IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Whoever said it was lonely at the top obviously did not take a look at the Ivy League football standings.

At just past the midpoint of the 1998 Ancient Eight season, Princeton, Penn and Harvard are deadlocked with 3-1 league records, in a three-way tie for first place in the Ivies. And with both Brown and Yale each just one game behind the three-headed monster in first at 2-2, the race for the top spot is an interesting one.

Last Saturday saw many important Ivy battles with championship implications.

In New York, Princeton rebounded from its heartbreaking one-point loss to Harvard the previous week by dominating Columbia 20-0, improving its record to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the Ivies.

With the victory, the Tigers recorded its third shutout on the season--a first at the school since 1965--as Princeton out-gained the lowly Lions (2-5, 1-3) in yardage, 397-105.

The Tigers received standout performances from junior linebacker Kevin Wright (12 tackles, forced fumble), sophomore cornerback Avery Moseley (13 tackles) and senior defensive end Tony McGill (seven tackles, one sack, two fumble recoveries).

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Penn (5-2, 3-1) broke out to an early 21-0 lead en route to defeating Yale (3-4, 2-2) by a final of 34-20. The Quakers came back strong from a tough 58-51 loss at the hands of Brown last week to tame the pesky Bulldogs.

It was another stellar day for the Penn offense--which is second in points scored in the Ivy--as it jumped all over the Yale defense. Senior running back Jim Finn carried the ball 27 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Juniors Matt Rader, quarterback, and Brandon Carson, wide receiver, also combined for big days. Rader was 18-of-26 passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and Carson caught six passes for 116 yards with one score.

The Bulldogs made a valiant comeback attempt in the third quarter behind junior quarterback Joe Walland's 179-yard, one-touchdown passing performance, but came up short against the tough Penn defense.

In Ithaca, Brown (4-3, 2-2) manhandled Cornell, defeating the Big Red by a final of 20-7. The Bears racked up 225 total yards on the ground, led by junior running back Kevin Coyne's 41-carry, 171-yard performance.

Brown--owner of the league's top scoring offense--moved the ball effectively through the air as well. Junior quarterback James Perry hit on 19-of-34 pass attempts for 260 yards and three touchdowns for the day. And senior wideout Sean Morey--who entered the game ranked first in the nation in receptions per game with 9.33--finished the contest with six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

On the other side of the ball the Brown defense was dominating. The Bears limited the Big Red (4-3, 1-3) to just seven yards rushing and only 88 yards total, sacking the quarterback eight times on the day.

And rounding out the Ivy action on Saturday, Harvard (4-3, 3-1) defeated Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3) in Hanover, 20-7, the Crimson's fourth consecutive victory.

Harvard recorded a season-high six sacks and allowed just 225 total yards, with only 50 coming on the ground. Junior Chris Nowinski and captain Brendan Bibro both had big days for Harvard. Nowinski, a defensive end, recorded four sacks and six tackles, and defensive tackles Bibro garnered a sack and six tackles of his own.

The Crimson was equally effective on offense, riding strong performances by junior running back Chris Menick and junior quarterback Rich Linden. Menick had 31 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon, while Linden completed 13-of-24 passes for 181 yards while rushing for 37 more.

After Saturday's results, the Ivy championship picture became a bit less clear. Although Harvard, Princeton and Penn share the lead, both Yale and surging Brown are breathing down their necks only one game back. This week's games promise to be crucial ones in the race for the Ancient Eight crown.

In the biggest battle of the weekend, Penn travels to Princeton to take on the Tigers in a battle of first place teams.

This match-up promises to be a good one as Princeton sends the Ivy's top-ranked scoring defense up against Penn's second-ranked offense. Both units come into the game hitting on all cylinders, with the Tigers coming off a shutout victory, and the Quakers scoring 85 points combined in their last two ballgames.

The Ivy's other first-place team, Harvard, looks to continue its four-game win streak when it plays host to Brown Saturday. The Bears have won three straight of their own, however, including the victory against first-place Penn.

Brown, led by the explosive duo of Coyne and Perry, will send the Ivy's best offense against the Crimson, who will counter with the its own one-two punch of Menick and Linden.

For Brown the game is a must-win if it is to have any change of earning a share of the Ivy crown, while Harvard will look to keep pace with the winner of the Princeton-Penn game in its quest for a second consecutive league championship.

Yale will try to keep its hopes for a title alive Saturday when it goes up against Cornell in New Haven. The Elis, in the identical position of the Bears, will call upon Walland to try to take this crucial contest.

And rounding out the Ivy schedule is a battle of league doormats, Columbia and Cornell. The Lions and Big Green--who with Cornell are in a three-way tie for last in the Ancient Eight--will try to crawl out of the Ivy cellar with a win.

With the league slate full of high-stakes contests this weekend, the cloudy Ivy championship picture should clear up a bit this weekend. FOOTBALL IVY STANDINGS OVERALL  IVY Team  W  L  T  PCT  W  L  T  PCT Penn  5  2  0  .714  3  1  0  .750 Harvard  4  3  0  .571  3  1  0  .750 Princeton  4  3  0  .571  3  1  0  .750 Brown  4  3  0  .571  2  2  0  .500 Yale  3  4  0  .429  2  2  0  .500 Cornell  4  3  0  .571  1  3  0  .250 Columbia  2  5  0  .286  1  3  0  .250 Dartmouth  2  5  0  .286  1  3  0  .250