Football: Elis look to bruise and batter Quakers

Philadelphia may be the City of Brotherly Love, but don't expect to see too much fraternal affection when Yale invades Franklin Field to face the Pennsylvania Quakers (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) on Sat., Oct. 31. The Bulldogs enter the game in an unfamiliar position: atop the Ivy League. Admittedly, the Elis (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) are tied for first with three other teams (Harvard, Princeton and Pennsylvania), but for the first time since 1992, Yale enters the last four games of the season with a legitimate chance to win the Ivy crown. "We now control our own destiny," head coach Jack Siedlecki said. "If we win four more games, we win the title."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

Joe Walland, TD '00, helped take care of the Lions last weekend at the Yale Bowl.

Yale earned its share of the Ivy lead with a 37-14 drubbing of Columbia on Sat., Oct. 24 at the Yale Bowl. Led by tailback Rashad Bartholomew, SY '01 (17 rushes for 192 yards), Yale amassed 342 yards on the ground against a Lion defense that had ranked third in the nation against the run (64 yards per game).

The Bulldog defense will need a strong performance this Saturday if it is to contain Penn running back Jim Finn '99. In last week's 58-51 loss at Brown, the New Jersey native rushed for 259 yards and a school-record six touchdowns. Though the Quakers boast a top-rated quarterback in Duke transfer Matt Rader '99, they are a primarily a rush-oriented team. "We have to get them out of their running game early," nose guard Andy Tuzzolino, TD '00, said. "There's no way they can stop us if they have to pass."

Linebacker Scott Benton, MC '99, anticipates an inspired effort by the surprising Bulldogs. "Knowing we're in contention [for the title] has lit a fire under us," he said. "I don't believe the teams we have yet to play respect us." Tuzzolino also cites this lack of respect as motivation. "Everyone thinks they're going to beat us just because we're Yale," he said. "But we're going to go out there and prove something."

A victory this weekend would make Yale a veritable frontrunner for the Ivy title, while leaving the Quakers and their Ivy championship hopes, in the words of Bruce Springsteen, "bruised and battered...on the streets of Philadelphia."

--Matthew Goldenberg

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