Football team edges Sacred Heart in wild, come-from-behind affair

The Quakers scored 24 unanswered points, then the Pioneers scored 27 unanswered points of their own, before Penn pulled out the victory in the final minutes.

Penn Sacred Heart
Junior running back Abe Willows had 14 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

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.

Karekin Brooks Penn football
Junior running back Karekin Brooks had 28 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown.

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.

Taheeb Sonekan
Junior defensive lineman Taheeb Sonekan had two blocked field goals, which tied the FCS record. 

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.