Alone at last; Football takes Ivy League lead

The Quakers used an impressive fourth quarter drive to put the game out of reach. PRINCETON, N.J. -- While the Penn football team led 21-0 before most of the Princeton alumni had finished their hors d'ouvres, the game was still in doubt midway through the fourth quarter. That was when the Quakers offense took over and put the game out of reach. Penn led 24-14 with 8:46 left in the game when they took possession at their own 25-yard line. The offense grinded-out a 13-play, six minute 18 second drive that ended with a field goal and, more importantly, less than three minutes left on the clock. "We felt like we could like punch 'em in the fourth quarter because we're a pretty physical team and pretty well conditioned," said Penn quarterback Matt Rader. "It seemed like we took off like eight minutes, but I thought that was the key drive of the game, just taking all that time off and coming down and getting the points on the board." The drive was even more impressive because Penn had only managed one first down total in its last three drives. It looked like Princeton's defense had finally figured out how to stop running back Jim Finn and the rest of the Quakers. This drive started the same as the previous one, with a pass directed to Finn. But unlike the previous attempt, this one was complete and the 23-yard gain almost turned into a touchdown. After rushes by Finn and senior Jason McGee combined for another first down, Finn was stopped up the middle on first-and-10 for a gain of only a yard. Rader threw into traffic on the next play and came very close to an interception by Princeton freshman cornerback Brian Beem. That brought up a third-and-nine with more than five minutes to play and the Quakers not yet in field goal range. The Tigers blitzed, but Rader completed an 11-yard pass to Doug O'Neill for the first down. "It was thrown to Brian Beem's side, our youngest cornerback," Princeton free safety Ryan Demler said. "It's no surprise they went to the youngest guy. He had nice coverage, and I guess they put it in there low and away where it's almost impossible to cover with that position of the ball." That drive signaled the end was near for the Tigers, and Finn followed with four more runs for a total of 19 yards. But a false start penalty made it third down and eight from the 15-yard line, and the Quakers did not feel the need to go for a touchdown. A pitch to Finn was stopped at the line of scrimmage, and Jason Feinberg then kicked his second field goal of the day, a 32-yarder to make the score 27-14. But the drive was not about those three points. The Quakers had managed to suck the life out of the Tigers before they had a chance to mount a comeback. By the time Princeton's offense made it onto the field, they knew the game was over, and the Penn defense knew they needed only one stop. Five plays and only one first down later, the Tigers lost possession on downs, and the Quakers were only one win away from clinching a tie for the Ivy League championship. "What can you do; you just start thinking back like everything you could've done more, every little thing that maybe would've added one extra yard here or something," said Princeton receiver Phil Wendler. "It's just sickening. This is my third year here, and every year I've seen Princeton go down to Penn." While Finn was clearly a large part of the drive, Rader threw two key passes -- one to start the drive and one to keep it alive. This attack mirrored the entire season for the Quakers offense, as fans have become accustomed to Finn dragging defenders down the field with the help of some third down conversions in the air. The drive also indicated, once and for all, that the first five minutes were no fluke and that the Quakers were the better football team. "I don't know if it was psychological or if they just wanted it more. I mean they were bringing it down our throats," a nearly tearful Demler said. "I'm never going to say that they were stronger at that point, but I think we were just maybe a little too passive. We didn't want [to allow] a touchdown because that would've sealed the game. If we let a big play leak out, that's the game right there, so they were able to get like three yards at a time."

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