Two streaks, one stone

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Print yourself a stat sheet and try to figure this one out.

In its NCAA-record 1,300th game in program history, Penn threw four second-half interceptions yet came out of Providence, R.I., with a 14-7 overtime win — its first victory over Brown in five years.

It was partly because of the Bears’ mistakes: two lost fumbles and three failed field goal attempts.

Much of it was the brighter half of quarterback Kyle Olson’s afternoon, during which the senior posted a career high 313 yards on 27-for-47 passing, including a game-winning swing pass to Kyle Derham.

But mostly it was another dominant defensive outing.

The Quakers (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) refused to yield an offensive touchdown for another four quarters, bringing their streak to 10. They forced the Bears (4-3, 2-2) out of the red zone empty-handed three times, and held Brown to 1-for-13 on third down conversions.

Oh, and one of the three failed attempts was a field goal that linebacker Jake Lewko blocked.

Things started normally enough, with the Red and Blue forcing three-and-out on the Bears’ first possession.

On its second series, Penn showed what type of game it planned to bring against the worst passing defense in the Ancient Eight: Olson’s 28-, 14-, 10- and seven-yard completions brought the Quakers within eight yards of the endzone.

That was close enough for Penn to score, as Luke DeLuca pounced on a Lyle Marsh fumble in the endzone to grab a 7-0 lead.

That was it for first-half offense. Andrew Samson pulled a 32-yard field goal attempt wide left at the beginning of the second quarter, and Lewko deflected Patrick Rooney’s 29-yard attempt just two seconds before halftime.

“I had [Joe] Goniprow right next to me, he just drew so much attention, everyone collapsed on him,” Lewko said. “I got squeezed through the corner, and I actually missed the block, but it nicked off my facemask and went wide.”

However it happened, the play would prove crucial to the outcome of the game as the Quakers retained the lead headed into intermission.

On the sixth play of the second half, Brown cornerback AJ Cruz picked off Olson and took the ball 42 yards for the score. Rooney nailed the point after — his only conversion of the game — to tie it, 7-7.

For the remainder of regulation, both squads combined for five turnovers, but no scores.

Two of Olson’s picks were off the hands of his receivers — one coming on first and goal. Meanwhile, Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero and running back Zach Tronti snuffed two of the Bears’ drives with a fumble apiece.

“It’s football,” Brown Coach Phil Estes said of his team’s offensive struggles. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I don’t like it … they get frustrated and you decide you want to make a play and so you struggle for that extra yard and sometimes you cough up the ball.”

After a late-game drive, the Bears positioned themselves for a 44-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. Penn coach Al Bagnoli used his remaining two timeouts to ice Rooney, whose potential game-winning kick tumbled short of the crossbar.

“[Rooney] was a hero at Holy Cross and Princeton; now he’s not the hero,” Estes said of his kicker.

Brown won the toss and elected to defend first in the extra frame.

Olson found Derham for a 16-yard gain on Penn’s first overtime play. After a short gain from running back Matt Hamscher, Olson went back to the senior receiver, throwng a quick pass and letting Derham reach the endzone on a full-extension dive, putting Penn up 14-7 after the extra point.

The Quakers’ defensive line was all over Newhall-Caballero on his final series, forcing the quarterback to scramble twice for a total of one yard, and throw two incomplete passes.

As the quarterback’s last pass attempt sailed out of bounds, the Red and Blue charged the field to celebrate their first overtime victory since 2004.

“We’ve certainly had our share of overtime games and certainly the results have been less than desirable,” Bagnoli said. “We may have made it a little bit harder than it should have been, but I give our kids tremendous credit for overcoming some adversity.”

The Quakers now control their own destiny with three Ivy contests to go. They’ll come back to Franklin Field for a Homecoming game against Princeton Saturday with the confidence that they can outplay anyone for four quarters — or more.

As Lewko put it, “It’s over, it’s done with. … This is the new streak of winning in overtime,” he said. “The hell with the old history of bad breaks, bad snaps, missed kicks, interceptions, fumbles, it’s over.”

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