Penn football leads Columbia at halftime, 14-7

As Penn football seemed to be in with the new on Saturday, the first half of the Quakers' game with Columbia looked like a lot more of the same.

Despite sporting their new all-grey uniforms for the first time in 2014, the Red and Blue (0-4, 0-1 Ivy) struggled out of the gates against their Empire State foe before taking a 14-7 lead into halftime.

It was a familiar sight for Penn fans. Exactly like last season's matchup with Columbia (0-4, 0-1), the Quakers fell behind by a touchdown early as junior quarterback Trevor McDonagh led the Lions on a nine-play scoring drive on the game's first possession.

Aided by a dearth of pressure from the Red and Blue's front seven, McDonagh managed to pick apart the Quakers' secondary before finding rookie tight end Zach Dansby for a six-yard touchdown.

The beginning of Saturday's game looked a lot like the first four contests of Penn's season. Up against stellar quarterbacks like Jacksonville's Kade Bell and Villanova's John Robertson, the Red and Blue's defensive backfield -- led by seniors Dan Wilk and Evan Jackson -- was continually eviscerated.

McDonagh's touchdown drive surely looked like an extension of that. The Lions' score, combined with consecutive three-and-outs by Penn's offense on its first two possessions, left the Red and Blue faithful restless.

But the Quakers front finally started to put pressure on McDonagh. Following Columbia's touchdown, he St. Louis, Mo., native was pressured heavily on back-to-back third down plays, allowing Penn to get the ball back.

Aided by stellar field position -- Penn's five first half drives began on its own 35, 49, 40, 20 and 41, respectively -- Torgersen and company went to work.

After two positive runs by sophomore running back Brian Schoenauer, Torgersen found Connor Scott along the sidelines to move the Quakers down the field. After a pass interference penalty on Columbia's Trevor Bell, Eric Fiore took the handoff on the next play 12 yards for a score.

Despite injuries to Kyle Wilcox, Lyle Marsh and Tre Solomon -- Penn's top three running backs -- the Quakers backfield set the tone for the Quakers throughout the first half. Torgersen carried the ball six times for 37 yards while both Schoenauer and Fiore combined for 62 yards on the ground.

Led by sophomore linebacker Donald Panciello, Penn's defense continued to step up and allowed Torgersen to go to work once again. With less than 6 minutes left in the half, the sophomore found tight end Ryan Kelly in the flat for a seven yard score to give the Red and Blue their first lead of the day.

That drive was highlighted by a Ben Roethlisberger-esque move by Torgersen. With the ball at Columbia's 35, the second-year gunslinger evaded a rusher, flushed out to the right and found Scott for an 18 yard gain. Two plays later, Penn had the lead.

After a stop, the Red and Blue looked to extend their lead before the half. However, inside his own territory, Torgersen fumbled on a quarter back draw, giving the Lions a shot to score before the half.

With 12 seconds remaining before the break, freshman kicker Noah Zgrablich pushed a field goal attempt wide right allowing the Quakers to hold onto their 14-7 lead.

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