The Friday night lights were back on at a rainy Franklin Field as Penn sprint football was back in action against Mansfield.
Two scoring-filled quarters in the second and in the third were all it took for the Quakers to get their second win of the 2024 season. Penn defeated Mansfield 24-13 with freshman quarterback Michael Malone going 11-20 with 152 passing yards.
“[Malone is] incredibly poised, and he's honestly built for this… and we rally around him,” senior wide receiver Jake Wang said. “He's done an amazing job so far. He's a really tough kid.”
The win also came on the birthday of coach Jerry McConnell.
“We’ll just say he turned 30 years young,” Wang said.
The first half saw drives coming to grueling halts as three consecutive punts kicked off the game. It was Mansfield quarterback Cahsid Raymond, however, who turned on the scoreboard with a 39-yard rushing touchdown.
Early in the second quarter, sophomore linebacker Jacob Rios forced a fumble recovered by the Quakers inside the red zone, which allowed for sophomore running back JT Goodman’s first rushing touchdown of the season. In the final minutes of the first half, a routine Mansfield punt was seemingly blocked by a Quaker lineman and picked up downfield by a Mountie's special-teams player.
The referees did not call the punt as a block, giving the Quakers the ball to the dismay of Mansfield fans. The Quakers proceeded to go down the field on a nine-play, 51-yard drive ending in a field goal by senior kicker Adrian Montemayor.
On the first drive of the third quarter, the Quakers came out aggressively targeting Wang, who hauled in 28 and 25-yard receptions, the latter being a Penn touchdown.
“We were running the ball pretty effectively, and once they stopped it, we knew we were going to be able to come out with a lighter coverage,” Wang said. He ended the day leading the Quakers with 93 receiving yards.
On Penn's next possession, Goodman punched the ball into the endzone yet again. It took two attempts to count the points after the first rush was called back due to a penalty, but the next was good for his second rushing touchdown.
“Our running game is doing better each week. I think both backs did a good job, and JT is just a tough kid," McConnell said. “You put tough kids in situations where you want them to thrive, and he thrives.”
On the ensuing kickoff, the Quakers tackled Mountie returner Lovett Davenport on Mansfield's own nine-yard line. That was not a problem for Raymond and the Mansfield offense as he inked his second touchdown on a 91-yard reception.
Raymond ultimately finished the contest with 164 receiving yards, 67 rushing yards, and 53 passing yards, accounting for the most by any player from scrimmage.
Penn sprint football will take the field next in an October 12 matchup against Cornell in Ithaca at 4 p.m.
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