Harvard receiver Edwards looks to elude Penn, again

Harvard wide receiver Brian Edwards hurt Penn once. But that was before it counted.

Now, the recruit that got away will try to lead the Crimson (6-2, 3-2 Ivy) over the visiting Penn football team (8-0, 5-0).

"It got down to us and Harvard right at the end," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said of the recruiting battle over Edwards. "We thought we had a good shot at him, and then right at the end we kind of lost him.

"He was a very talented kid -- good speed, very elusive, caught the ball over the middle, competitive kid [and he] returned kicks. We were disappointed when we lost him."

And with good reason. Edwards has proven to be a legitimate No. 1 receiver.

He's averaging 17.3 yards per catch on 39 grabs. More impressive yet are his seven touchdowns.

"He's a speed kid -- a legit 4.5" second 40-yard dash, Penn defensive back Bryan Arguello said. "He's been their go-to guy this year.

"From what we've seen on film, he's a good kid -- he runs good routes. He's a fast kid and he catches the ball well."

Edwards' situation is much like the one Dan Castles has assumed for the Quakers. Both of them came into the season having to replace NFL-caliber receivers.

In 2002, Carl Morris caught 90 balls for 1,288 yards last year for the Crimson, while Rob Milanese notched 85 receptions for 1,112 yards for the Quakers.

"Someone has to step up and assume that position, but it's really not fair to try to compare how [Edwards] does with how Morris does, or how in our case, Castles does to Milanese," Bagnoli said. "I think he's done a nice job.

"If you look at his yardage per game, it's quite good. He doesn't have the volume of catches Morris had, but the catches he's making are [resulting in] big plays."

The Quakers and Crimson met last year in the penultimate game of the season. With the Ivy League title at stake, the Red and Blue held Morris to 16 yards on three catches en route to a 44-9 win.

They look to do the same to Edwards.

One factor in Penn's favor is the absence of Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who broke his throwing hand against Cornell .

Backup Garrett Schires has assumed the signal-calling duties with little success. A team that started 6-0 -- primed to challenge the Quakers for the Ancient Eight crown -- has since stumbled against Dartmouth and Columbia in consecutive games.

In those contests, Schires has failed to effectively get Edwards the ball. The wideout has just six catches for 59 yards in two weeks.

But that doesn't mean he can't break out. The Quakers have given up huge receiving games of late.

Last weekend, Princeton wideout Blair Morrison caught nine balls for 121 yards. The previous week, Brown's Lonnie Hill shredded the Penn secondary for 168 yards on 12 grabs.

But the Quakers won both games, and that's all that matters.

"During the course of a game, if we feel one guy is dominating, we will change it accordingly," Arguello said. "But we don't really focus a game plan around one guy.

"We go into each week with a certain game plan, and obviously the main goal is to get a 'W.'"

A 'W' Saturday will spell repeat for the defending Ancient Eight champions. Though the Quakers already have a share of the title, they want it outright.

Harvard "still needs to win these two games, and we still need to win," Arguello said. "We want to end this right. We started off 8-0.

"For the graduating seniors, we want to put them on top. We want to do it the right way -- that means going through Harvard."

Brian Edwards School: Harvard Year: Junior Height: 6'0" Weight: 180 pounds Position: Wide receiver

Currently averaging 17.3 yards per catch this season on 39 receptions Led team with 16.9 yards per catch during Harvard's 2002 campaign

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