No McDermott, no win

One play on Penn's lone touchdown drive in the football team's 31-10 loss to Harvard ended with freshman quarterback Bryan Walker tripping over his own feet while taking the snap.

It was that type of day for the Quakers, who had their 20-game Ivy League winning streak and chance to win their third straight outright Ivy League title terminated by the Crimson (9-0, 6-0 Ivy).

Even before the game ended, its outcome was clear.

Penn (7-2, 5-1) did not get the breaks it got in its first five league matchups this season, and Harvard's relentless offensive production quickly sealed the Quakers' fate.

The Crimson barrage was anchored by sophomore tailback Clifton Dawson, who cut loose on a thinly spread Penn defense for 160 rushing yards.

"Penn's plan at first was to shut down the run, but I think they quickly realized that they couldn't solely focus on that," Dawson said. "We spread them out and that allowed us to free the box of additional players."

The Red and Blue was not able to control Harvard's passing attack either. Crimson quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick dictated the pace of the game by breaking tackles and finding receivers downfield for big gains.

The Quakers' secondary played its worst game of the season on Saturday as Crimson receivers seemed to be wide open on every drive, which is rare against Penn's formidable passing defense.

The Penn secondary had to guard Fitzpatrick while understaffed -- defensive back Kevin Stefanski left the game after the second play with a strained groin and did not return.

The game did not look like it would turn out badly for the Quakers on the first drive, in which Penn marched to inside the Harvard 10-yard line. This feat was even more impressive considering that the drive was led by Walker, who saw the first action of his career after starter Pat McDermott injured his collarbone on the last play of last weekend's win over Princeton.

However, Penn could not finish the drive, and had to settle for a field goal from kicker Derek Zoch, another freshman.

Those were the only points Penn would score until the final five minutes of the game, when Walker mounted his first career touchdown pass to senior receiver Dan Castles, who set a new school record for career touchdown receptions with 27.

"Obviously in a go-to situation, he becomes our primary guy," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "I'm happy that he was in the right spot to get a well-deserved record."

Penn had opportunities to turn botched Harvard plays into points but failed to do so. On the first Crimson drive, Fitzpatrick threw a deep pass down the middle of the field to a wide open Corey Mazza. The pass was there, but Mazza bobbled it, forcing Harvard to punt. But Penn could do nothing with the extra chance to score, and punted it away after five plays.

Next, after Penn senior defensive back Bryan Arguello intercepted a Fitzpatrick pass and ran it back into Harvard territory, the Quakers went three-and-out on their subsequent drive.

In the second quarter, it looked like the football gods were wearing red and blue, as Dawson fumbled the ball for the first time in 396 carries. Penn senior lineman Greg Jones recovered the ball at midfield for the Quakers.

Nothing came of this drive either, as Walker released a hasty pass nowhere near any of the Penn receivers that landed in the hands of Crimson defensive back Gary Sonkur.

The Crimson gained the momentum for good on a 10-play, 57 yard drive culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by Dawson.

McDermott played the first three drives in the third quarter to try to rejuvenate his offense, but to no avail. His injury stopped him from getting into a groove, and Walker came back in the game before the end of the quarter.

After two touchdown drives in the first half, Harvard pulled away with a 17-point third quarter, with one touchdown coming on a 43-yard bomb to Mazza with Fitzpatrick under pressure and falling back.

The pass was accurate and the Penn secondary was not close enough to contest it.

"That's what the kid does," Bagnoli said. "Ninety-five percent of quarterbacks would have been sacked there, but he's good enough where he steps out of it and has the presence to look downfield and put the ball where it needs to be. He's the guy that makes that team go."

While the team is disappointed that its home schedule ended with a defeat, all is not lost in what has been a great run for the Quakers the past three seasons.

"It's not the way we pictured our final home game for the championship," senior linebacker Luke Hadden said. "It's frustrating, but we have accomplished a lot of things that we should be proud of."

"They have been on a longer streak than anyone in the history of this league. It has to end sometime," Bagnoli said. "They've had two losses in four years. ... I'm not going to minimize what our kids have accomplished based on one game."

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