College Football: Quakers Open Ivy League Play on Saturday at Dartmouth
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Penn Quakers find themselves at 0-2 so far in the young season. After a season-opening loss to Lafayette, the Quakers gave it all they had last week but fell short against Villanova, losing 30-21.
"I can't fault our kids in terms of how hard they played and how much emotion was displayed (against Villanova), and the tenacity," Quakers coach Al Bagnoli says. "Again, we are still making a too few many mistakes, and against a team of that calibre it doesn't take much. Unfortunately for our kids, we made one or two mistakes that eventually cost us the game."
Two of those mistakes were interceptions that the Wildcats returned for touchdowns, including one in the final seconds that sealed the win and made the final score of this nailbiter a bit misleading.
So now it's on to Ivy League play, the Quakers opening things up on Saturday in Hanover, NH, taking on a 1-1 Dartmouth team.
"They are very experienced -- I think they have been pointing to this year for a long time," says Bagnoli. "They probably have 25 seniors. It reminds me a lot of our team last year. They've got some key kids returning, with the tailback (Nick Schwieger), with the wide receiver (Tim McManus). And I think they do a pretty good job in all three facets, because they also do very well in the kicking game with Shawn Abuhoff, who is a terrific returner."
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Penn has won 12 of the last 13 games in this series; last year in overtime at Franklin Field, Penn captured a 35-28 decision.
Saturday's contest will also represent a bit of history. With a 6:00pm kickoff, this will be the first night game in the 89-year history of Dartmouth's Memorial Stadium.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
