It's lonely at the top: Elis defend Ivy title

A new quarterback and seasoned defense promise another winning season.

When the Herald spoke to wide receiver/punter Eric Johnson, JE '01—1999 Second Team All-Ivy and recipient of The Catch that won The Game and a share of the Ivy League title for Yale last year—it was clear that he was brimming with confidence. "We have so many people coming back," Johnson said, referring to the team's 15 returning starters. "We all want to get out there and give it another go."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH P.J. Collins, BR '04

Despite its intensity, Johnson's excitement for the coming season, which starts on Sat., Sept. 16 vs. Dayton (2-0) at the Yale Bowl, was sometimes hard to hear over the din in his room. Fellow returning starters Than Merrill, JE '01 (First Team All-Ivy at safety) and captain Pete Mazza, JE '01 (Second Team at linebacker), along with new starting quarterback Peter Lee, TD '02, had gathered in Johnson's room to watch television, and during Johnson's interview, Merrill was repeatedly screaming "We're gonna win the championship, baby! We're gonna win the championship, baby!"

The Ivy League football coaches said the same thing in the offseason. Well, not quite: they picked Yale to be co-league champion with Cornell. Brown, last year's co-champion, is not eligible to win the league title because of recruiting violations. Whether that comes to pass may well be decided by the play of Merrill's fellow channel surfer Lee, who won the starting quarterback job last week according to offensive coordinator Keith Clark, over T.J. Hyland, TC '02, and Colin Ayres, SM '03. The quarterback position is the obvious question mark for this team, but Lee feels ready to step in and take the reins of a potent offense that scored 31.5 points per game last season—second in the league to co-champion Brown's 32.4—which remains mostly intact, with eight starters returning. Lee took snaps in every game last season except those against Penn and Harvard, and he expects to see continuity between last season and this one. "We have a great game plan: the same as last year's," Lee said. "I like it. I feel confident."

Changing of the guard

But last year's team had something that cannot be worked into this year's game plan: a legend. Quarterback Joe Walland, TD '00, had one of the greatest seasons in Yale history and capped it with one of the bravest Bulldog performances ever in the Harvard game on Sat., Nov. 20, 1999. It is a story that is already mythical: after spending the night at Yale-New Haven Hospital with a fever of 103 degrees and acute tonsillitis, Walland set school records for completions (42), attempts (67), and passing yards (437) in a game. The last completion of Walland's career was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but Johnson came up with it in a last-minute, game-winning, fingertip grab—The Catch, as it came to be called. Walland ended the season with 17 touchdown passes and only four interceptions and captured the Yale records for single-season (2,207) and career (4,832) passing yards.

While Walland is irreplaceable, Lee's pedigree suggests that in time he may be able to create his own legend. The junior spent his first two years of college at Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin before transferring in 1999. He loves the atmosphere at Yale. "It's totally different than Wisconsin," he said. "There, people play football like it's a job. Here, no one is getting a free ride because they can play football. That means they're playing because they want to play. That's the way it should be. We all love to play football."

Starters' swagger

Lee may be exuberant, but Clark still feels that, until Lee establishes himself, the Bulldogs will have to look to establish the run. Clark said that two-time All-Ivy running back Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01, is as fast as ever. He also pointed out that the offensive line, which was tabbed as inexperienced before last season, got the job done: Yale was second in the Ivies in rushing with 146.4 yards and tied for first in rushing TDs, with 18. Four of five offensive line starters return, and Clark says they are better, physically and mentally, than ever.

Clark hopes to establish the run against the eight- or nine-men fronts that he says are the norm in Ivy League football today, and then use the respect the defense will have to give Bartholomew to set up play-action plays. Then, Lee will have his pick of four of last year's top five receivers who are returning. In what should have Lee practically salivating, the starters will be Johnson and Tom McNamara, PC '01, who combined for 101 receptions and 1,232 receiving yards last year. "We have two great receivers returning," Lee said. "It makes my job easier." Clark said of Johnson, "EJ is one of those guys who finds a way to get open no matter what. Period."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Captain Peter Mazza, JE '01, tries to get around an offensive lineman in practice earlier this week.

On the other side of the ball, the defense has the swagger of a unit that believes no one will find a way to get open, no matter what, the swagger of a unit that led the league in scoring and total yardage defense last season. "We have an attitude. We're all about attitude," linebacker Bill Thompson, JE '02, who hurt his hamstring in the preseason, said. "On defense, we're going to keep the other team from scoring. We don't care what the offense does. We're going to be very physical."

The defense returns four All-Ivy players, but four starters from the defensive line and end graduated, taking 27.5 of last year's squad's 34 sacks with them. Their replacements are unproven, but Mazza pointed out that everyone is unproven at some point in their career. "I've been telling people, that when [Pete] Sarantos [PC '00] and [Jeff] Hockenbrock [MC '00] were sophomores and starting varsity, that they weren't hot stuff then, either. They were questionable," Mazza said.

The strength of the defense will be the backfield, which the Elis will rely on for big plays. Defensive ends coach Robert Neviaser said of his inexperienced corps, "It helps that every other part of the defense is experienced and very skilled." Merrill and cornerback Todd Tomich, TC '01, picked off a combined 10 passes last year and were named to the All-Ivy First Team. Merrill also led the team with 77 tackles.

The Dayton game on Saturday will be Yale's first game action of the season. The Bulldogs' usual preseason scrimmage against Union, scheduled for Sat., Sept. 2, was cancelled because of inclement weather. This may have the effect of making the Bulldogs hungrier than usual for their season opener. "We've been itching to play for nine months," Johnson said. "Football [season] is only 10 games. You practice and train so much and get to play so little that we're excited to get into a game and finally play. We're sick of lining up against each other." Mazza said that the Bulldogs will have to watch for "first-game jitters," but he pointed out that the team played on the field the night before the cancelled scrimmage to get ready.

The fact that the first game is against Dayton of the Pioneer Football League also works in Yale's favor—it is the first season opener in 25 years not against a league opponent. Still, Mazza said that no one is looking ahead past Dayton to the league opener, at Cornell on Sat., Sept. 23. When asked about the game against the Big Red, Mazza replied, "You're the first person I've heard mention the name Cornell. Does that answer your question?"

If the Bulldogs defeat the Flyers, they will reach an important milestone for Yale football: the 800th overall win, the most of any collegiate football program. Michigan, which plays on the same day at UCLA, is only one win behind Yale.

But the focus will be on this year's team, on whether they can win another league title, and on whether they can pick up that first win in what they hope will be an undefeated season. Lee's focus will be on his job. "I just got to play my game, do whatever I can to help us win," he said. Will he be nervous? No, he claims. When he lines up for his first snap as Yale's starting quarterback, he said only one thought will be in his head: "Confidence," he said. "I can do this."

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