With 12 minutes left in the third quarter of Saturday’s contest against Sacred Heart in Connecticut, the Penn football team led 24-0.
Running back Karekin Brooks, the second-leading rusher in the Ivy League, scored on a 12-yard run in the first quarter. Placekicker Jack Soslow nailed a 51-yard field goal in the second, the third-longest field goal in program history.
Quarterback Ryan Glover connected with wide receiver Christian Pearson on a 20-yard touchdown pass with six minutes remaining in the first half to put Penn up 17-0 at the break.
Early in the third quarter, running back Abe Willows scored on a three-yard run to give Penn a 24-0 advantage.
Then things got interesting.
Sacred Heart running back Jordan Meachum scored on a nine-yard run to make it a 24-7 game.
After Soslow’s 33-yard field goal sailed wide left, Meachum scored again on a 17-yard run to make it a 24-14 game.
Pioneers quarterback Kevin Duke connected with wide receiver RJ Trimble-Edwards for a 53-yard score with 1:30 left in the third to cut Penn’s lead to 24-21.
Sacred Heart took its first lead of the game on a 21-yard fumble recovery around five minutes into the fourth quarter. Defensive lineman Aaron Donalson knocked Glover’s pitch out of the air, picked it up, and returned it for a touchdown. The Pioneers’ kicker missed the extra point and Sacred Heart led 27-24.
Penn had the ball on its own 13-yard line with 3:13 left in the game.
Brooks rushed twice to move the ball out to the 27. Glover connected with Pearson for 18 yards to push the Quakers to the 45. A 23-yard run by Brooks advanced the Quakers to the Sacred Heart 32-yard line. Brooks ran for four more yards to move the Quakers to the 28. Glover found wide receiver Steve Farrell on a 10-yard pass to push the Quakers to the 18. Willows ran for 8 yards to move the Quakers to the 10. With 1:19 remaining, Glover found Pearson for the 10-yard, game-winning score.
Sacred Heart had one last chance to move the ball down the field, but the Penn defense protected the victory.
Glover finished 15-20 for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brooks had 28 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown. Willows had 14 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, linebacker Brian O’Neill had 10 tackles (5 solo), 2 tackles for loss, and half a sack. Linebacker Nick Miller had 9 tackles (4 solo), 1 and a half tackles for loss, and 1 sack.
Defensive lineman Taheeb Sonekan had two blocked field goals, which tied the FCS record.
Penn takes on Columbia on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. at Franklin Field.
