Fordham well ahead of Penn football at the half, 43-19

For a brief moment it looked like Penn football was going to be able to hang with No. 18 Fordham. But after ten minutes of play, luck was no longer in favor of the Quakers and the Rams took a 43-19 lead at the half.

Penn came out aggressive and explosive at the start. After two big stops by the Quakers’ defense the offense drew first blood on a 33 yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Alek Torgersen to senior tight end Ryan O’Malley following a huge 44 yard sweep run by senior wide receiver Eric Fiore.

Unfortunately for the Quakers that would be the only time they reached the end zone in the first half.

After an exciting first quarter in which Penn led 10-7 with 2:48 to play, Fordham collected itself and proved to the Red and Blue why its offense is so feared.

But first, the Rams’ defense got in on the action.

A fumble by Torgersen was recovered for a touchdown by Fordham senior nose tackle DeAndre Slate.

After that play the Rams' senior gunslinger Mike Nebrich found his swagger and led Fordham on four more touchdown drives before the end of the half. The Walter Payton Award candidate and perennial Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week found senior wide receiver Tebucky Jones Jr. often. The son of the eponymous former NFL cornerback accounted for 203 of Nebrich’s 450 passing yards and two of his touchdowns.

Penn answered with many big plays of its own. With Torgersen lining up in the shotgun for the majority of the snaps he was the benefit of superb offensive line play by the Quakers. His 233 passing yards were the result of multiple big plays.

But after that first drive the Quakers weren’t able to capitalize on their breakout gains.

Poor decision making by Torgersen led to significant misfortunes for the Red and Blue The largest of which came on a third down pass attempt to freshman running back Tre Solomon in the red zone halfway through the third quarter. Solomon got flattened by Levon Williams — who already had an interception to his name.

Solomon was carried off the field after the play and did not return with an apparent knee injury. He exited the field on crutches just before halftime.

A red zone pick by Torgersen killed one drive, and the Rams defense would stiffen any time Penn entered Fordham territory, forcing four Jimmy Gammill field goals.

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