The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page D06

D6 www.philly.com THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Sunday, October 31, 2004 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Streak intact as Penn eludes upset by Brown Penn 20, Brown 16 By Ron Reid INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Through the first 57 minutes of yesterday's troublesome matchup with Brown, Penn hardly looked like a football team capable of surviving early mistakes, disabling the talent of its opposition, or making two first downs back-to-back. But when they trailed by a field goal with three minutes left and took over the ball 88 yards away from the Bears' end zone the Quakers responded with the most implausible offensive drive of their season. It ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Sam Mathews, for a 20-16 comeback victory that extended the Quakers' Ivy League winning streak to 19 games and kept them on track toward their third straight league championship. To make it all the more compelling, junior quarterback Pat McDermott, for whom most of the game was a nightmare, was the man who ignited the frustrated Penn offense. Earlier in the game, McDermott not only threw three interceptions one more than he had suffered in the six games preceding this one but also lost a fumble.

Those turnovers turned into 31- and 35-yard field goals for Brown's freshman kicker, Steve Morgan. He also booted a 40-yarder in the first quarter. But at crunch time, McDermott was the stuff of Ivy League legend. Working the two-minute offense with cool efficiency, he completed 6 of 7 passes for 82 yards as the Franklin Field crowd of 12,314 roared its approval, louder with each catch. McDermott also darted out of the pocket on a 9-yard bolt that set up Mathews' scoring run, which came with 50 seconds left to play.

Mathews also scored on a 2-yard run in the down pass in the second quarter. The catch gave Castles, the all-Ivy senior wide receiver, a share of the Penn all-time touchdown receptions record (26) with Miles Macik. The Quakers' defense gave up 176 rushing yards to Nick Harti-gan, Brown's junior tailback, who looks bigger and hits harder than his listed weight of 220 pounds would suggest, but it also prevented Brown from possibly putting the game out of reach in the third quarter. With a little more than three minutes left, Brown had driven to the Quakers' 2-yard line, chiefly on the sledgehammer carries of Hartigan, who has a talent for making tacklers miss. But Bobby Fallon, Penn's 230-pound senior defensive end, refused to get out of Hartigan's way in those last 2 yards.

Fallon forced Hartigan to fumble and recovered the ball at the 1. "It hurts to have the ball at the 1-yard line and not take it in," Brown coach Phil Estes said. "I guess it comes down to making the plays when you have the opportunity." In the days preceding the game, Penn coach Al Bagnoli had warned his players that Brown was a dangerous, talented opponent. It took the Bears only their first possession to corroborate that belief and demonstrate, on a 69-yard opening drive, that they could outperform the Quakers in moving the ball through the air and on the ground. Brown needed a little more than 212 minutes to finish that first possession with a touchdown.

It came on a 30-yard pass from Anthony Vita, the Bears' sophomore quarterback, who lofted a tight spiral into the hands of Jarrett Schreck, a 5-foot-9 receiver who plays the game tall. Vita went out of the game HHUli Kf rL jH 1 JERRY LODRIGUSS Inquirer Staff Photographer Penn receiver Dan Castles (18) reaches for the football against Brown's James Gasparella, who was called for pass interference. The penalty put the Quakers at the Bears' 2 and set up the winning TD. cepted McDermott twice. "They just made some plays.

We didn't play our assignments to the fullest. We didn't make the plays when we had to." "I'm just glad that our defense kept us in the game long enough to make a drive," said McDermott, who teamed with Dan Castles for a 9-yard touch Navy tops Delaware, stays hot at home Brown Penn 10 3 3 0 6 7 0 7 16 20 First quarter Brown-Schreck 30 pass from Vita (Morgan kick), 12:23. Penn-Mathews 2 run (kick failed), 9:57. Brown-FG Morgan 40, 6:39. Second quarter Penn-Castles 9 pass from McDermott (Zoch kick), 5:55.

Brown-FG Morgan 31, 3:17. Third quarter Brown-FG Morgan 35, 12:59. Fourth quarter Penn-Mathews 2 run (Zoch kick), :50. 12,314. Brown Penn First downs 20 23 Rushes-yards 51-199 30-75 Passing 178 341 Comp-att-int 16-33-1 24-49-3 Return yards 76 43 Punts-avg Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-1 Penalties-yards 6-56 4-20 Time of possession 36:19 23:41 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Brown, Hartigan 39-176, DiGiacomo 2-10, Oyalowo 3-9, Vita 5-2, Schreck 1 -2, Balestracci 1 -0.

Penn, McDermott 11-36, Mathews 1 5-32, K. Ambrogi 3-7, Team 1-0. Passing: Brown, Vita 11-25-0-140, DiGiacomo 5-8-1-38. Penn, McDermott 24-48-3-341, Marabella 0-1-0-0. Receiving: Brown, Schreck 5-88, Raymond 4-35, Turner 2-20, Blackledge 2-17, Balestracci 2-12, Brennan 1-6.

Penn, Castles 9-110, Marabella 4-87, Carre 4-57, Mizell 2-34, Patel 1-15, Mathews 1-13, DeSmedt 1-12, Makovsky 1 -8, McDonald 1 -5. with what appeared to be a broken arm early in the fourth quarter. Joe DiGiacomo, a sophomore who played at Central Bucks West, replaced him. "I give Brown a lot of credit," Bagnoli said. "They got their kids to really play hard.

We just had enough resolve at the end to squeeze one out. We were very fortunate." Not when it came to kicking field goals, however. Quakers sophomore Peter Stine missed badly from 36 yards early in the second quarter the 10th field goal to go awry in 15 attempts by three kickers this season. Evan Nolan also missed an extra-point try and was replaced by Derek Zoch, a freshman. Contact staff writer Ron Reid at 21 5-854-4469 or rreidphillynews.com.

Villanova wide receiver Noble Champen straight-arms Rhode Island's Larry Brantley. The Wildcats outplayed the Rams throughout the game, picking up six of 10 Rhode Island fumbles and piling up 483 offensive yards to the Rams' 236. While the victory kept its playoff hopes alive, Villanova still needs to post wins at William and Mary and Delaware. zone from 14 yards out. The Rams missed the extra point.

Villanova owned the rest of the half and the game. Burroughs helped the Wildcats to a 7-6 edge with a 4-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first quarter. Villanova averted disaster after Burroughs was picked off by Rhode Island nose tackle Chad Waltrip, who fumbled during his interception return when Wildcats tailback Terry Butler knocked the ball loose. The ball was recovered by Villanova's Alex Suder at the Rhode Island 20-yard line. On the Rams' ensuing possession, Wildcats defensive tackle Darrell Adams picked up a fumble by Davis at the Rhode Island 15 and lumbered to pay dirt untouched as Villanova increased its lead to 14-6.

A outstanding catch in the back of the end zone by Wildcats receiver John Dieser gave Villanova a 39-yard score and a 21-6 lead. And Rhode Island watched the visitors tack on six more points when Wildcats center Christian Gladdis scored after picking up a Butler fumble at the Rams' 3-yard line. "We had a little luck in the first half, and when those kinds of things happen, you're having a great day," Talley said. Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 21 5-854-2583 or ktatumphillynews.com. opening quarter.

"We were going with stuff we were doing all game," said Brown's James Gasparella, the junior cornerback who inter quan Lee in the first quarter. David Boler tied a Delaware record and set a Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium record with 16 catches, gaining 153 yards. Navy led, 14-10, at halftime, but drove 99 yards in 12 plays to take a 21-10 lead with six minutes, 28 seconds left in the third period. Navy 34, Delaware 20 Delaware 7 3 0 10 20 Navy 7 7 13 7 34 First quarter Navy-Polanco 22 run (Blumenfeld kick), 7:37 Del-Lee 5 pass from Riccio (Shushman kick) 1:10 Second quarter Del-Shushman 35 Navy-Roberts 6 pass from Polanco (Blumenfeld kick), 2:06 Third quarter Navy-Polanco 1 run (Blumenfeld kick), 6:28 Navy-Polanco 7 run (kick wide), 2:08 Fourth quarter Del-Shushman 23 FG, 10:20 Navy-Eckel 4 run (Blumenfeld kick), 4:52 Del-Haugabrook 65 punt return (Shushman kick), 0:46 34,416. ASSOCIATED PRESS ANNAPOLIS, Md.

Aaron Polanco ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth as Navy beat Delaware, 34-20, yesterday. The victory kept the Midshipmen (7-1) undefeated at 5-0 at home this season. Navy has won seven straight at home. Its last home loss was Nov. 1, to Delaware.

The Blue Hens (6-2) went into the game ranked No. 3 in Division I-AA, but had a six-game winning streak snapped by Navy. Polanco, the nation's top rushing quarterback, scored on runs of 22, 1 and 7 yards for the third three-touchdown game of his career. He gained 64 yards on 15 carries and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Eric Roberts. Kyle Eckel gained a season-high 143 yards on 23 carries, rushing for 100 yards or more for the 11th time in his career and the third time this season.

Eckel, an Episcopal Academy graduate, scored Navy's final touchdown on a 4-yard run, and his career-best 44-yard run set up another score. Navy gained a season-high 346 yards rushing and had 441 yards of total offense. Delaware quarterback Sonny Riccio completed 30 of 50 passes for 255 yards. He threw a touchdown pass for the eighth straight game, a 5-yarder to Ni- VICTORIA AROCHO Associated Press Villanova roars past Rhode Island Del Navy First downs 18 22 Rushes-yards 18-59 60-346 Passing 255 95 Comp-Att-Int 30-50-0 08-11-0 Return Yards 147 84 Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1 Penalties-Yards 2-15 2-15 Time of Possession 28:34 31:26 Villanova 48, Rhode Island 9 Villanova 14 13 21 0-48 Rhode Island 6 0 0 3 -9 First quarter URI-Poole 14 run (kick failed), 8:25.

Vil-Burroughs4 run (James kick), 4:54. Vil-Adams 1 5 fumble recovery (James kick), 3:41 Second quarter Vil-Dieser 39 pass from Burroughs (James kick), 6:17. Vil-Gaddis3 run (kick failed), 4:43. Third quarter Vil-Butler12run (James kick), 13:10. Vil-Outlaw3 pass from Burroughs (James kick), 5:28.

Vil-Gibson 10 run (James kick), 1:52. URI-FG Gallagher 18, 0:1 2. 2,236. INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Delaware Cuff 5-37, Lee 9-31 Riccio 4-(-9). Navy Eckel 23-143, Roberts 8-64, Polanco 15-64, Tomlinson 1-32, Divis 4-19, Hall 3-15, Hines 2-6, Owens 2-6, Campbell 1 -(-1), Team 1 -(-2).

Passing: Delaware Riccio 50-30-255-0, Navy -Polanco 11 -8-95-0 Receiving: Delaware Boler 16-153, Bleymaier 5-34, Long 2-29, LaForgia 2-24. Lee 2-1 2, Cuff 1 -2, Selk 1 -1 Madigan 1 -0. Navy Tomlinson 4-41 Wesley 2-22, Jenkins 1-26, Roberts 1-6. Vil URI First downs 24 21 Rushes-yards 52-259 62-165 Passing 224 71 Comp-Att-Int 14-22-1 6-10-0 Return Yards 22 5 Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost 2-1 10-6 Penalties-Yards 8-113 6-49 Time of Possession 31:18 28:42 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Villanova, Gibson 13-102, Butler 13-72, By Kevin Tatum INQUIRER STAFF WRITER KINGSTON, R.I.

Villano-va's pursuit of a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs was extended another week yesterday on a wet and chilly afternoon at the University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium. With light rain coming down all game long, the Wildcats fell on six of the Rams' 10 fumbles and were hardly challenged on their way to a 48-9 Atlantic Ten victory before a crowd of 2,236. "Obviously, the weather conditions hurt them more than they hurt us," Villanova coach Andy Talley said. "Our offense did a great job when we got all the turnovers." Villanova (6-3, 3-3 A-10) entered the game ranked No. 23 in Division I-AA, trying to keep its hopes alive for returning to the playoffs after missing out last year.

Two years ago, the Wildcats qualified with three league losses, and they must win at William and Mary next week and at Delaware to end the regular season on Nov. 20 to put themselves in position to duplicate that achievement. Victories over Penn and Lehigh, both of which came into this week having won every one of their outings except those against Villanova, are key to the Wildcats' chances of landing a playoff berth. "We knew the last three games of the season would be difficult," Talley said. "We sort of approached this game as maybe almost a playoff game.

Loser goes home when it comes to the playoffs. "We felt like it was a game we had to come and play, and to be able to win going away I think is a big confidence builder for us. We want to be a deserving team to get into the playoffs, and to be a deserving team, we're going to have to get by" William and Mary and Delaware. Yesterday, the Wildcats forced three first-half fumbles and held a 27-6 advantage at intermission against a Rams squad that was putting together its worst performance of the season. Rhode Island (4-4, 2-3) lost starting quarterback Jayson Davis to an ankle injury at the end of the first quarter, and the Rams could get very little done behind backup D.J.

Porter. Meanwhile, Villanova quarterback Marvin Burroughs went 13 for 21 for 210 yards with a pair of scoring passes. In his previous four games, the sophomore had completed 99 of 150 pass attempts for 1,224 yards and 12 touchdowns against three interceptions. Villanova tailback Martin Gibson enjoyed his fifth career 100-yard rushing day. He gained 102 yards on 13 carries.

Rhode Island, which was coming off a 27-24 victory over visiting Massachusetts, entered the contest second in the nation in rushing at 317.9 yards per Jones 8-55, Burroughs 6-16, Outlaw 2-15, Hughey 1- 5, Casamento 2-3, DiGiacomo 1 -(minus 2), Dicken 5- (minus 9), Gaddis 0-3, Team 1 -(minus 1). Rhode Island, Porter 25-51, Taylor 13-30, Ham 6-27, West 2- 24, Jones 4-20, Westley 2-0, Poole 6-9, Davis 4-(minus5). Passing: Villanova, Burroughs 13-21-1-210, Casamento 1-1-0-14. Rhode Island, Porter 6-9-0-71, Davis 0-1 -0-0. Receiving: Villanova, Dieser 4-92, Outlaw 3-45, Wright 3-31 Polite 1 -30, Sherry 1 -1 4, Waltman 1 -7, DiGiacomo 1-5.

Rhode Island, Jones 2-27, Poole 2-20, Carter 1-1 3, Hill 1-11. game. Villanova was eighth in the country in run defense, allowing 89.8 yards per game. That battle was won by the Wildcats, who limited the Rams to 107 yards on the ground in the first half and 165 for the game. Aided by two pass-interference calls, Rhode Island took a 6- 0 lead on its first possession of the game when running back Calvin Poole reached the end GAIL BURTON Associated Press Delaware's David Boler is tackled by Navy's Jeremy McGown in the first quarter in Annapolis, Md.

Boler tied Delaware and stadium records with 1 6 catches for 1 53 yards yesterday..