Defenders pace Penn to victory at Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y. -- An old football adage states that teams win games with their defense.

The Penn defense did just that against Cornell on Saturday, turning in its most dominating performance of the season with contributions from both old and new members.

This season, Penn's defense has contained opposing offenses long enough for Penn to launch a scoring drive in the final quarter to seal the victory.

However, the Penn defense flat out won the game this time.

The Quakers shut out the Big Red for 48 minutes and set up three of Penn's five scoring opportunities.

The defense scored Penn's first points on Cornell's opening drive. Safety Casey Edgar deflected Cornell quarterback D.J. Busch's pass into the hands of defensive end Bobby Fallon, who ran it back for a touchdown.

The Quakers' first offensive score came thanks to a big defensive play. In the second quarter, Cornell quarterback Ryan Kuhn fumbled a snap that Penn senior Kevin Junge recovered. This gave the offense a short enough field to launch a touchdown drive.

The Penn defense also stopped Cornell drives in good enough field position to give Penn field-goal chances.

The first such Cornell drive came in the second quarter. On third down, Kuhn completed a short pass to receiver Brian Romney, who was hit hard by defensive back Scotty Williams. Both Kuhn and Romney hobbled off the field for the fourth-down play, which ended in a three-yard loss. This gave Penn the ball and set up a field-goal attempt.

Penn's next field-goal opportunity came in the third quarter. On a Cornell punt return, Romney fumbled and safety Brad Martinez recovered it, putting Penn in Cornell territory.

Penn's defense helped its offense move while preventing Cornell from moving at all -- the Quakers had a season-high 14 tackles for a loss, five of which were sacks, a season-high for Penn in Ivy League play.

Four of these tackles for a loss were courtesy of Penn senior defensive tackles Greg Jones and Michael Sangobowale. While the linebackers and defensive backs usually get credit for the flashy plays and the high tackle counts, these two tackles have been the anchors of the Penn defense all season, relentlessly pressuring opponents' front lines and causing mistakes in their execution.

Though this senior-laden starting defense bids farewell to both defensive tackles, both defensive ends, three safeties, one linebacker and one cornerback, the Quakers' underclassmen put on a great display Saturday and showed Penn fans they will still have quite a talented squad next season. Its future lies in juniors Michael Johns and Martinez, and sophomores Kory Gedin, Edgar and Williams.

Johns, a cornerback who has started all season, saved the game in the fourth quarter. Cornell was poised to score its third touchdown and take the lead when Johns intercepted an errant Busch pass to end the Big Red's comeback attempt.

Gedin has added a much-needed spark to a linebacking corps that lost two players to injury before the season began. In his first season after spending his freshman year at North Carolina, he is second on the Quakers in tackles with 61, 11 of which came on Saturday.

But of all the defenders, Edgar and Williams stole the show on Saturday with their barrage of bone-rattling tackles. The two defensive backs combined for nine tackles, four for a loss.

Edgar came up big for the Quakers. After causing Fallon's touchdown, he made two huge tackles, one time tackling a tailback behind the line and another time falling down and still managing to pull the quarterback's legs out from under him.

Williams was the biggest surprise for the Red and Blue. Playing a more active role in the defensive scheme than usual, he had two sacks and multiple tackles that made the crowd gasp. His biggest hit came on punt returner Brian Romney in the first quarter.

"He hasn't been a gunner all year, but he went out there today and did a tremendous job," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.

Even though Saturday's win did not affect the standings, the Penn defense had a lot to be proud of.

"They've been great under duress and come up big time and time again," Bagnoli said. "We have put a lot of stress on those backups this year and they've done a terrific job."

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