Finn funbles frequently in Football's folly

Penn's rushing game was ineffective in the team's loss to Richmond. In what may prove to be the toughest test of the season for the Penn football team, the Quakers' home opener at Franklin Field on Saturday against Richmond was replete with disappointment. Even the final score of 34-18 does not accurately portray the extent of Richmond's embarrassment of Penn, as Richmond led 34-5 with 10 minutes to play in the game. As a result of poor execution of the game plan, the Quakers (1-1, 1-0 Ivy League) were befuddled by turnovers, costly penalties, poor blocking, missed tackles and even missed extra points. Two of the four turnovers by Penn resulted in Spiders (2-2) touchdowns. In order to compete with a very physical Richmond team, Penn coach Al Bagnoli planned to utilize a more balanced offensive strategy, calling more passing plays than a week ago to complement Jim Finn and the ground attack. Last week at Dartmouth, senior Penn tailback Finn carried the ball 41 times for 151 yards. This week, there was little to complement Finn and the running game about. The Richmond defense rendered the 1997 First Team All-Ivy running back ineffective, limiting him to only 33 yards on 15 carries. Finn was also in the middle of the turnover explosion, coughing up the ball three times. "Stopping Jim Finn, so that it wasn't like they could move down the field methodically, was just a major accomplishment for our defense," Richmond coach Jim Reid said. "It was something that we had to have if we were going to win the game." "In our offense, Jim Finn has to play well and has to be able to run the football effectively, and obviously, he could not run in an effective way," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. The Quakers' offensive inadequacies were apparent on the first drive of what proved to be an atrocious first quarter for Penn. After picking up a first down, Finn committed the first of his three fumbles and gave Richmond the ball on the Penn 25. Just as they did a week ago, the Penn defense made a big play to regain possession. Only two plays after getting the ball, Richmond quarterback Jimmie Miles made what would be his only mistake of the day, when he delivered his first pass into the waiting arms of Penn safety Bruce Rossignol. After a 55-yard punt by Ryan Lazzeri on Penn's possession following Rossignol's interception, Richmond proved it would have little trouble running the ball against the Quakers. Miles took his team 63 yards, 44 of them by himself on an option run that left Quakers defenders on their bellies. He would end up with 90 yards on 13 carries for the afternoon. "Jimmy Miles is a creator," Reid said. "He goes back and looks at his first choice. When it's there, he delivers the ball. When it's not there, if there is a protection breakdown, then he creates. Today, you saw him make some really big plays that we expected but didn't design." With regained enthusiasm after a Spiders turnover deep in Penn territory, Rader connected with junior receiver Doug O'Neill for a 54-yard reception, burning freshman Richmond cornerback David Giles. Giles would find redemption on the very next play, when Rader (22-for-41, 255 yards passing), looking again for O'Neill down the right side, was picked off by Giles. "That interception didn't really hurt my confidence, but I thought it hurt our team," Rader said. "We had a little momentum going. We just had a miscommunication and a busted route. The coach was calling for one thing and I called another thing on the field." This time, the Spiders converted on the turnover -- the fourth in the first quarter for the two teams combined. Miles, who only threw for 79 yards on the day, hit a wide-open Matt Snider in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown. Midway through the second quarter, Miles and senior Richmond tailback Jasper Pendergrass led the Spiders on a short march from the 24 yard line to the Quakers' end zone set up by just one of many long punt returns by Spiders return-man Winston October. On the day, October returned six punts for 89 yards. "I didn't really make anyone miss," October said. "I'm just the guy that runs the ball. You have to give credit to the coaches for designing the returns and the other 10 guys that are on the field blocking." Despite poor play, Penn was only down 14-0 at the half. However, it wasn't Penn that came out and started the second half like their pants were on fire. On the kickoff, the Spiders' sophomore kick-returner, TyRonne Turner, caught the ball, dropped it, picked it up off the turf and blew through the entire Penn coverage team for a 93-yard touchdown return to put Richmond up 21-0. "It wasn't the way we planned it," Bagnoli said. "I think when he dropped it, it actually hurt us more than anything because we ran right by the ball. So it was the combination of kick, coverage and a pretty exciting kid." Turner, the backup tailback, amassed 110 rushing yards, 100 of them coming in the second half, including a 15-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Quakers were only able to put points on the board when the game was no longer in doubt. On an impressive drive midway through the third quarter, Rader and O'Neill hooked up again for a big passing play, converted on a fourth down, but ultimately settled for a Jason Feinberg 41-yard field goal to narrow the score to 21-3. Rader's passing game did come to life down the stretch, but it proved to be too little, too late. With 5:30 remaining in the game, Rader threw a bomb to junior receiver Brandon Carson for a 63-yard touchdown, and threw a second touchdown to sophomore Jason Battung, this one for 11 yards with 1:43 left in the game. "We obviously have to play much better and, going in, we knew we would have to play pretty close to a perfect game," Bagnoli said.

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