Garton knee-braced for action

Everything’s back to normal for Keiffer Garton.

Well, almost everything.

The junior quarterback has been back under center for the Quakers in practice this week, though a brace remains on his sprained left knee as a constant reminder of the three consecutive games he’s missed.

That streak will apparently end Saturday in Boston, when coach Al Bagnoli expects Garton to see time at quarterback along with recent starter Kyle Olson.

“Kyle will take the majority of the snaps and we’ll play it by ear, see what happens,” Bagnoli said. “We fully intend to get Keiffer in the game.”

Though Garton has been featured in the team’s “slash” formation at times this season, Bagnoli insisted that he will take snaps exclusively at his traditional quarterback spot against Harvard’s third-ranked scoring defense.

Garton said yesterday that he had not been informed of what role he will play in the de facto Ivy championship game, only that he should “be ready.”

As far as concerns about any lingering effects of the injury go, Garton shot those down.

“[The knee] feels really good,” he said. “I’ve been able to do everything running around … I haven’t had any real pain or anything.”

After strong play down the stretch last season, Garton entered 2009 as Penn’s starting quarterback. But if a bittersweet feeling comes from limping on the sideline as your team nears a title, the Castle Rock, Colo., native wasn’t showing any signs of it yesterday.

“I wouldn’t say bittersweet; it’s real sweet how it’s going down,” Garton said. “More than anything you want the team to win, you want to be part of a championship.”

Turning the tables. After the Quakers’ Halloween victory over Brown — in which the Penn defense allowed no points for the second straight week despite four Olson interceptions — senior linebacker Jake Lewko did some reflecting.

The veteran recalled a Sept. 22, 2007 loss to Villanova that featured seven interceptions thrown by Penn quarterbacks. His feelings after that game were much different from his feelings last week.

“[Two years ago] it was like, ‘another pick, really?’ It was actually pulling me down,” Lewko said. “It was almost turning the offense and defense against each other.

“Now the defense, honestly, across the board we love it,” he continued. “We love getting put in a situation on our own 20, where we have to come out [and] be the iron defense again.”

The numbers back up his point. Though the offense has thrown the second most interceptions in the Ivies (12), the Quakers’ League-best defense is also at the top of the League in red zone stops, allowing opponents to score on just 58 percent of their chances.

So what led to the change in attitude?

“You have to realize that [letting turnovers affect you is] not helping you,” Lewko said. “Maybe [it’s] just a maturity thing with our defense coming together.”

Though the defense may thrive in pressure situations, one statistic still must have brought a smile to Lewko’s face after Saturday’s Homecoming romp against Princeton: zero offensive turnovers.

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