Penn scores final 34 points of game against Tigers
By: Justin Feil
PRINCETON, NJ — A fateful seven minutes, 42 seconds in which Pennsylvania scored 28 straight points translated into the Princeton University football team’s fifth consecutive loss, 40-24, to the Quakers and ended the Tigers’ slim Ivy League title shot.
In front of 20,311 fans on Saturday at Princeton Stadium, the Tigers broke out to a 24-6 lead on the strength of defense and special teams play combined with the offense’s ability to maintain possession and convert its scoring chances. But Penn would score the next 34 points of the game beginning on the final play of the second quarter.
With six seconds to play in the half, Penn scored on a 42-yard Hail Mary as time expired. The Quakers then scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half, the second straight year they’ve managed 21 points in the third quarter, to open a 34-24 lead on their way to improving to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League.
"The net effect is the team that scores gets a huge effect," said PU head coach Roger Hughes of the Hail Mary play. "It’s a combination of disappointment on our side and certainly jubilation on their side."
Riding the jubilation, the Penn defense took over, shutting out the Princeton offense in the second half by limiting Princeton to three total yards of offense in the third quarter and forcing three second-half turnovers.
"It seems like we’ve come full circle," said Hughes, whose team dropped to 2-6 overall, 2-3 in the Ivies. "In the early part of the season, we’re playing well in the second half and not well in the first half. This week, we played very well, I thought, the first half and the second half we didn’t generate what we needed to do."
Princeton looked determined to drop Penn out of a four-way tie for first place in the Ivy League with the way it came out. The Tigers took an early 7-0 lead when it converted the first of two Gavin Hoffman interceptions into points. Freshman safety Blake Perry’s intercepted the Quaker quarterback’s first pass of the game, and the Tigers then drove 44 yards with Kyle Brandt getting the touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Brandt left the game two possessions later with a dislocated elbow.
Penn cut the lead to 7-6 on two field goals, a 47-yarder and a 27-yarder, by Jason Feinberg before the first quarter ended. Princeton pulled away again when it took its next drive 80 yards in 11 plays and melted 5:49 off the clock. On the drive, the Tigers got two big plays when Brian Danielewicz, who became the fourth different PU starting quarterback thi season, connected with Chisom Opara.
The first came on third-and-13 and went for 16 yards. The second put them in scoring range when Opara broke free of a tackle and scampered 36 yards to the Penn 20. Four plays later, Danielewicz kept the ball on the option to score from two yards out with 13:12 to play in the second quarter to build a 14-6 lead.
The Tiger defense and special teams then took over until the final minute of the half. First, Chris Roser-Jones picked off a Hoffman pass, but the ensuing Princeton drive resulted in nothing when Penn’s defense stopped a fourth-and-one from their 18-yard line.
"We knew Penn is a very good offensive team," Hughes said. "And we knew we were going to have to score points. At that point in time, I thought our offensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage. We had 18 inches to go and they did a nice job stopping us. As the game turned out, whether we go for three or not, it didn’t make a difference. But we’re going to play aggressive football."
The teams exchanged possessions before Princeton recovered the ball again when Michael Higgins and Phil Jackman sandwiched Hoffman to force a fumble that Roser-Jones recovered.
Princeton then took just five plays to drive 23 yards with Danielewicz scoring from the 1-yard line on another keeper. Taylor Northrop’s extra point gave the Tigers a commanding 21-6 lead.
Then the bizarre started.
First, Northrop’s kick-off sailed toward the left sideline, then bounced slowly down the sideline as Penn’s Kunle Williams waited for it to go out of bounds. It never did, and the live ball was recovered by Princeton’s Taylor Smith at the 6-yard line for one of the longest possible onsides kick recoveries. Princeton played it safe when it couldn’t get a touchdown, and Northrop sent a 19-yard field goal through the uprights to open the lead up to 18 points, 24-6.
But Penn cut into the lead on th final play of the half. Hoffman lofted a 42-yard Hail Mary pass that Roser-Jones batted up in the air at the 5-yard line. O’Neill came down with it at the 7, then started outside before cutting it up and laying out with the ball for a touchdown that, with the extra point, cut Princeton’s lead to 24-13 at the half. Some questioned whether O’Neill’s knee was down before the ball was extended across the goal line, but the referees confered and the play stood.
"We were a little deflated," Hughes said of the halftime mood in the locker room. "I think obviously if (Roser-Jones) had just gone up and intercepted it as opposed to batting it, we probably would have been OK. With that said, the first thing I tried to get across to the players was that’s just one play."
In the second half, however, the plays mounted rapidly as the Quakers captalized on their aggressive defense, which led to eight sacks and two fumble recoveries. Penn took the opening kick of the second half and marched 64 yards capped by a 21-yard Hoffman to tight end Ben Zagorski touchdown that made it 24-20 Princeton with 12:49 left in the third quarter.
After stopping Princeton’s offense and using a short Northrop punt, Penn went 39 yards in six plays with a second touchdown pass from Hoffman to Zagorski, this one from four yards with still 9:24 left in the third quarter.
On the next possession, Danielewicz was crunched as he rolled out by John Galan, fumbled and Penn’s Kevin Martin recovered. The Quakers scored their third touchdown of the quarter at the 7:24 mark when Mike Verille took a swing pass four yards from Hoffman, who would finish the day 23-for-34 for 313 yards and four touchdowns.
Penn added two field goals by Feinberg in the fourth quarter, a 31-yarder and a 42-yarder, to get their final points.
"Give credit to Penn," Hughes said. "They made some nice adjustments. They went to a no-huddle offense when their substitutions didn’t take as long and they got us off a little off-balance on defense.
"Defensively, they started blitzing a little more and they took advantage of the fact that Kyle Brandt was out and certainly took advantage of our inexperience at quarterback. I thought Brian played a great first half, did a nice job of moving the team. And the last play of the half was certainly a momentum changer. But, again, I’m proud of how our kids played."
Danielewicz, in his first varsity start ever, finished 14-for-25 for 178 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Cameron Atkinson, who played extensively after Brandt was injured, finished with 94 yards rushing on 21 carries. Princeton also lost two centers — starter Brian Wilson to a concussion and his replacement Roger Patterson to a dislocated shoulder. Freshman Jeff Micsky took over for Patterson late in the game.
The Tigers travel to Yale, which dropped its second game of the Ivy League season to Brown on Saturday, next Saturday at 1 p.m.
"We still have a vistion for what this team can become," Hughes said. "We’re not giving up on anything. The only way we can do it is with the guys in that locker room. We’re going to find a way to win two more games."