Junior linebacker and leading tackler Jordan Haynes, senior defensive end and team captain Tom McCarthy and senior safety Adam Money were named to the All-Ivy League first team.

Haynes, elected the captain of the 2011 Yale team, had 102 tackles, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries and 10 tackles for losses. McCarthy had 31 tackles, four sacks and forced three fumbles despite missing three games while Money had 37 tackles and three interceptions.

Yale junior quarterback Patrick Witt, whose 2,216 yards were the third highest single-season total in Yale history, junior running back Alex Thomas (710 rushing yards), senior tight end Chris Blohm (26 receptions) and sophomore receiver Chris Smith (team-best 46 catches) were second-team selections. Smith actually was a second-team pick both as a receiver and as a return specialist. Senior center Jake Koury, senior defensive end Sean Williams and junior cornerback Drew Baldwin were honorable mention selections.

Former Cheshire High star Billy Ragone was one of nine players to Ivy League champion Penn named to the first team. Ironically, the other first-team quarterback was fellow sophomore and Connecticut native Sean Brackett as the Columbia QB starred scholastically at Griswold High.

Princeton receiver Trey Peacock, Harvard defensive lineman Josue Ortiz, Harvard defensive back Collin Zych and Dartmouth return specialist Shawn Abuhoff were the only unanimous first-team selections while Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews was the unanimous selection as the league's rookie of the year.

The Yale players I thought would have garnered at least honorable mention honors not on the list are junior guard Gabe Fernandez and sophomore linebacker Will McHale.

Here's the complete list
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
Offense
OL -- Patrick Conroy, Brown
OL -- Jeff Adams, Columbia
OL -- Ryan O’Neill, Dartmouth
OL -- Joe D’Orazio, Penn
OL -- Luis Ruffolo, Penn
OL -- Greg Van Roten, Penn
QB -- Sean Brackett, Columbia
QB -- Billy Ragone, Penn
RB -- Nick Schwieger, Dartmouth
RB -- Gino Gordon, Harvard
FB -- Luke DeLuca, Penn
WR -- Alexander Tounkara, Brown
WR -- Tim McManus, Dartmouth
WR -- Trey Peacock, Princeton*
TE -- Andrew Kennedy, Columbia

Defense
DL -- Charles Bay, Dartmouth
DL -- Josue Ortiz, Harvard*
DL -- Brandon Copeland, Penn
DL -- Tom McCarthy, Yale
LB -- Alex Gross, Columbia
LB -- Erik Rask, Penn
LB -- Zack Heller, Penn
LB -- Jordan Haynes, Yale
DB -- A.J. Cruz, Brown
DB -- Calvin Otis, Columbia
DB -- Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth
DB -- Collin Zych, Harvard*
DB -- Josh Powers, Penn
DB -- Adam Money, Yale

Special Teams
PK -- Patrick Jacob, Princeton
P -- Drew Alston, Cornell
RS -- Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth*


SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY
Offense
OL -- Brian Ellixson, Brown
OL -- Austen Fletcher, Dartmouth
OL -- Chris LeRoy, Harvard
OL -- Kevin Murphy, Harvard
OL -- Ben Osborne, Harvard
OL -- Drew Luango, Penn
QB -- Patrick Witt, Yale
RB -- Trevor Scales, Harvard
RB -- Brandon Colavita, Penn
RB -- Alex Thomas, Yale
WR -- Andrew Kerr, Princeton
WR -- Chris Smith, Yale
TE -- John Gallagher, Dartmouth
TE -- Chris Blohm, Yale

Defense
DL -- Jeremy Raducha, Brown
DL -- Josh Martin, Columbia
DL -- Chucks Obi, Harvard
DL -- Drew Goldsmith, Penn
LB -- Andrew Serrano, Brown
LB -- Alex Gedeon, Harvard
LB -- Nick Hasselberg, Harvard
LB -- Jon Olofsson, Princeton
DB -- Steve Peyton, Brown
DB -- Emani Fenton, Cornell
DB -- Matthew Hanson, Harvard
DB -- Matt Hamscher, Penn

Special Teams
PK -- Alexander Norocea, Brown
P -- Joe Cloud, Princeton
RS -- Chris Smith, Yale

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
OL -- Jack Geiger, Brown
OL -- Jared Mollenback, Penn
OL -- Jake Koury, Yale
RB -- Mark Kachmer, Brown
RB -- Jordan Culbreath, Princeton
HB -- Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard
WR -- Jimmy Saros, Brown
WR -- Nico Gutierrez, Columbia
WR -- Michael Reilly, Dartmouth
TE -- Nicolai Schwarzkopf, Harvard
TE -- Luke Nawrocki, Penn
DL -- Clay McGrath, Brown
DL -- Brian Wing, Penn
DL -- Mike Catapano, Princeton
DL -- Sean Williams, Yale
LB -- Chimoso Okoji, Brown
LB -- Zack Imhoff, Cornell
LB -- Luke Hussey, Dartmouth
LB -- Brian Levine, Penn
LB -- Andrew Starks, Princeton
DB -- Adam Mehrer, Columbia
DB -- Bradford Blackmon, Penn
DB -- Drew Baldwin, Yale
PK -- Foley Schmidt, Dartmouth
PK -- Andrew Samson, Penn
P -- Nate Lovett, Brown
P -- Scott Lopano, Penn
RS -- Bradford Blackmon, Penn

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
QB -- Jeff Mathews, Cornell*

*Unanimous Selection

despite Elijah Thomas rushing 35 times for 183 yards and a touchdown, the Yale junior varsity team lost to Harvard 28-21 on Friday.

Other standouts for Yale were quarterback John Whitelaw (8 of 19 for 122 yards, one TD pass and a touchdown run), linebacker Brian Leffler (13 tackles, forced fumble), cornerback Russell Perkins (interception, fumble recovery) and linebacker Ben Ashcraft (seven tackles).

Emotions were running high during the game and the poor officiating job (even by junior varsity standards) didn't help the cause. Fortunately, it seems as if both teams escaped without injury which is amazing considering how many times the official let running backs take unnecessary additional shots because of the lateness of blowing the whistle. There were a couple of blow to the head shots against receivers that went uncalled as well as one blatant hit against a defenseless receiver and more than a few late shots undetected by this crew. Can't say I was too impressed with the quality of the public-address announcing either. I'm assuming it was an active Harvard player who had the microphone and thinking my ears won't be recovering any time soon. I'm also convinced that if I attended an event at Harvard Stadium in the middle of July, I'd need a winter coat. I actually did see the sun once or twice but it wasn't until I attempted to navigate my way back to my hotel (very poorly, I will admit) did the sun make an appearance blinding me as I attempted to read street signs. Every time I've been to this field, it has been bitter cold. Two years ago at the varsity game, I was probably as cold as I have ever been.

As for Harvard, I was impressed with sophomore receiver Curtis Ross (5 catches, 79 yards and a touchdown and unlike most of the other Harvard receivers he did not short arm balls going over the middle of the field. Freshman defensive end Austin Taylor was in the backfield on a regular basis for the Crimson.

Looking ahead to next year, I can update the recruiting situation a bit. Likely letters have been sent out to five players so far
Staples defensive end Chris Coyne and linebacker Pat Murray, Union (N.J.) linebacker Everett Johnson and offensive linemen Ben Carbery from Oak Park in River Forest, Ill. and Steve Shoemaker from Bronxville, N.Y.

There could be a few more players getting likely letters in the next week or two meaning that their applications for early admission have been approved by Yale.

Updating a previous report on the three Yale seniors who are eligible to return for a fifth season because they lost a year - or at least most of it - due to injury, center Jake Koury said he has yet to make a decision.

"I am going to get through this game," Koury said. "I haven’t made any decisions yet. We’ll see what happens but I am going to finish this game out first."

Receiver Gio Christodoulou said he is planning to take advantage of the extra season while I have yet to bring up the topic with senior linebacker Jesse Reising. Yale is also expected to get back defensive end Pat Moran and receiver Peter Balsam, who took this year off.

Yale senior center Jake Koury and senior linebacker Jesse Reising were among 13 Ivy Leaguers named to the District 1 first team in the university division of the CoSIDA Academic All-American team.

Koury, an economics major with a 3.65 grade point average, and Reising, a political science/economics major with a 3.75 GPA, will be placed on the national ballot for the CoSIDA Academic All-American team which will be announced on Nov. 23.

Here's the complete list of honorees

Junior defensive end Matt Battaglia has returned to practice. Battaglia has missed four games this season with a knee injury and will be one of the defensive ends being asked to contain the running plays of Columbia quarterback Sean Brackett.

Other than tailback Mordecai Cargill, who figures to miss the next two games as he recovers from knee surgery, Yale should have all of its players available on Saturday.

Leading rusher Alex Thomas (ribs), center Jake Koury (knee) and Patrick Witt (shoulder) were held out of practice this morning as a precaution but all should return to practice on Wednesday.

Neither starting tailback Alex Thomas nor reserve Mordecai Cargill practiced today and both are questionable for Saturday's game against Fordham although Thomas would have to be considered more questionable than Cargill.

Thomas didn't return to Saturday's game against Dartmouth after injuring a rib while falling on the ball after a carry. Cargill was able to come back into the game despite dealing with an ankle injury.

"We'll wait and see," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "We have a few more days of practice. Our policy is you have to have some practice time before you play. He (Thomas) went to the doctor so we won't know more until later today. He fell on the ball awkwardly and they are going to have an MRI to see if there is any damage."

Williams also said that defensive end Matt Battaglia and center Jake Koury are unlikely to play against Fordham because of the knee injuries which they suffered against Albany.

One last item isn't so much of an injury update as it is a sign that Yale football players are cut from a different cloth than the usual college football player.

Starting offensive tackle Alex Golubiewski missed the Dartmouth game not because of injury or a lack of performance.

"He had to take the LSAT on Saturday," Williams said. "That's Yale. That's what Yale students do. He did reschedule and there was going to be a huge penalty at another time so he had to take it. He looked at every avenue and that was the only thing he could do. I told him I hoped he did really well but he said he thought he did really well."

For those who have Sirius Radio, Saturday's Yale/Dartmouth game will be aired on channel 130 with the Dartmouth crew of Bob Lipman and Wayne Young handling the duties. WELI-960, as always, will be broadcasting the game as well with Rob Vaccaro and former Yale coach Carm Cozza on the call.

There wasn't much more off Thursday's practice worth reporting. Yale coach Tom Williams said he had yet to name a starting kicker but was impressed by the efforts of starter Alex Barnes and Philippe Panico. Williams reopened the competition following last week's fiasco when a field goal, punt and extra point were all blocked.

The one position where there will be a change is at center because a knee injury is sidelining starter Jake Koury. Jeff Fell will start in his place and is the focus on my advance to the game. Defensive end Matt Battaglia is also expected to miss the game with a knee injury but team captain Tom McCarthy will be back after missing the last two games with a calf strain.

Starting quarterback Patrick Witt injured his throwing hand in Saturday's loss to Albany but he threw the ball pretty well at the portion of practice I was at on Thursday. If he is limited at all, Yale has a pretty nice Plan B as reserve quarterback Brook Hart threw for 390 yards against Dartmouth last season.

Yale senior defensive end Tom McCarthy (Achilles, calf strains) and sophomore running back Mordecai Cargill (hip flexor) are back at practice and should be good to go for Saturday's game at Dartmouth.

McCarthy hasn't played since the first quarter of the season opener against Georgetown and with a knee injury expected to keep the other starting defensive end Matt Battaglia out of Saturday's game, the timing of McCarthy's return could not be more ideal.

"Having your captain back for his first Ivy League game, we are hoping it will give us a boost," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "I know he is excited to play. I know the guys are excited that he is back. We hope all of those things will equate to a chance to win a game on Saturday."

Center Jake Koury will also be out against Dartmouth after suffering a knee injury. Jeff Fell will replace Koury in the starting lineup. Fell is also being pushed by Kyle Wittenauer for the starting long snapper role while Williams said he has reopened the kicking competition since Yale is 0 for 4 on field goals this season with three of the FGs being blocked. Alex Barnes is the incumbent while Philippe Panico is being given a 50-50 chance to earn the kicking job.

Another item I brought up at the weekly press conference at Mory's was reaction to the arrest of former Yale football player Jordan Jefferson during a New Haven police department raid on the Elevate Lounge on Crown Street. The raid, in which some of those on site have accused the police of brutality, came two weeks after there was a shooting on Crown Street.

"We already talked about it as a team, (the importance of) making good decisions," Williams said. "We always talk about that but the one thing we said in light of
what happened downtown with the gunfire is that everybody is on edge. We can’t add fuel to the fire so if you are in the situation when an officer is talking to you about doing something, you’d better do it, you’d better do it right away.

"We had this conversation long before this happened with Jordan. Unfortunately he is not on our team right now so he missed that conversation. When you are under the circumstance that our police are under, you are edge so we don’t need to do
anything to add to that. We need to help diffuse those situations."

Jefferson was a freshman tight end on Yale's 2009 squad. He appeared in two varsity games and although he did not have a reception, he did make a tackle on special teams. He has a medical condition which kept him from being cleared to return to the football field.

While it is possible that Jefferson could play for the Bulldogs again, Williams said "I don’t know what the odds are so there is a chance, you never say never but based on the last conversation I had, it was slim."

While I'll have more info when I head to practice this week but the early word on the injured Yale players are:

Quarterback Patrick Witt had a bruised hand but should be OK.
Center Jake Koury has a strained MCL and figures to miss some time but the length of his absence is yet to be determined.
Defensive end Matt Battaglia suffered a knee cap dislocation but his knee injury is likely not as serious as Koury's.

Now for Yale's JV opener against Milford Academy, the final score was 39-20 in favor of Milford Academy who returned two interceptions for touchdowns, intercepted five passes and recovered a fumble. Milford Academy also got a rare defensive two-point conversion when Milford Academy blocked an extra point and what followed was a bizarre series of events ending with the Falcons' William Hayes intercepting a pass from kicker Philippe Panico and racing down the Milford Academy sideline to make it 23-20. Panico put in a request with me on the sidelines not to have his Garo Yepremian moment (to those younger readers, I suggest doing a google search on Garo Yepremian and Super Bowl VII) but that play was too bizarre not to make mention of it, sorry Philippe. On the positive side, it was a pretty good field across the field unlike Yepremian's bumbling pass attempt.

The other unusual aspect of the game was the way Yale rotated quarterbacks on a series by series basis - all six of them. It was a far cry from a year ago when quarterback turned defensive back Bryan Farris moved back to quarterback just so Yale would have two QBs for the JV games.

The six quarterbacks were intercepted four times and tailback Elijah Thomas also threw an interception on a halfback option. They also threw three scoring passes as Kerr Taubler hooked up with McConnell Smith on a 17-yard touchdown, Henry Furman connected with Trevor Peterson on a 20-yard TD and John Whitelaw hit Cameron Sandquist for a 44-yard score.

If I had to pick Yale MVPs from the game, my picks would be Elijah Thomas (148 yards on 23 carries), linebacker Ben Ashcraft 11 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery and defensive end Dylan Drake who had eight tackles, a sack, another tackle for a loss and had another sack wiped out when Yale accepted a holding penalty. Other defensive stats (pretty unofficial since I was the one keeping them) worth mentioning were Brian Leffler and Josh Grizzard had seven tackles each while Scott Williams, Ryan Falbo and Kyle Aberton had five tackles each.

Milford Academy also benefitted from two failed Yale onsides kicks including one former Hyde star Andrew Greene returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

I spoke with Greene after the game about his touchdown and his decision to attend Milford Academy which could land him a scholarship with a BCS school.

"It was great to come to my hometown and be able to play one last time here and be able to make a big play," Greene said.

"It has been going pretty good. I am playing a new position out there, a safety but overall I have been picking it up prety fast and I have been getting some pretty good looks (from colleges). Temple, Pitt or Rutgers (are the schools he would like to attend) but I am waiting to see what happens. I don't have anything written in stone just yet.

"I knew when I was in high school that I wasn't going to be a linebacker all my life so when I got here, they showed me different coverages. This has given me an opportunity to show my athleticism."

Now completely off the subject, Yale lost a heartbreaking 23-20 game at Albany on Saturday but I'll give credit to junior defensive tackle Jake Stoller for graciously agreeing to pose for a photo with a couple of my friend Ann's sons after the game. Stoller is one of the most intense players on the Yale team and I am sure he took the defeat pretty hard as I would imagine nearly every Yale player did but it was a class move by Stoller to put his disappointment aside and make the day of the three kids who were in the picture with him.

The opening day of the fall camp is complete and here are some of my impressions and notes.

First, I noticed that seniors Jesse Reising and Chris Stanley, who come into the season with 14 career tackles between them, practiced with the first team at linebacker and cornerback respectively and both looked very solid.

Eight offensive linemen who started at least two games last season are back but the starting unit on first consisted of tackles John Pedersen and Jeff Fell, guards Gabe Fernandez and Mike McInerney and center Jake Koury. Fell is the only one of the five who didn't see time as a starter in 2009 but it is at left guard where there figures to be the most competition with McInerney being pushed by converted tight end Alex Birks and Alex Golubiewski, who started six games last season.

Quarterback Henry Furman, running back Elijah Thomas and receivers Deon Randall and Jackson Ligouri were among the freshmen who stood out in the 7 on 7 and 11 and 11 drills. Furman threw a sweet 40-yard pass to Chris Smith and then on the next play, connection on a long sideline out - considered to be the toughest throw to make for a quarterback. Ligouri made a sweet over the shoulder catch of a deep ball thrown by Dez Duron.

Although there were no pads and supposedly no contact, there were a few minor collisions. Tempers flared when Reising gave fullback Shane Bannon a hard two-handed push as Bannon neared the sideline. Reising and Bannon rolled around for about 10-15 seconds but it wasn't much of a flare up.

The biggest news could be that Southington's Matt Kelleher opted not to take advantage of a fifth year of eligibility because his troublesome surgically-repaired knee was causing him discomfort. Austin Pulsipher will now become the long snapper. In previous entries I mentioned that receiver Chris Morris and fullback Josh Kozel would not be returning and that defensive lineman Pat Moran and receiver Peter Balsam would be taking this season off but were both planning to return as seniors for 2011 season. I can now report that defensive back Bedford Booth and receiver Lars Knudsen are no longer with the team. Offensive lineman David Bollweg also
stopped playing but he will be a student manager.

"Like Coach (Williams) said (when he addressed the team at the end of practice), we are light years ahead of where we were last year," senior defensive end and captain Tom McCarthy said. "Guys are flying around, we are lot more comfortable with the system, a lot more guys with experience and young guys are flying around too."

Yale punter Tom Mante, defensive back Adam Money, linebacker Paul Rice and tight end John Sheffield were named to the All-Ivy League first team on Tuesday.

Mante, one of eight unanimous first team selections, led the league with a 41.2 punting average and had 10 punts of at least 50 yards.

Money, the first Yale junior named to the first team since running back Mike McLeod and linebacker Bobby Abare in 2007, had 43 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Rice led the 4-6 Bulldogs with 74 tackles and 9 1/2 tackles for losses while Sheffield had a team-leading 61 catches as a senior and his 126 career receptions is third all-time for the Bulldogs.

Defensive tackle Tom McCarthy was named to the second team as was Mante as a kicker while defensive lineman Joe Young and linebackers Travis Henry and Sean Williams were honorable mention selections.

Brown receiver Buddy Farnham and Penn linebacker Jake Lewko shared the Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League player of the year while Harvard running back Treavor Scales was named the rookie of the year.

OK, that's the news of the day. Now for my two cents. The obvious Yale omissions were linebacker Tim Handlon (68 tackles, two interceptions and three forced fumbles), center Jake Koury and defensive lineman Pat Moran. I was also surprised to see Mante on the second team as a kicker. He did become the first Ivy Leaguer with 50-yard field goals in consecutive games but also lost his kicking duties to Alex Barnes and finished 4 for 12 on field goals.

Also, if I were to cast a vote for rookie of the year, it would go to Brown cornerback AJ Cruz.

When he was announced as Yale's 133rd football captain, defensive tackle Tom McCarthy sat in his seat at the front of the room and did not move for several seconds. After getting over the shock of surviving four rounds of voting and beating out cornerback Adam Money, McCarthy rose from his seat and received a huge round of applause from his teammates.

"I never really expected this," McCarthy said. "Just to be elected with this group of guys, it is absolutely amazing. It is an honor."

The ironic part is that McCarthy will not be able to take part in spring drills. He missed the entire 2006 season mononucleosis and was granted a fifth year of eligibility. However, Ivy League rules stipulate that student-athletes can only be enrolled in eight semesters so he will need to skip the spring semester so he can enroll in the fall.

The awards were also given out. John Sheffield was named the Ted Blair Award winner as the team MVP while Paul Rice earned the award annually given to Yale's captain.

Here's the complete list of other award winners
Jordan Olivar Award (given to a senior other than the captain who has earned the most respect from his teammates): Larry Abare
Woody Knapp Memorial Trophy (player who typifies the cheerful disposition, leadership qualities and unselfish disposition to others): Brandon Scott
Robert Gardner Anderson Award (combination of skill, spirit and pride in accomplishment): Reid Lathan and Max Newton.
Norman S. Hall Memorial Trophy (given to an individual for outstanding service to Yale football): Tim Handlon
Gregory Dubinetz Memorial Trophy (linemen who exemplified the spirit of Dubinetz): Cory Palmer
Charley Loftus Award (most valuable freshmen): Mordecai Cargill and John Powers
Chester J. Laroche Award (given to senior who did the most for Yale): Rich Scudellari
Ledyard Mitchell Award (for proficiency in kicking): Tom Mante
Ted Turner Award (top offensive lineman): Cory Palmer
Keppel Award (given to offensive back who exemplified Keppel's work ethic, pride and dedication to Yale football): Rodney Reynolds
LoProto Award (awarded to defensive back who exemplies LoProto's passion and competitive spirit): Adam Money

Also, Tom McCarthy was named the top defensive lineman, Mante the top specialist and Travis Henry the winner of the Hammer Award.

From former Yale star Jon Reese's empassioned remarks to Reynolds' comical impersonation of Yale running back coach Rod Plummer, it was a memorable event.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Yale coach Tom Williams addressed his decision to run a fake punt faced with a 4th-and-22 at the Yale 25 in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Williams has received plenty of criticism, including in this blog, for the decision.

Here is what he said to the invited guests at The Commons at Woolsey Hall.

"I take responsibilities for all those losses, not just the one yesterday but for the other five," Williams said. "The only regret I have is that there is a man who wears a ‘Y’ on his helmet who thinks their opportunity to win the football game was taken from them, that is the only regret I have. I want to sincerely apologize to those men because I worked very hard to earn their trust and I love these guys as if they are my own children."

Just returned home from the Yale Bowl and won't soon forget what I saw today.

We're not only going to start with Tom Williams' decision to attempt a fake punt leading by three points in the fourth quarter, we are going to finish with it as well. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, it was a reckless decision. In the 20 years I have been a sports reporter, I can't remember a coaching decision I disagreed any more strongly than this one. I am not alone. When I checked my phone, I had four missed messages in the hour after the game from people wanting to know why he wouldn't punt the ball and put the game in the hands of his defense.

This Yale team had been through so much this year, disappointing losses to Cornell and Princeton, so many injuries, a constantly changing lineup and a nearly completely new coaching staff. They could easily have had their eyes elsewhere especially in an academic setting like the one they reside in at Yale. But they didn't. They were on the verge of their most complete effort of the season and only needed for their coaching staff to demonstrate a little self restraint.

Faced with 4th-and-22 at their own 25 and Harvard out of timeouts, Tom Mante trotted onto the field to punt. All Mante did was average 51.3 yards on his previous three punts to clinch the Ivy League punting crown. Harvard had enough respect for Mante that their returner lined up 50 yards from the line of scrimmage when Mante dropped back to punt. But he never got the chance. The designed fake was snapped to up back Paul Rice, who twice this season got the call on successful fake punt calls who pitched the ball to freshman safety John Powers. Powers, a former dual-threat runner and passer during his days as the starting quarterback at Hopkins, nearly got the first down but was tackled seven yards short of the first down. Rather than Harvard needed to drive somewhere between 60-80 yards for the winning TD, it only needed to go 40.

There is no defending the decision. If Williams ponders a decision in that situation again that he will remember the post-game scene. Senior linebacker Travis Henry, one of the truly class acts on the team, kneeled on the 50 by himself for what seemed like an eternity or some of the seniors wandering slowly around the field as if they were trying to comprehend what had just transpired. Henry and the other seniors bought into Williams' deal from the outset. Even when some of them saw their playing time cut or their roles diminished, there seemed to be little discord in the program (at least none I discovered). Instead of walking off the field snapping a two-game losing streak to Harvard, the departing seniors were left to deal with a bitter end to their collegiate careers. Many of them will never play in a football game again and this was not the ending they envisioned or deserved.

I have gone on the record saying I am impressed with the job this coaching staff has done but there is no defending a decision like this. If you want to try it in a JV game or spring it early on Harvard, fine but not in the final quarter against your greatest rival. I compare it to fouling a 90 percent free throw shooter with a 1-point lead with 5 seconds to play in a basketball game. The risks simply outnumber the reward but such a large margin that you just don't do it. I also found it ironic that on a day when Yale ran the ball so well, the Bulldogs resorted to a gimmick with their version of the Wildcat formation. Williams scoffed at the impact of the Wildcat when asked about after the Penn game and yet they went to it. Why?

The sad part is that it all seemed to be coming together for this team. They shook the turnover bug, discovered a running game in sophomore Alex Thomas, the offensive line was playing better than it had all season even if the Bulldogs' two best linemen (Jake Koury and Cory Palmer) were dealing with injury issues. Defensively, Yale resembled the stingy unit of the last couple of years. All of that ended with one call which was simply to risky to justify.

The good news is the future is bright. Replacing John Sheffield, who finished third on Yale's career receiving list, and the entire starting linebacking corps will not be easy. But with Alex Thomas and Mordecai Cargill, the Bulldogs have two talented running backs. Speedy receivers Gio Christodoulou and Chris Smith return after dealing with injury-shortened seasons. Four offensive line starters are back and with the development of Chris Stanley and Kurt Stottlemyer, Adam Money should be able to move to safety to help fill the void left by Larry Abare's graduation. I think Yale could compete for the Ivy League title with an experienced group of returning players.

Just a recap of the weekly press conference at the Yale Bookstore.

Junior cornerback Adam Money was the player who joined Yale coach Tom Williams at the event and he admitted he was pretty surprised to be named the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Week. When I was speaking with Money after the question and answer session, former Yale coach Carm Cozza came up and whispered that his tracking down Columbia Leon Ivery at the 2 yard line was one of the best hustle plays he has seen in his time at Yale.

Considering the impressive Hall of Fame credentials of Cozza, Money may never receive a greater compliment.

A few updates on the starting lineup. Williams said Patrick Witt will start at quarterback, the starting offensive line of Alex Golubiewski, Nathan Burow, Jake Koury, Gabe Fernandez and Cory Palmer will start for the second straight week and Alex Barnes will continue to handle field goals and extra points.

A clarification from my pre-game blog, there was a freshman receiver wearing No. 21 but it was not Chris Smith but Collin Bibb.

He also said that Smith and safety Larry Abare, out with knee and arm injuries respectively, will not play. Jordan Farrell, who started the first four games at tailback, is close to returning after being worn down by a case of the swine flu and then bronchitis.

Just a few notes from Thursday's practice.

First, John Sheffield stole the show during the scrimmaging portion of practice making a series of impressive catches including one which he tipped twice and managed to corral just as he was falling to the ground.

Freshman receiver Chris Smith was not at practice. Yale coach Tom Williams said he hasn't heard anything definitive regarding the team's second leading receiver but since he has not practiced, Williams said he will not play against Columbia on Saturday.

The good news is that junior Jordan Forney, who has three of the Bulldogs' seven touchdown receptions, is back at practice and figures to start on Saturday. Forney was knocked out of the Lehigh game and missed the game against Penn with a concussion.

With tailback Jordan Farrell not 100 percent as he battles back from the flu and a case of bronchitis, expect to see senior Rodney Reynolds and freshman Mordecai Cargill to see the bulk of work in the running game.

The ever changing offensive line figures to have its sixth different starting lineup in the last six games. Williams said he expects the starting unit which played together on Thursday (tackles Alex Golubiewski and Cory Palmer, guards Nathan Burow and Gabe Fernandez and center Jake Koury) to start against Columbia.

As promised, the quarterback reps were split equally between Brook Hart and Patrick Witt. Freshman Dez Duron saw plenty of time but that was more to give the Yale defense a look at a running quarterback to help prepare for facing athletic Columbia quarterback M.A. Olawale. Of course there is one major difference as Olawale is 6-foot-1, 224 pounds while Duron is listed at 5-11, 180 which might be generous in both the height and weight departments.

Pretty forgettable first half by the Bulldogs.

By my count, Brook Hart has been sacked four times. He was also intercepted by Jared Sholly with the Penn sophomore returning the pick 15 yards for the game's only touchdown.

Yale had a promising opening drive behind some hard running by Rodney Reynolds. When the 12-play drive stalled, Tom Mante just missed a 54-yard field goal. Making matters worse, freshman Jeff Marrs was called for a personal foul allowing the Quakers to start their first drive inside Yale territory. The drive ended with Andrew Samson's 35-yard field goal.

Three plays later Hart telegraphed a pass intended for Chris Smith. Playing a zone blitz, Sholly retreated and jumped the route to put the Quakers up 9-0. A bad snap prevented the extra point from being attempted.

Yale did well to keep Penn off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

A few notes, Marcus Wallace got the start at strong safety for the injured Larry Abare.

The ever changing Yale offensive line featured Cory Palmer and Nathan Burow at tackles, Mike McInerney and Gabe Fernandez at guard and Jake Koury back at center after missing the last two games with a bruised calf.

Smith had a brilliant return on the opening kickoff negated by a holding penalty, called EXTREMELY late as was a personal foul call for a facemask on Adam Money to give Penn a chance to add to its lead in the final minute of the first half.

Adam Money and Travis Henry have had outstanding first half performances on defense for Yale while former Staples star Brian Levine has made his presence felt.

Yale, which managed only 92 yards of offense in last year's loss to Penn, managed just 56 yards on 30 plays in the first half.

If Yale doesn't protect Hart and apply some pressure on the pash rush, it could be a long second half.

The biggest news coming out of Wednesday's practice came from who was not on the field.

Senior safety Larry Abare, who leads the Bulldogs with 30 tackles, had his right arm in a sling. Abare suffered two broken bones in his right arm. Although no surgery will be needed, Abare said "I am going to keep looking at the x-rays but it probably looks not good for the season right now. I am still hoping I will be able to make the Harvard game."

It goes without saying that this is a huge loss for the Yale defense. Juniors John Pagliaro and Marcus Wallace will likely both see plenty of time filling in for Abare.

Junior receiver Gio Christodoulou spoke with his parents Tuesday night and decided to sit out the rest of the season so he could recapture his junior season and have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Christodoulou suffered a turf toe injury similar to the one that hampered Green Bay Packers' star Charles Woodson a couple years back and he was not going to be 100 percent so he made the decision to shut it down for the season. Christodoulou, while obviously disappointed to see his season end prematurely, admitted it's been easy to deal with emotionally because of the development of freshman Chris Smith gives the Bulldogs a big-play threat on special teams and at receiver even if he isn't the one providing the game-breaking plays. If Yale was struggling to make plays in the passing, kickoff and punt return games, Christodoulou would be taking his absence much harder than he is at the current time.

"He's the future of Yale football," Christodoulou said of Smith. "I think he is going to be a great football player, he already is, and I try to help him out. Since I got most of the reps during spring and fall practice, I help him out with what I learned."

Right on cue, Smith had an impressive diving catch of a deep ball thrown by Patrick Witt for about a 40-yard gain during the scrimmage portion of Wednesday's practice.

There will be a story on Abare and Christodoulou in Thursday's Register and look for a piece in Saturday's paper about how the Bulldogs go about trying to fill the rather sizeable void left by Abare's absence.

The good news on the injury from is that offensive linemen Jake Koury, Alex Golubiewski and Nate Blair are all back at practice. I expect Koury and Golubiewski to be back in the starting lineup. At practice, there were a number of combinations seeing time with the first team offense. Cory Palmer, Golubiewski, Koury, Nathan Burow, Blair, Mike McInerney and Gabe Fernandez all took snaps with the starters.

Senior linebacker and captain Paul Rice did not practice to reach an aching knee but Rice said he will be good to go on Saturday when Yale plays at Penn.