A dual threat ‘Dream Team’

As defensive lineman Jared Sholly ran back his first career interception on Saturday against Yale, senior linebacker Jake Lewko was right there to block for him.

But after the celebrations, while the rest of the defense ran off the field, Lewko stayed to perform his other duty: long snapping, which he does for extra points, field goals, and punts.

In fact, the Quakers’ field goal unit is altogether strange with Lewko, a linebacker, snapping to senior wide receiver Kyle Derham who holds for junior kicker Andrew Samson. But the unit — self-dubbed “The Dream Team” — has grown into one of the League’s most reliable. Lewko’s errant snap on Samson’s only extra point attempt Saturday was the unit’s first botched PAT try in their two years together.

“They’re consistent,” Samson said. “I feel so comfortable with them now, I know that the ball is going to be there every single time and it’s not something I need to worry about.”

While Lewko and Derham— two of Penn’s tri-captains — are both playing out of position, they took very different paths to get there.

Lewko began his pee wee football career in kindergarten, playing center and thus taking over in long snapping situations. As his position evolved to linebacker, he stuck with long-snapping and volunteered to take the job his freshman year.

“They actually had no idea I long snapped,” he said. “I got here and I’m like, ‘I can do it Coach.’ And I stepped up and gave it a few shots and I guess they took a liking.”

His first game at the position was the 2007 triple-overtime thriller against Yale. Ted Rosenbaum went down with an injury, and Lewko was called on to snap the ball for the overtime extra points. He says that he was scared, but performed well.

Two years later, Lewko has thrived, earning not only his kicker’s trust but also interest from NFL scouts. A few have come to games, looking to see if he can play multiple roles.

“It’s the whole package: long snapping, the fact that I’m a linebacker, I can go down and make tackles and hopefully I’ll get to play on special teams as well,” the 6-foot-1, 240-pound player said. “To have more players that can play multiple positions is ideal for [NFL teams].”

Derham, on the other hand, had little experience as a holder upon entering Penn. He was sitting around at practice one day when quarterbacks coach Larry Woods called on him to get some experience at holder. Derham says he never expected anything to come from the practice, but when Samson surprisingly won the starting kicker job before the 2008 season he selected the wideout as his holder. The senior can’t think of a good reason why he was chosen, but does his best to have a strong bond with the kicker.

“Kickers are so superstitious that they have one good practice with you and they say ‘this is my guy so I’m gonna go with him from now on,’” Derham said. “I’m always on Samson’s hip, always there for him if he needs anything. We have a nice little relationship.”

Coach Al Bagnoli has seen plenty of holders in his career at Penn, and knows that the position does not need to go to a quarterback. Rather, Derham’s good hands and calmness under pressure make him ideal for the role. Those skills, combined with Lewko’s proficiency, Samson’s strong leg and the unit’s chemistry give Bagnoli a strong faith in his kicking unit.

“Andrew has a tremendous amount of confidence in Jake’s snapping, has a tremendous amount of confidence in Kyle’s holding,” Bagnoli said. “And when you put those together, it gives you a better chance to make [a kick] and get some points.”

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