The Quakers’ 27-13 triumph over Columbia vaulted them to No. 20 in the Sports Network/Fathead.com media poll — Penn’s highest poll ranking since 2004.
In front of 10,523 fans Saturday, the Penn defense, led by junior safety Matt Hamscher shut down a Columbia offense that entered the game as the highest scoring in the League.
After sacking Lions quarterback Sean Brackett twice and racking up eight tackles, Hamscher earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors. The junior’s last Ivy distinction came in 2008, when he was awarded Ivy League Rookie of the Week after scoring his first career touchdown.
While homecoming is looming two weeks in the distance, Penn is preparing for its first Ivy away game of the season. On Saturday, the Quakers will face a Yale squad that defeated Fordham 7-6 this weekend.
Wounded Tigers give up ground
After an injury took Princeton quarterback Tommy Wornham early in Saturday’s game against Brown, coach Bob Surace was forced to rely on backup Andrew Dixon. However, the senior was unable to secure a victory in his first career appearance, and the Tigers lost 17-13 to Brown at home.
Wornham, a junior from San Diego, who ended last season with a solid 56.9 completion percentage, got Princeton off to a strong start, scoring on a 1-yard run to give his team an early 7-0 lead.
However, after he was taken out of the contest later in the first quarter, Princeton’s offense stalled — particularly once senior running back Jordan Culbreath was also forced to leave the game due to injury.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Surace spoke about a string of recent injuries sustained by his squad.
“Maybe we need to hire some more medical staff,” he joked.
Harvard slips into Mountain Hawks’ talons
The Crimson faltered after a strong start at Harvard Stadium on Saturday, allowing Lehigh to come back for a 21-19 win.
Despite winds hitting speeds of 45 miles per hour, Lehigh relied on the pass, completely knocking the Crimson off their game.
Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum completed 12 of 16 attempts for 191 yards in the air as the Mountain Hawks scored all of their 21 points in the third quarter.
Lehigh ended its third frame dominance with a 51-yard touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Ryan Spandola.
Things looked briefly up for Harvard when wide receiver Michael Cook appeared to bring in a 28-yard touchdpwm at the tail end of the game. However the play was ruled incomplete, leaving Lehigh to carry through the final minute for the win.
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