Football in tie for Ivy lead, vying for possession

By Benjamin Case

EWAN NACDOUGALL/YH Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01 (34), has led the Eli's ground attack as they drive towards a potential Ivy title.

The payback is now complete.

After finishing 1-9 overall and going winless in the Ivy League a mere two years ago, Yale football finished exorcising the demons of that nightmare season with a hard-fought 23-19 victory over Penn. The Bulldogs were looking to get revenge by defeating every Ivy team at least once since that winless season, a mission that was completed with the Penn victory.

"We've gotten our paybacks on everyone now," defensive end Peter Sarantos, MC '00, said. "This victory was the last of `Siedlecki goals' to accomplish this year—it was our last payback.

"When Siedlecki came in, we were 1-9," he continued. "We lost to everybody in the Ivy League. Everybody got their licks in on us. And since then, we've beaten every team. It's something [Siedlecki] pointed out, and especially for us seniors, it made this victory a little sweeter."

To extend their winning streak to six games—and to move them one step closer toward their ultimate goal of winning an Ivy League championship—Yale (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) put together a smart, patient team effort against Penn. After falling behind, 19-16, on a Penn field goal with 8:41 left to play in the game, quarterback Joe Walland, TD '00, led the squad down the field, capping the drive with back-to-back 18- and 29-yard scrambles to put the Bulldogs into the end zone. Cornerback Todd Tomich, TC '01, then came up with a pair of big defensive plays in the fourth quarter, forcing a momentum-changing fumble early in the quarter and picking off a Quaker pass with 3:25 remaining during a determined Penn drive to secure the Eli victory.

"It was a tough game," Walland said. "It was a see-saw battle. Both teams had leads at different points in the game. Our defense stepped up and made some big plays, causing turnovers—Todd Tomich's interception was crucial. Penn's offense was driving, and that stopped their drive late in the game. And then our offense controlled the ball, and we scored a late touchdown to win."

"This was a huge victory for us," fullback Jim Keppel, SY '02, said. "It was a big victory for the program— a payback, like coach said. Our defense played really well and stepped it up big at key points in the second half. And on offense, in the fourth quarter, it |was Joe Walland just leading us down the field, making huge play after huge play."

Walland finished 24 for 38 on the day for 290 yards in the air and added 57 yards on the ground. Keppel proved to be his go-to receiver, posting 160 yards on nine catches. Sarantos had two sacks and led a ferocious defense that held the normally high-scoring Quakers to 19 points.

Yale now turns its attention to another critical matchup against a team tied for first place in the Ivy League: Cornell (5-2, 3-1 Ivy). The Bulldogs will trek to Ithaca to take on the Big Red on Sat., Nov. 6. Cornell is just one of three teams Yale is tied with; Brown and Harvard are also 3-1 in the league. This weekend should prove to be a decisive point in the championship race, as Brown and Harvard will also do battle to remain atop the standings.

"I think our team is doing really well," Walland said. "We're tied for first place, and we're definitely doing our part to stay on top. The Ivy League race is really interesting this year—there are four teams tied for first with only three weeks left. It's going to be a real battle. We're just going to see who wants it the most these last three weeks to see who is going to be crowned champion at the end of the year."

"It is a tight race," Sarantos said. "Of course I'm biased, but I think we're a very good team and we have a very good chance of beating the next three teams. We have Cornell this week and that's what we're concentrating on, but I think we're going to beat Cornell, and then we're going to go out and beat Princeton and beat Harvard. We have great team chemistry this year. We're that kind of team. I think we're a championship-caliber team."

And if the Elis can win their last three games, they can have the sweetest revenge possible after the humiliation of two years ago—the Ivy League championship.

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