Penn football storms back, beats Yale in primetime

Maybe Penn football should spot its opponents early points in every game.

Fresh off their first Ivy League win of the season, the Quakers showed almost no side effects of playing on short rest, rebounding from an early 10-0 deficit to take down Yale, 34-20, on Friday. Playing in the first nationally televised primetime game in Franklin Field history, Penn (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) rode a 20-point second quarter to its second consecutive victory.

"It was a great win for the program," coach Ray Priore said. "We're taking baby steps along the way here, and our guys are getting progressively better.

"I asked them before the game to do one thing: To give me their hearts and love each other. We're playing as a family, and when you do that it's very dangerous when you start moving forward."

For the fourth consecutive game, the Red and Blue put themselves in a hole early, this time against an offense that gashed the squad a season ago.

Yale (4-2, 1-2) got itself on the board with an early 39-yard field goal by Bryan Holmes. After a three-and-out by the Quakers, the Bulldogs went 61 yards on eight plays to make it 10-0, as senior Morgan Roberts found Robert Clemons III for a 17-yard score.

"[When] they got up 10-0, we told the offense to relax," Priore said. "Unfortunately, we have a little too much practice at this, we're spotting teams too many points to start the game in the first quarter. But we're accustomed to relaxing and playing better."

Penn looked ready to strike back immediately, as junior quarterback Alek Torgersen connected with senior tight end Ryan Kelly and sophomore wide receiver Justin Watson for 28- and 30-yard gains, respectively. But on first down from the Elis' 15, Torgersen fumbled on the option, giving the momentum right back to Yale.

The Bulldogs seemed poised to deliver an early knockout blow and make it a three-score game. But with Yale at the Quakers' 21, senior captain Tyler Drake dropped into coverage and picked off Roberts' pass, his second consecutive game with an interception.

As the second quarter got underway, Penn's offense finally had something to show for one of its long gains. One play after Christian Pearson dropped an easy pass, Torgersen found the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week with a beautifully lobbed ball to connect on a 63-yard touchdown.

Half a minute later, the Red and Blue captured a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After a short run and an incompletion, Drake sacked Roberts on third-and-six, forcing a fumble that Austin Taps recovered at the Bulldogs' 17.

Torgersen found Solomon wide open down the sideline on the next play for a score, giving Penn a 13-10 lead.

"The coaches are really letting me loose, letting me do what I do best by putting me in one-on-one situations," said Drake, who has 5.5 sacks and two interceptions in his last three games. "I'd like to think that I'm going to be able to take advantage of those situations with the tackles, and I've been doing that."

The teams traded punts before the Elis tied the game at 13 with 3:22 left in the half on a 26-yard field goal. But Torgersen methodically led the Quakers down the field before the break, finding senior Ryan O'Malley on a one-yard pass with 11 seconds to play to make it 20-13 Penn.

Yale wasted no time driving down the field in the third quarter, moving all the way down to the Quakers' 10 in less than three minutes. But on third-and-two, senior Ian Dobbins picked off Roberts' pass in the end zone to give Penn the ball back.

After the Red and Blue were forced to punt, a monster return set the Bulldogs up at Penn's 12. But on third-and-10, Roberts was intercepted again in the end zone, this time by senior Dylan Muscat.

"As the field shrinks, it makes it harder to score," Priore said. "We got them into obvious situations where they had to get to the sticks and had to throw the ball, and our defensive guys made big plays."

On the Quakers' ensuing possession, Solomon — who went over 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career — busted off a 33-yard gain to get Penn across midfield. After converting a short fourth down, Torgersen found Pearson for another score, this time from 27 yards out to make it 27-13.

Six days after notching 10 catches and 126 yards against Columbia, the rookie compiled six catches for 133 yards on Friday. Watson added eight catches and 105 yards of his own.

Though Roberts helped Yale get within one score right before the end of the third quarter, Torgersen — who finished 25-for-35 with 350 yards and four scores — led the Red and Blue on a 97-yard drive, one that Solomon capped off with a nifty 28-yard touchdown run. Penn's defense held strong on the next possession, sealing the team's 14-point win.

With his squad over .500 in Ivy play for the first time in nearly two years, Priore acknowledged that his team must now turn its attention to a road game against Brown next Saturday.

"We need to enjoy the win, understand how hard it was to get to this point. And then it's on to Brown."

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