Sprint Football duels alumni

Former and current Penn sprint football players got together for the good of the program on Sunday in the annual Alumni Game. The game, which was held on the B-field next to Rhodes Field, serves two distinct purposes for the sprint program. First, it gave the current team an opportunity to see live action in preparation for the home opener, which takes place this Friday against Cornell. More importantly, the annual event gives the current coaches and players a chance to thank the alumni for their generous support in financing the sprint program. Currently, the program has approximately $450,000 in endowment funding, with the ultimate goal being $1 million. At halftime of Sunday's game, Penn head coach Bill Wagner unveiled a plan to endow every playing position with individual $25,000 endowments. So far, eight positions have been fully endowed. Wagner hopes that all 22 positions will be endowed by this time next year. "The bloodline of this program is its alumni," Wagner told the crowd of current and former players assembled for the game. According to Wagner, bronze plaques commemorating the endowments will eventually be placed in the locker room for every future team to see. As a tribute to his service to the program, the quarterback position was endowed in the name of Wagner by an anonymous donor. The format of Sunday's contest was slightly different than a typical game, as the game was split into two halves of 45 minutes of running time each. The first half ended in a scoreless tie, as neither team was able to put together much of a sustained drive. The alumni defensive unit held their own, forcing a fumble and sacking senior quarterback John Kernan twice in the half. "The first half was sloppy by our 2000 team," Wagner said. In the second half, the varsity offense finally got on track and put points on the board on their second possession of the half. Sophomore tailback Mark Gannon capped off an 11-play, 60-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The varsity squad added a field goal late in the second half to increase their margin to 10-0. The alumni offense entertained the crowd with some creative plays, including a reverse, a halfback toss-and-pass and a successful fake punt. However, they were clearly outmatched, having only 18 players versus the full roster of the varsity squad. One of the former players showing his support was Mark Menkowitz, currently a medical student at Temple. Menkowitz, who played for Penn from 1994 through 1997, has played in every alumni game since graduating. "We play out of loyalty to the program and to Wags. We owe it to coach and to the program," Menkowitz said. If the alumni defense appeared to be fatigued in the second half, it was probably because the limited roster forced many players to play both offense and defense. Regardless of the outcome on the field, everyone came out on the winning side. With the backing of a generous alumni base, sprint football at Penn should be around for years to come.

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