Penn defeats Harvard to clinch Ivy title

BOSTON — It looks like Kyle Olson is finally comfortable slingin’ in the rain.

The senior quarterback looked confident despite torrential Boston downpours, using a 14-for-24, one-touchdown performance to lead Penn to a 17-7 victory in the effective Ivy championship game at Harvard on Saturday.

“We’ve had a few games in the rain this year,” Olson said. “Kudos to Coach Bagnoli for giving me a chance, bringing me out in this climate and giving me a chance to succeed.”

Succeed he did, and early.

A quick five-play, 77-yard drive to start the game was capped by a 51-yard catch and run from Olson to wide receiver Marcus Lawrence, who cut around the left side and scampered past every defender for Harvard (6-3, 5-1 Ivy).

And considering the amount of precipitation — so much that rivulets of water cascaded from every crack in Harvard Stadium — it’s appropriate that Olson compared the play to marine life.

“It was a wide receiver screen, and the ball came out like a wet fish,” he said. “But [Lawrence] caught it … and just broke away.”

And just like that, two minutes and three seconds into the game, the Quakers (7-2, 6-0) jumped out to a touchdown lead in weather in which the endzone was seldom found.

Olson’s early success was mirrored by that of Penn’s defense and special teams.

A frenzied rush from the Quakers’ D-line and linebackers held junior quarterback Collier Winters to 2-of-5 passing for just 15 yards in the first half.

“We mixed it up with a lot of different blitzes today, kept them guessing constantly,” senior linebacker Jake Lewko said. “We just went loose on the weak side.”

So loose that they were able to record two sacks in the Crimson’s opening drive and force a fumble later in the first half.

And as loose as defensive ends and linebackers were getting, the Red and Blue’s special teams were getting even looser; sophomore defensive back Jason Schmucker deflected a punt out of bounds at the Harvard 29 to set up the Quakers’ second score.

The Crimson defense almost forced a fourth down, stopping Lawrence on 3rd and goal at the one-inch line, but a roughing the passer penalty gave Penn a fresh set of downs.

The Quakers took advantage quickly, as Bagnoli called Olson’s number on a QB sneak and the offensive line pushed the pile into the endzone.

With three big plays, the Red and Blue offense had given the vaunted Quakers’ ‘D’ all it needed, as they now had a 14-0 lead they would never give back.

“I don’t think we played particularly poorly defensively in the first half,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “We just gave up a big play, got a turnover on special teams and found ourselves behind the eight ball.”

And the Crimson would stay behind the eight ball, going into the second half down 17-0 after the Quakers tacked on a 28-yard Andrew Samson field goal right before halftime.

The second half was a classic display of preserving a big lead: the Red and Blue defense would bend but not break, and Olson and the offense focused on protecting the ball.

“[The Penn defense] just doesn’t let you get a lot of big plays,” Winters said.

He did get one big play in the third quarter, however, as he hit receiver Chris Lorditch on a 45-yard touchdown bomb when the junior receiver got past the coverage after a fake reverse. But other than that, the defense did what it needed to do.

On Harvard’s last hurrah, it still could not make the Penn defense budge. The Crimson got all the way down to Penn’s eight-yard line to set up first and goal with just over three minutes left, but the Quakers’ defense stopped four straight rushing attempts, the last of which was on the half-yard line.

“The three Penn D-linemen just kind of submarined our guys, and we didn’t get a push,” Winters said.

And after that, all the Penn defense really had to do was watch the clock wind down and start lighting its victory cigars.

The players strutted out of Harvard stadium as Ivy champs, puffing on the sweet taste of victory.

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