Key season opener for football

Having started practice over a month ago, members of the Yale football team have tired of hitting each other and are eager to inflict the same punishment on their opponents. Saturday's game against Cornell will be the first of the year for both teams, and it seems the match will be a test of unknown elements. While the Bulldogs start several new players on both sides of the ball, Cornell plays its first game under the direction of a new coaching staff.

Despite the lack of game experience, Head Coach Jack Siedlecki and his players are optimistic about the team's prospects for a second championship in three years. "We are relatively inexperienced, but I feel we have many players in the program that have waited their turn, put in tremendous hard work, and are ready to take advantage of their opportunity to play," Siedlecki said. "We return our starting quarterback, Peter Lee, [TD '02] and that is a great place for any offense to start. We also return the quarterback of our defense, safety Ryan LoProto, [SM '02] who should get us into the right coverages and checks."

COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY Yale hopes to use a season-opening win against Cornell as catapult to another championship slate in 2001.

Lee agreed, citing lack of experience but also unprecedented team speed, especially at wide receiver and on defense.

"There are some guys who will be just as good (as last year's starters). They don't have as much game experience but they have played against those guys in practice. We'll have more speed than we've had in the past. Receivers Billy Brown [CC '02] and Keith Reams [MC '02] have been waiting to get their shot," said Lee.. "At other schools, they may have been three-year starters but here they had to wait their turn. The backups, Ron Benigno [SM '04] and P.J. Collins [BR '04] give us added speed. On defense, team speed will be better than it has been."

"We have great team speed in our front seven," defensive tackle and Team Captain Tim Penna, BK '02, said. "Our linebackers and linemen are quick enough to both stop the run and defend against the pass."

The Bulldog defense, best in the Ivy League last year, will be relied upon to carry the load until the greener members of the offense get comfortable. Along with LoProto and Penna, free safety Barton Simmons, MC '04, and linebacker Jeff White, SY '02, should anchor a highly talented unit.

"Tim [Penna] is our leader on defense," Lee said. "Ryan LoProto [SM 'o2] has played the most out of any of those guys and he and Barton Simmons [MC '04] are great at safety. They are the best safety combination in the league."

Leading the way on offense will be Lee, returning after a record-setting year in 2000, as well as an experienced trio of offensive lineman. All-League guard Ben Sproul, BR '02, center David Farrell, MC '03, and right guard Kyle Metzler, JE '02, are strong up the middle and should help the two new tackles to learn the offense. The middle three should provide Lee with plenty of time to complete passes and break new records in the coming season.

"I think offensively, we'll be more balanced than before," Penna said. "We return Peter Lee. We have four receivers that can really be go-to guys. And those three middle guys are like the rock of the offense."

The coaching staff also hopes to involve tight end Jeff Ditman, TD '02, more fully in the offense. While last year the bulk of Lee's passes went to current 49ers tight end Eric Johnson, JE '01, Ditman and the deep receiving corps should benefit from far more opportunities in 2001. Backup offensive lineman Adam Fee, BK '03, stressed the benefits of an offensive attack that extends beyond passing to Johnson and handing the ball to Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01.

"We'll take what the defense gives us," Fee said. "If they bring a lot of people up, we'll pass. If they play back, we'll run around them all day with either Pat [Bydume, MC '04], or Jay [Schulze, SM '03]. We can do both pretty well."

On special teams, Justin Davis, PC '02, will be the place kicker as well as the kickoff specialist, and Nate Lawrie, DC '04, will punt. However, the team's biggest question mark is at punt returner. Todd Tomich, TC '01, who returned punts for all four of his years at Yale, graduated last year, and no player has asserted himself as the dominant return man. After a good deal of competition, Collins will probably fill that spot.

Yale was originally scheduled to open its season against Towson on Sat., Sept. 16. The game was cancelled out of respect for those who died in last week's terrorist attacks, and will not be made up this season but Yale and Towson administrators hope to organize a meeting in the near future. Nonetheless, the extra week off gives the Bulldogs the opportunity to open its season at the Yale Bowl against an Ivy rival.

Regardless of who steps on the field Saturday, the issue at the top of everyone's mind is the outcome of the all-important first game of the season. Winning the season opener is always a momentum builder for the rest of the season, but when that opener is against a league opponent, the game carries even greater weight. With the incredible parity that always marks Ivy League football, no team can afford to slip up at home, especially this early in the season. In any case, history is on the side of the Elis. The last time Yale opened against an Ivy opponent was 1999, the year in which the Bulldogs claimed their most recent Ivy League title.

"Both teams are in the same situation, and when Saturday ends, we are either tied for first in the league or tied for last in the league," Siedlecki said. "It is extremely important to be 1-0 in Ivy football. A home Ivy opener presents a great opportunity for our football team, and I expect us to be ready."

"Starting against Cornell definitely ups the stakes even more," Lee added. "There's no easing into it. This will be a huge game for us."

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