Rosenstein | Seniors the class act of 2009 champs

One factor above all others contributed to Penn football’s 2009 Ivy League title.

This year’s senior class set the standard of excellence on and off the field that one would expect from the most veteran players on the team, but which has been missing in recent years.

The previous two senior classes were the only ones in Al Bagnoli’s tenure that graduated without championship rings. The Class of 2010 set itself apart from the last two classes that failed to win titles in their Penn careers.

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Bagnoli was careful not to throw the last two classes under the bus — and rightfully so, as the failure to win a championship doesn’t fall squarely on their shoulders — but he acknowledged after Saturday’s win over Cornell that this year’s seniors rival just about any other of his classes.

“It certainly ranks up there with some of the best efforts I’ve ever been involved with,” he said. “We’ve kind of taken it for granted here that these things are given that you win championships, but it’s not that easy. … It takes a special group of kids, it takes a special effort, it takes a special commitment, a special work ethic.

“I think this group has exemplified all the things that we are trying to work for.”

And as Bagnoli rattled off the different places where the seniors have left their mark ­— in practice, the locker room and the weight room to name a few ­— team tri-captains Kyle Derham, Jake Lewko and Chris Wynn each glanced at each other and nodded subtly in approval.

When Bagnoli mentioned weightlifting, Lewko proudly patted his chest to take credit, and when the coach suggested locker room leadership, Lewko tipped his head at Derham.

“[Winning championships] starts with the captains and the seniors and everybody kind of follows them,” Bagnoli said. “If you get them, your best players, to put their best foot forward, generally everything else falls in line.”

Wynn, who talks frequently about the impact of living in the same house with seven classmates, added that this year’s seniors have bonded more so than the last three.

“I think our senior class is definitely the tightest since I’ve been here,” he said. “I think definitely over the last four years we’ve grown to be like brothers. Our tightness has definitely helped us get to where we are right now.”

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Leadership and intangibles aside, when it comes to on-field contributions the seniors will be very hard to replace next season. When the intensity rose and the stakes were at their highest, the seniors came up with the biggest plays.

Kyle Olson stepped into the starting role amid the injuries to Keiffer Garton, embraced the role and battled through injuries of his own. He racked up a career-high in passing yards against Brown, the toughest game of the Ivy season at that point, and led the way with two touchdowns in the title-clinching win over Harvard.

Lewko recorded a career-high 15 tackles against Harvard, Joe Goniprow had a career-high seven of his own, and receiver Marcus Lawrence had the biggest play of the season — and the biggest of both his and Olson’s careers — with a 51-yard touchdown catch on the opening drive.

Yet Bagnoli expressed confidence that he can replace the productivity of his 15 seniors, noting the rather small size of the class that contributed so much, and that among the top Ivy teams, “we’re far and away the youngest.”

“But,” he qualified, “we still need to do all the intangible things that this group did.”

Noah Rosenstein is a junior political science major from Hollywood, Fla., and is Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is rosenstein@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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