Lyle Marsh had lots of good times and accomplished much on the football field last season at Bethel Park High School.

• He rushed for 1,508 yards and scored 20 touchdowns, leading Bethel to a 15-1 record.

• Marsh rushed for 113 yards on 27 carries in the WPIAL Class AAAA title game at Heinz Field, helping Bethel Park to a stunning 10-6 upset of Gateway.

• He rushed for 195 yards on 26 attempts in the PIAA title game, a 28-21 overtime loss to Bethlehem Liberty.

• Marsh was named to the Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 all-star team and played for Pennsylvania in the Big 33 all-star game against Ohio, where he scored two touchdowns.

It was a dream senior season for Marsh. But, it appears he has more gridiron heroics left in him.

During his first month as a college player he has proven to be quite a catch for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers.

Three weeks ago, Marsh was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week after rushing for 85 yards on 17 carries -- all in the second half -- in a 20-17 overtime loss to Lafayette.

Two weeks ago, he rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries as Penn won its Ivy League opener, 30-24, at Dartmouth.

Last Saturday, he rushed for a team-best 39 yards and scored his first college touchdown in a 21-3 win over Bucknell.

When Penn began preseason practices, Marsh was a long, long way from the top of the depth chart at tailback. The Quakers had three returning players at that position -- one had rushed for 585 yards and the other two each around 200 yards -- and there were five freshmen running backs on the roster.

But due to injuries, a player changing positions and because of Marsh's strong play, he's been able to move into the lineup.

"It's been a bit of a surprise [seeing this much playing time]," said Marsh. "You don't want guys to go down, but it gave me an opportunity to play and I'm just trying to play to the best of my ability."

After a standout career at Bethel Park as a two-year starter at running back and strong safety, Marsh, who had a 4.4 grade point average and SAT scores of better than 1,300 (math and verbal), considered three of the nation's strongest academic institutions -- Penn, Princeton and William & Mary -- to continue his education and football career.

He eventually chose Penn, saying it just felt like "the right fit for me."

The Division I-AA Quakers, led by veteran head coach Al Bagnoli (in his18th year at Penn), captured six Ivy League championships from 1993-2003, but have not brought home any trophies the past five years and have played .500 football since the start of the 2005 season, going 22-22.

Perhaps Marsh can help bring back the good times at Penn.

"There's a chance for him to be special," said Jon McLaughlin, Penn's offensive coordinator. "We're very excited. You never know what you're going to get with 18-year-old kids. What's remarkable about Lyle is how calm, cool and confident he is.

"He's learned everything very quickly. When he gets in the game, he has 100 percent confidence and the nerves don't take over like they do with some freshmen. It's been pretty impressive."

Marsh, who had just two carries in a 14-3 season-opening loss to Villanova, leads the Quakers (2-2) in rushing with 252 yards on 57 attempts, a 4.4 yards-per-carry average. He is third in the Ivy League in rushing yardage.

Even though Penn is getting over its injury problems at running back, McLaughlin said Marsh will continue to see substantial playing time at tailback. Last Saturday, this former Bethel Park star carried on 17 of Penn's 32 running plays.

"The great thing about him is his vision and anticipation," said McLaughlin, in his fourth season on Penn's staff. "He sees things as they happen. He doesn't run into things or miss holes.

"He kind of takes his time, sees the hole and gets through. When there is a hole, he puts his foot to the gas and gets through with a burst. But, he's also a big, physical, fast kid. He moves well for [6 feet, 215 pounds]. He has the ability to run through somebody."

Marsh said the biggest difference he sees between playing WPIAL Class AAAA football at Bethel Park and competing for an Ivy League program is that "everyone [in college] is that much bigger and faster."

There's one area, however, where the 2009 college football season will be considerably easier for Marsh than was his senior year at Bethel Park.

The Ivy League champion is determined by regular-season contests. Ivy schools do not participate in any postseason competitions, meaning they all play a 10-game schedule.

Last year, when Bethel marched to the WPIAL title and then to the state final, the Black Hawks played 16 games.

"I've thought a lot about how I'll be playing less games," said Marsh, a business major. "Playing 16 games, playing into December takes a tool on your body. It's a plus playing 10 games. Then again, it was nice playing 16 games last year. It meant we went somewhere."

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