Penn needed a big play.
Trailing 10-3 with 37 seconds left until halftime in Saturday’s Homecoming game against Yale, the Quakers needed to hold steady to prevent the Bulldogs from entering intermission up double-digits.
Yale had the ball and a 1st-and-10 at their own 42. Quarterback Nolan Grooms took the shotgun snap and attempted a pass, but it was tipped by third-year defensive lineman Joey Slackman and intercepted by fourth-year defensive lineman Jake Heimlicher.
Two plays later, the Red & Blue were in the endzone and the game was knotted at 10-10.
Slackman’s game-altering play and others like it have earned him Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week recognition.
From Commack, New York, Slackman finished the game, a 20-13 Penn win, with seven tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and the pass breakup.
For the season, he has 26 tackles (10 solo), 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one pass breakup, and three quarterback hurries. His sack total is second on the team behind Heimlicher and seventh in the conference.
The undefeated Quakers (6-0 overall, 3-0 in Ivy League) battle Brown (2-4 overall, 0-3 in Ivy League) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Rhode Island.
