Even without Ortman, Penn runs over sprint football in 29-0 drubbing

The sprint football team had been waiting for the chance to play a Penn squad without Tim Ortman. When the Tigers got that chance Friday night in their home opener, the outcome was not what anyone on the team had been hoping for.

Behind an extremely effective offensive line that cleared the way for a still-dominant running game, Penn amassed 485 yards of total offense while shutting out Princeton, 29-0. Even without Ortman — the Quaker's dominant runner who graduated last year — the explosive running of the Quakers' Mark Gannon set up the passing attack led by quarterback John Kernan and created havoc in the Tiger defense.

"We had some mismatches," freshman cornerback Ned Bartlet said. "Because they were able to run the ball, it made it tough for our linebackers to cover their receivers."

The Princeton defense especially had trouble with the play-action passes that the Quakers ran repeatedly. Because the defensive line was largely ineffective against the run, the Tigers were forced to put more players in the 'box' — the area around the line of scrimmage.

Desperate to stop the run, the Princeton defense was fooled time and again by Penn's use of the play-action.

Unfortunately for Princeton, the Quakers also continued the solid defensive play they had shown against Cornell. While not recording a sack, Penn forced two key turnovers and held the Tigers to only 219 yards of total offense.

While Princeton clearly struggled for most of the night, there were a few bright spots on both sides of the ball.

Sophomore running back Christian Gomez, who took over the starting job from injured junior Ryan Goudge, rumbled for 100 yards on 15 carries. Also, the Tigers did not give up a sack to a defense that had recorded seven against Cornell.

"Our offensive line played well," head coach Keith Wadsworth said.

While the line did its job setting up Gomez on the run, senior quarterback Geoff Gasperini was forced out of the pocket on several pass plays by an aggressive Penn defensive line. Gasperini completed only six of his 19 pass attempts for 61 yards with one interception.

Gasperini was largely unable to get the ball to a receiving corps that had been one of the strengths of the Princeton offense last week. The Tigers' leading receiver in the game, senior tight end Mike Piazza, had only four catches for 46 yards.

Senior wide receiver Ki Moon, last week's Collegiate Sprint Football League Offensive Player of the Week, was not a factor in the game.

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Penn methodically moved the ball downfield in its first drive, using an end-around to set up the first of two Kernan touchdown passes.

The ensuing Princeton possession saw the Tigers' best chance to score in the game. A balanced offensive attack, led by Gomez on the ground, marched down the field. The opportunity was squandered, however, as the offense failed on four straight downs to put the ball in the Quaker end zone.

Penn took over on downs after the goal-line stand and drove 99 yards for another touchdown. Sacks on consecutive plays by the Princeton defense stopped the Quakers from scoring again before halftime.

The Tigers strung together several successful plays in their drive to open the second half, but a Gomez fumble not only stalled the drive, but also essentially stopped any momentum Princeton could have developed.

The loss came as a surprise to some on the team, who had expected the Tigers to be more resilient this season.