticizing his Quakers' five turnovers and eight penalties. Last week, it took a last-second field goal from Jeremiah Greathouse to overcome another goal-line interception, four fumbles and pathetic special teams play. Following the game, all Bagnoli could do was sigh -- presumably in relief. But any coach that leads his squad to two consecutive undefeated Ivy League titles knows what he's talking about -- and even what he's sighing about. Saturday at Baker Field, people figured out what Bagnoli was talking about when the Quakers continued their erroneous ways, and the Lions took advantage of each and every mistake to win a hard-fought 24-14 battle. Bagnoli hit it right on the head: "There were a lot of mistakes -- turnovers, a breakdown in the kicking game, penalties -- you keep making those and sooner or later you're not going to have enough firepower to overcome it. It wasn't just a singular thing. It wasn't just penalties. It wasn't just turnovers. It wasn't just big plays given up. It was a combination of a lot of things." The Quakers set the error-prone tone early in the ballgame. After stopping the Lions on a crucial fourth-down play deep in Penn territory, the Quakers marched the ball to a third and goal at Columbia's 2-yard line. Penn quarterback Mark DeRosa came out from under center and rolled nakedly to the weak side before firing to receiver Mark Fabish, who ran a slide pattern across the goal-line after going in motion. For the second time in as many weeks, DeRosa's pass was picked off at the goal-line -- this time by free safety Joe Cormier. "I didn't see the guy," DeRosa said. "I guess he just followed Mark [Fabish] all the way across the field. Mark appeared wide open when I came out. I waited a little too long and the guy made a helluva play." Columbia made plays all day, and the Quakers didn't. DeRosa added one more interception and also fumbled late in the game. Last week's hero, Greathouse, missed two relatively easy field goals. The first was a 37-yarder that would have given Penn a 10-7 lead in the middle of the first half. The second was a 42-yarder that would have tied the game at 17. Greathouse left it short. The special teams also gave up a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown to Roy Hanks. His scamper down the left sideline in the third quarter turned out to be the game-winner. Time after time, Penn drives stopped in their tracks because of careless false-start penalties. After running the ball effectively in the first half (23 carries for 120 yards) five penalties in the second half led to long down-and-distance situations, forcing the Quakers to throw far too frequently. Overpursuit by the defense led to long running plays by Columbia's option-quarterback, Mike Cavanaugh -- including a 34-yard touchdown run two plays after the Cormier interception that put Columbia up 7-0. Cavanaugh cut an option left back up the middle and went untouched through the middle of an overplayed Quakers defense. On the day, Cavanaugh exploited a defense that was missing starters Joey Allen and Chris Osentowski for over 100 rushing yards. He also completed 10 of 15 passes in the Lions controlled passing game. For 24 consecutive games, the Quakers had stepped up and make the big play. Not the entire team, but some Penn player, made the difference. Sometimes it was the offense. Frequently it was defense. Last week it was the special teams. Saturday at Baker Field it was none of the above. It was the Columbia Lions. All of them.
(10/05/95 9:00am)
Rory Wilfork grew up a long way from New York City. Hailing from the mean streets of Miami, he also grew up a long way from the Ivy League. But Wilfork was determined to make it to both places. The Columbia junior grew up very close to football, however. It was in his blood. Rory's late father, Roy Wilfork, was a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 and 1970 after playing college ball at Mississippi Valley State. But more than an NFL career, the younger Wilfork has always wanted to parlay his physical talents into an Ivy League education. When Columbia coach Ray Tellier recruited Miami Norland High School's best athlete back in 1991, Wilfork had the opportunity to do just that. "I was recruited by five schools and Columbia is the only one that was thinking about what I may do after football," Wilfork said. "I was not really thinking about playing professionally. I want to get involved in consulting and maybe do something entrepreneurial." More than his blazing speed, having a solid head on his shoulders made Wilfork extremely attractive to Tellier. "He had scholarship offers from Youngstown State and Jackson State," Tellier said. "He was just really sold on the idea of an Ivy League education. In that sense he was very unusual. There aren't a lot of kids in the Ivies who came out of his high school." A combination of hard work and natural talent has made Wilfork an extraordinary talent at the outside linebacker position. The hard work was instilled in him from his mother at a very young age. When Wilfork was only five, his parents separated. Often his mother worked two or three jobs to support the family. "She gave tireless effort every day. That's something I try to take with me on the football field every day," Wilfork said. Wilfork has shown that kind of effort not only on the field but in the weightroom as well. After showing up at only 185 pounds as a freshman, Wilfork bulked up to 215 last season. He'll walk onto Baker Field Saturday at nearly 230 pounds. "He managed to bulk up and really gain strength without losing any speed," Tellier said. "He's given himself tremendous shock power -- the ability to really hit people and stand them up. He's a very fluid athlete. He's always on balance." Last season, after leading the Ancient Eight in unassisted tackles with 78 as a mere sophomore, Wilfork was named first-team all-Ivy. He was a major factor in Columbia's first winning season since 1971. To shed some light on how spectacular a feat that is, current NFL players Keith Elias and Jay Fiedler did not make the first team as sophomores. Even last year's Bushnell Cup winner, Pat Goodwillie, did not make the cut. It's primarily athleticism that leads to all those tackles on the fringe of Columbia's defense. Tellier takes advantage of Wilfork's natural speed and strength by moving him all over the defense to stop plays head-up, chase runners down from the back side, and cover receivers out of the opponent's backfield. "He's as sure a tackler as there is," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "There's no question that he'll make his plays, but we just have to run our offense. We'll always be aware of where he is, though." Arguably the most dominant defensive player in the league last season, Wilfork is back 15 pounds heavier and just as fast. During the Lions 1-1-1 start in 1995, he already has 44 tackles, seven tackles for losses, two sacks and an interception. His teammates elected him captain for this season, the first time a Columbia squad has chosen a junior for that honor since 1926. "It means a lot that my teammates look to me as a leader," Wilfork said. "They expect good play from me. I just try to lead by example. They expect me to make plays and bring emotion." Wilfork is expecting to end the Quakers' 24-game losing streak Saturday. "You have to beat the team that's on top to get on top, Wilfork said. "We intend to do just that."
(09/25/95 9:00am)
Easton, Pa. -- In front of a parent's weekend crowd of nearly 8,000 at Fisher Stadium Saturday, Lafayette was planning on riding emotion to an upset of heavily-favored Penn, which entered Easton, Pa. with a 22-game winning streak -- the longest in the nation. The banged-up Leopards, who entered the game without starting tailback Jarrett Shine, knew the talent scale tipped acutely toward the defending Ivy League champion Quakers. Lafayette coach Bill Russo, whose squad had been walloped 27-7 at Franklin Field last season, was counting on his young Leopards getting turnovers and early scores to fire up the crowd. Midway through the first quarter, Russo got his turnover. After a line-drive Lafayette punt glanced off a Quaker blocking downfield, Lafayette's Rob McPheeters corralled it. The Leopards had a first down at the Penn 29, trailing by only a touchdown. After tailback Leonard Moore scampered for 17 yards and another first down, the Leopards had the second part of their equation -- emotion. Even after a one-yard plunge and an incomplete pass, the fans were still on their feet. Dana Lyons sat them down. Quickly. Penn's senior free safety followed split end Barrett Hammons across the middle and caught quarterback Shawn McHale's pass at the Penn 6 after it tipped off Hammons' outstretched fingers. When he looked up... "Grass. All I could see was grass," Lyons said. "I just saw the goal line about a mile away and I can't believe I made it." "It's the fastest I've ever seen the kid run," Penn coach Al Bagnoli quipped. "Any time you score a defensive touchdown it's a huge play. It's a momentum changer." For Bagnoli's defense, big plays are a way of life. And it's not just Lyons -- not even on this play. Like any defense, it starts up front. On this particular play, the notable was defensive end Tom McGarrity. He pressured McHale, planted him in fact, forcing the sophomore signal caller to throw early and behind his streaking end. A perfect throw would have been a touchdown. A 7-7 game. The smiling parents would be proud and hopeful. Still smiling, they now knew defeat was imminent. The defense was not done, though. Even after Lyons' record-setting interception return (the previous record was 93 yards set back in 1941) and another Penn touchdown made it 21-0, a Mark DeRosa fumble again breathed some life back into Fisher Field when the Leopards recovered at the Quakers 34. Winning is not the only issue for defensive coordinator Mike Toop's troops, though. For the Quakers, defense is a matter of pride. Winning is not enough. Only a shutout would be suitable. So, two plays after the fumble, Nick Morris made it his business to get the ball back, intercepting a McHale pass at the Penn 12. The fans sat down again. With just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Penn increased its lead to 28-0 on a Mark Fabish touchdown. Perhaps relaxing just a bit with the contest out of reach, Penn's defense allowed Lafayette to march the ball 58 yards to the Quakers' 1. From there, the Leopards would have four cracks to score their first offensive points in two years against the Quakers. Nope. The Quakers would not have it. Dana Lyons would not have it. He had run too far. "We just kind of looked at each other and said they're not getting in," Lyons said. "We have a lot of pride on defense and we have a lot of confidence. I think each and every one of us knew they weren't getting in." "If we score there, it is a different ballgame," Lafayette flanker Joe Luke said. "The emotion is better and people's heads stay up." As it was, the Leopards went into the locker room with their heads as buried as they were. In the second half, the Quakers thwarted another first-and-goal opportunity for Lafayette. Though, the Leopards' offense finally did score a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Penn's defense illustrated why a seemingly unfathomable 23-game winning streak is routine for the Quakers. The Penn defense makes big plays. Collectively. It makes big plays to stop drives. It makes big plays to score points. It makes big plays to change momentum. It makes big plays to take the crowd out of a game. It makes sure the Quakers win. On a day when the offense turned the ball over five times, the defense made sure losing was not an option. And it made sure everyone at Fisher Field knew it.
(09/25/95 9:00am)
Much-heralded basketball recruit Rob Hodgson has single-handedly proved that truth can be stranger than fiction. After months of indecision, the Indiana transfer and third all-time leading scorer in New York State high school basketball history, had seemingly chosen to play basketball at Penn this season. He arrived on campus Thursday evening with a bag full of clothing and signed in at the front desk of High Rise East to receive his room keys. Hodgson, who still has at least three and a half years of eligibility, had dinner with Bill Guthrie Thursday. Guthrie intends to rejoin the men's basketball team this year, after quitting last January. Hodgson spent the night being shown around campus by several teammates. Mysteriously, though, Hodgson interrupted a conversation with roommate and potential future teammate George Mboya at about 4 a.m. to use the telephone in the lobby of HRE. Mboya fell asleep while Hodgson was gone and awoke to find Hodgson and all of his belongings gone early the next morning. "This is unprecedented," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said last night. "I can't say where he is in his decision making process. I don't know why he left. He had a bag full of clothes with him, so I assume he had planned on staying." Since add period officially ended on PARIS Friday night, Dunphy is not sure that Hodgson could enroll in classes even if he wanted to this semester. Rutgers and potentially Fordham have also been mentioned as schools Hodgson is interested in. University Registrar Ronald Sanders, who was unaware of the Hodgson case specifically, said last night that permission could be granted to Hodgson to enroll unconventionally, but that the dean of Hodgeson's school -- which is reported to be Wharton -- would need a compelling reason to do so. "It's not something under normal conditions that I think they would allow," Sanders said. "[But] there are always allowances that can be made for just about every situation as long as there is a good reason for it." As of late last night, Hodgson was still undecided about his plans for the upcoming semester and beyond, according to his father, Bob, who is hoping the issue will be resolved as soon as possible. "Rob is very confused right now," the elder Hodgson said. "We had hoped to bring this to a close last week, and as of now, Rob still does not know where he's going. He has not ruled Penn out and he would still like to enroll somewhere [for the upcoming term]." Dunphy said Hodgson is still welcome to join the Quakers as far as he is concerned, but, "only if he wants to. He has to be sold on the fact that this is the best place for him. If things work out, he could definitely make up the work. He's a very bright kid." Just not a very decisive one.
(09/08/95 9:00am)
When Penn's front five line up for the first snap of the 1994 season, the Quaker defensive linemen may give up an average of three inches and 30 pounds to their offensive counterparts. The physical mismatches may often appear ominous, but looks can be deceiving. The defensive front, the anchor of coach Al Bagnoli's 5-2 defense, makes up for its lack of size with athleticism, quickness and intelligence. The Penn defensive scheme is well suited to the type of athlete the Quakers field. "The thing about the 5-2 is that it's very unpredictable," defensive ends coach Ray Priori said. "Size means little with our type of defense -- it lends more to strength and athleticism because we're not a sit and read team. We're an attack and read team." Penn is always moving and shifting its front, throwing different looks at its opponents, both in the middle and on the ends. One of the defensive ends will almost always drop into pass coverage, making the 5-2 resemble the more conventional 4-3 NFL set. The design of the 5-2 is to fully occupy the offensive front, freeing the two middle linebackers to swarm the ball and make plays. The basic defensive philosophy is to play tough against the run and force long second or third down situations. "When we can force teams into passing situations, it really suits our athletic abilities and our guys will consistently make plays," Priori said. The burden of forcing teams into these long yardage downs falls on the defensive line, whose responsibility is to clog the middle and stop the run. This unit yielded less than 100 yards per game on the ground last season. The result was an undefeated season and the Ancient Eight's top-ranked defense in scoring and yardage allowed. Like any championship defense, the 5-2 starts in the middle. This unit will be anchored by senior nose guard Chris Johnson, a second-team all-Ivy selection last season who had three sacks to his credit. Senior tackles Wayne Droesser and J.C. Lee join Johnson in the middle. Although neither started last season, both saw significant action due to the rotation Bagnoli employed. At least six down linemen will see significant playing time every game. This enables the Quakers to maintain their speed and strength throughout the game without getting warn down by larger and stronger opponents. Senior reserves Gabe Capodanno, Kevin Keating and Woody Paik also have logged many minutes. Although only two of five starters return on the line, there is a lot of experience. Again, things are not always as they seem. Another benefit of Bagnoli's defensive rotation is the opportunity to attack from a variety of lineups. Although Penn does not blitz often, the front five will move around frequently and do a lot of stunting. "It's all situational," Lee said. "During the week we see everything that could possibly come at us as far as blocking formations and line splits. Come Saturday it's just a question of reacting." Reading and reacting are two areas where the defensive line excels. "Pound for pound, top to bottom, this is the best front I've seen in my three years here," defensive line coach Jim Schaefer said. At defensive end, however, the Quakers are not as deep. Although second team all-Ivy senior Michael "Pup" Turner, who led Penn with 10 sacks last season, is returning on the right side, a major hole results from the departure of right end Dave Betten. Betten, who started for three seasons and was a first-team all-Ivy pick last year, was one of only two Quakers to win the Munger, Bednarik and Bagnell awards. Trying to fill Betten's shoes is junior Tom McGarrity. McGarrity, who won the Football Club Freshman Award in 1992, is perhaps the strongest person on the defensive squad. Although the Lafayette game will be his first start, McGarrity has the ability to make an enormous contribution. He tallied 36 tackles and five sacks last season. "McGarrity is a good football player, but Betten did a lot of things," Bagnoli said. "He was a 30-game player. It's hard to lose that kind of experience and make it up with younger kids. He only played half the time last year, so he's virtually a five-game starter replacing a 30-game starter. There's a big difference." "Tom's strength is playing the run and rushing the passer," Priori said. "Until he's gotten more quality reps, we won't drop him as much. But he's getting better dropping into coverage every day." If the tackles can clog up the middle, McGarrity and Turner will spend a lot of time reeking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. The defensive line was not huge last year, and it is not a lot bigger this season. Last year the unit dominated several games and keyed a defense that led the Ivies in almost every category. Looks might be deceiving, but the numbers don't lie.
(04/26/95 9:00am)
Throughout Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon's 25-year reign in the Quakers' dugout, Temple has always been a nemesis. Seddon remembers plenty of painful losses for his teams in games the Quakers felt they should have won. After Penn scored six runs in the bottom of the first to take a commanding lead yesterday at Bower Field, Seddon thought his troubles with the Owls might be coming to an end. In fact, they were only just beginning. The Quakers blew leads of 6-0 and 7-1 en route to the 12-8 loss. Penn even carried an 8-6 advantage into the top of the ninth inning, but that was not enough to hold off the charging Owls. "The most distressing thing is that we scored six runs in the first inning and then we just stopped playing," Seddon said. "I hate losing to them. We've just pissed away so many games." This one slipped out of the hands of the bullpen. Penn batted around in its half of the first inning to give Alex Hayden a 6-0 lead and knock Owls starter Doug Bossert out of the game. Hayden continued his recent success with five solid innings of work. When southpaw Mike Greenwood relieved Hayden in the top of the sixth, the Quakers lead stood at a comfortable 7-1. Hayden's success was keyed by his ability to mix pitches well and keep the ball down in the strike zone, something his successors were unable to do. Greenwood gave up two runs in the sixth on a pair of doubles and an RBI single by Owl Rich Swavely. Greenwood let the first two runners on in the top of the seventh as well before a successful sacrifice bunt moved the duo into scoring position sent Greenwood to the showers. At this critical juncture, with Owls leading hitter Tom Whalen coming to the plate, Seddon was forced to make a decision he would have preferred not to have to make. Because it was a mid-week game and several pitchers were being used as position players, there was a lack of depth in the bullpen. Seddon gambled by bringing closer Mike Martin into the game earlier than usual. The move backfired. Whalen laced a double to left, scoring two runs and bringing the Owls within 7-5. Even though Penn's submarine-baller retired Temple's next two batters, his troubles did not end. The teams traded single runs over the next inning and a half, setting the stage for a fateful ninth inning. After a seeing-eye single, Whalen singled through the left side and Rod Schenk laced a double off the base of the wall in left-center. Martin was showing signs of fatigue -- his pitches staying up in the strike zone, his fastball lacking its usual pop. With Temple down 8-7 and runners at second and third with nobody out, Swavely rolled one down the third-base line, sealing the Quakers' fate and continuing Seddon's frustration. It also signaled the end of Martin. "I pitched a terrible game," Martin said. "My job is to come in and close the game and I just didn't do it. They hit everything I got up in the strike zone. Whenever I made a mistake, they hurt me." "I didn't think Martin had it when he came in," Seddon said. "His balls weren't biting down. We just fell apart. The relief pitching was not good. It failed us." With A B Fischer replacing Martin, a comedy of bloopers, errors and more hits extended Temple's lead to 12-8, where it stayed for good. Yesterday afternoon had no bearing on the race for the Ivy League's Gehrig Division title, which Penn can clinch with a split in next weekend's four-game set against Columbia. But for Bob Seddon, it represents another frustrating chapter in the history of Penn-Temple baseball.
(04/25/95 9:00am)
When the Temple Owls fly over to Penn's Bower Field today for a 3:30 p.m. contest, they may represent the best 7-26 ballclub the Quakers have ever faced. Although Temple has struggled all year in the Atlantic 10, one of the region's toughest conferences, they are a very athletic team that has given the Quakers problems in the past. "We've always had lots of trouble with these guys for some reason," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "In the last 10 years, we've only beaten them a few times." The most recent encounter came two years ago in Florida, where Penn split two games with the Owls. Last year's scheduled contest was rained out. In addition to having troubles with Temple, the Quakers (19-17) have struggled of late in all mid-week contests. Before last Wednesday's victory over Division II West Chester, Penn had lost four straight contests to non-league opponents. "We look at mid-week games as a tuneup," first baseman Allen Fischer said. "Some guys are still sore from the weekend. Playing 36 innings in two days really takes a toll on your body." For good reason, Penn's focus rests solely on the Ivy League. The Quakers hold a two-game lead in the Gehrig Division going into this weekend's four games against second-place Columbia. During the mid-week contests, Seddon often rests a great majority of the starting lineup and uses an inexperienced battery. That tradition will continue today. Sophomore Alex Hayden takes the hill for Penn and one of the freshman catchers will play behind the plate. That means either David Corletto or Mark Nagata will get the starting nod. "This game has no bearing on us, really," Seddon said. "We're just going to try and get everyone rested for this weekend's games ,which are the most important of the season. We're a tired group right now. Alex has thrown really well of late and we're looking for that to continue. He did a great job in relief for us Saturday against Princeton." In that brief stint in the second game of the weekend, Hayden got out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out. He got the first batter on a come-backer, struck out the next, and retired the final batter to get the Quakers out of the inning. One particularly tired Quaker is Mike Shannon. In between pitching a gem every weekend against Ivy opponents and playing first base, Shannon has lit up opposing pitchers and is currently on pace to break several single-season Penn records. Shannon is two hits shy of Glenn Partridge's mark of 59, set in 1976. The slugger is also just four RBIs away from Tom Olszak's 1979 tally of 48. "I try not to think about it," Shannon said of his record chases. "I'll be DH-ing [today] and just trying to stay focused. I try to work on the little things to stay sharp, like going the other way and executing in certain situations."
