Penn football leads Cornell at the half, 21-18

It certainly wasn’t a conventional first half.

Cornell had three failed extra points. Penn had a fumble recovery for a touchdown turned around by a questionable call by the referees.

Both teams had their share of turnovers, and neither could manage to establish a true lead. At the half, Penn ended up on top 21-18.

The Big Red opened up the scoring on their first drive, taking the ball 67 yards down the field in just six plays. Sophomore quarterback Robert Somborn capped off the drive with a 32-yard pass to fellow sophomore receiver Collin Shaw.

The Quakers started out slow on offense, but responded following a strong defensive drive to force a three-and-out. Taking the ball on Cornell’s 23, sophomore quarterback Alek Torgersen drove Penn to the end zone to take the lead.

On the Big Red’s next drive, Penn forced a fumble, but due to the referees’ questioning the original fumble call, Kevin Ijoma’s return (for a touchdown) was nullified. Torgersen proceeded to throw an interception on the next play.

The rest of the half saw the two teams trade touchdowns, and fumble the ball five times with only one changing hands.

Penn’s special teams have proved to be the difference thus far. Junior kicker Jimmy Gammill converted all three of his extra points – notable mainly due to Cornell’s inability to. Penn also benefitted from great field position following a pair of long punt returns from seniors Spencer Kulcsar and Eric Fiore.

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