Experienced Elis envision Ivy excellence

Last year, the Yale football team overcame low expectations and delighted fans all season long. In a season that began with a breathtaking, last-second touchdown pass to beat Brown and ended with a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Harvard, the Bulldogs broke 16 school records and finished second in the Ivy League after being picked to finish last in the preseason media poll. The question on the minds of Eli football fans now is, what can they do for an encore?

Last year's remarkably successful season, in which the Bulldogs compiled a 6-4 record (5-2 Ivy), has raised the expectations for this year.

Picked to finished third in the Ivy League in some polls and fifth by Street and Smith's magazine, the squad returns many of its top players and has its sights set on the Ivy League championship.

The team retains a nucleus of experienced veterans on both offense and defense, including 12 starters and many of last year's standouts. "I think we're very confident, and that goes with experience," head coach Jack Siedlecki explained. "This is definitely the most experienced team that I've coached since I've been here. A lot of juniors and seniors are leading this team and if you look at teams that win the Ivy League, they are always teams that are dominated by juniors and seniors. We've had an awful lot of freshmen and sophomores play the last few years, and now those kids are older, and the bonus is that they've got a lot of playing experience. They're ready."

The upperclassmen know this year may be their last chance to play for a championship. "We're really hungry from last season. We beat Harvard and Princeton, but we didn't gain the title," Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01, said. "We have to face one game at a time. Everyone says we can't do it this year, which makes us want it even more."

Defensive dominance

The Bulldogs' biggest strength is its aggressive, attack-oriented defense, which returns eight starters from a unit that helped lead the nation in turnover margin last year. The defensive line and secondary may already be the best in the Ivy League, and the implementation of new strategies could make them even better. The coaching staff plans to put eight men near the line in certain situations, instead of the usual seven.

"We've been very, very aggressive up front, with what we think is the strength of our team—those defensive tackles, defensive ends, and nose guard," Siedlecki said. "We're giving those kids a lot of freedom in the pass rush to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I don't think people are going to drive the ball against us. I think we're a strong enough team that if you're 60 yards away and it takes you 12 or 13 plays to score, you're not going to be able to do that against us very often. Because of that, our biggest emphasis in preseason has been just to not give up big plays defensively."

The defensive line is led by the three-man defensive end rotation of Peter Sarantos, MC '00, Jeff Hockenbrock, PC '00, and Eli Kelly, PC '00. A year ago, Sarantos led the team with ten sacks and earned second team All-Ivy honors. Nose tackle Andy Tuzzolino, TD '00, who led the team with 12 tackles for a loss, and Terrance Hobson, DC '01, anchor the middle of the line. Peter Maloney, PC '01, and Mike Reeves, SY '01, should also see time inside. The line should be stronger and smarter than they were last season. "A lot of us stayed around again this summer," Hobson said. "We worked out twice a day and then had meetings at night to run through defensive schemes."

Linebacker Peter Mazza, JE '01, who led the team in total tackles last year, is back to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. One of the best linebackers in the Ivy League, Mazza also contributed on special teams, catching a pass and rushing three times off of fake punts. However, Mazza is the only returning starter, and the competition among the rest of the linebacking corps has been fierce in preseason. Chris Eger, PC '01, who switched from defensive back to linebacker in the spring, is slated to start opposite Mazza, with Jeff White, DC '02, and Bill Thompson, JE '02, pushing Eger for playing time.

The secondary returns its top two interception leaders, cornerbacks Ben Blake, PC '00, and Todd Tomich, TC '01. Blake led the team in solo tackles last year and forced the fumble late in the fourth quarter that keyed the victory over Harvard last year. Tomich, the 1997 Ivy Rookie of the Year, should be in the running for All-Ivy status. In addition, Than Merrill, JE '01, who transferred from Stanford during preseason last year and started the last seven games for Yale, is a big hitter who should be a force at strong safety. Roy Adams, TC '00, and Josh Phillips, MC '01, will also contribute in the defensive backfield.

Offensive onslaught

The return of quarterback Joe Walland, TD '00 and tailback Bartholomew will make the Eli offense dangerous once again. Both Walland and Bartholomew had breakthrough seasons last year, and both showed their grit by playing on injured ankles at the end of the season. Walland's late-game heroics were the key to much of the Elis' success last year, including crucial fourth-quarter touch-down passes to come from behind to win against Brown, Princeton, and Harvard. He also shattered eight individual Yale records, including passing attempts, completions, and total offense.

The addition of the speedy Bartho-lomew, who transferred from Air Force before last season, gave the Elis a big-play threat and added a new dimension to the offense. Bartholomew, who runs a 4.49-second 40-yard dash, rushed for 941 yards, had four 100-yard games and racked up 192 yards against Columbia, a performance that ranks among the most impressive ever by a Yale running back. At fullback, three players, Konrad Sopielnikow, TD '01, Jim Keppel, SY '02, and David Sweeney, TC '02, are all competing to replace Derek Bentley SM '99, a dominant blocker and pass protector last year, in the starting lineup.

Captain Jake Fuller, BR '00, who had 26 catches for 411 yards and four scores last year, and Jake Borden, JE '00, who was second on the team with 33 catches, are the most experienced Bulldog wide receivers, but increased depth at this position should also help the offense improve. Jimmy Bennett, PC '00, Billy Brown, CC '02, Tom McNamara, PC, '01, and Keith Reams, MC '02, could all make significant contributions. In addition, utilityman Eric Johnson, JE '01, who had 24 catches last year, will see time at wide receiver and tight end and may assume the punting duties.

The offense's biggest question marks are at the line positions. The team graduated four of its five starters, including first-team All-Ivy tackle and pro prospect Marek Rubin, ES '99, and lost the fifth, Matt Bickford, JE '00, to a season-ending injury in preseason. The team will rely on younger players to step up and fill the void, and the Bulldogs' success this season could hinge on how quickly the offensive line comes together. Losing Bickford will hurt, but the team has enough young talent to protect Walland and create holes for Bartholomew.

On the bright side, Andy Elwell, BK '00, a 1998 projected starter who missed last season with an injury, and Matt Proto, BR '01, who started three games last season, will be "as good as anybody in the league," according to Siedlecki. The rest of the line is inexperienced, but talented. Center Steve Petrie, CC '01, tackle Kyle Metzler, JE '02, and guard Ben Sproul, BR '02, will be the other starters, although several freshmen may also get a chance to contribute. "No one had any confidence in them last year, so I wouldn't put too much stock in what anyone says about them this year, either," Hobson said.

Special teams will once again be special for the Bulldogs. First team All-Ivy kicker Mike Murawczyk, MC '01, set a Yale record by kicking 12 field goals last year, including the game-winner against Harvard. The versatile John-son punted 11 times in the Harvard game and should get the job this year, while Justin Davis, PC '01, whose booming kickoffs helped the team down the stretch, will share kickoff duties with Murawczyk.

The road to the title

The season begins with a critical matchup against Brown at the Yale Bowl on Sat, Sept. 18. Brown has been picked to finish in the top two in the Ivy League in every preseason poll, and after last year's dramatic conclusion, in which the Elis scored a touchdown on a 27-yard hail-Mary pass from Walland to Borden with six seconds remaining to win 30-28, the Bears will be looking for revenge on the Elis' home turf.

Since he took charge two years ago, Siedlecki has led an amazing turnaround by leading a team that finished 2-8 in 1996 and 1-9 in 1997 to a 6-4 record in 1998. Coming off a string of losing seasons before last year's success may turn out to be a positive for the Elis this season. Siedlecki pointed to the fact that many current upperclassmen have been playing since their freshmen seasons, gaining experience that will be valuable down the road.

"One of the things I said to the upperclassmen last spring is that this is a very different situation from our first two years here," he said. "The program has become more competitive and we have more veteran players. We don't need contributions from freshmen the way it was the first two years, when we just didn't have enough first-level players."

Morale is also significantly higher going into this season as compared to last. "We definitely have a shot at the title this year," Fuller said. "Last year, we were picked to finish eighth and we knew we were better than eighth, so it was a big motivation for us to prove the preseason polls wrong. [This year] Harvard was picked to finish ahead of us, but only time will tell."

"We feel good about ourselves," Siedlecki said. "I think we believe that we can be competitive." The Elis expect to follow last year's success by exceeding expectations for the second year in a row—and by winning their first Ivy League championship since 1989.

Photos of Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01 (34), and Jake Fuller, BR '00 (49), by Julia Tiernan.

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