On a quest for a record 19th Ivy League Championship, the Penn football team held its annual Spring Game on Friday, April 6, at Franklin Field. The controlled scrimmage pitted the offense (in white) versus the defense (in blue).
The Quakers, who finished the 2017 season with a 6-4 record (4-3 Ivy), return eight All-Ivy players from last year’s squad, including First-Team All-Ivy linebacker Nick Miller, First-Team All-Ivy kicker Jack Soslow, Second-Team All-Ivy offensive lineman Tommy Dennis, Second-Team All-Ivy safety Sam Philippi, and leading rusher Karekin Brooks.
Miller was the Ivy League’s leader in solo tackles (66) and total tackles (104). His 104 total tackles were the most by a Penn player since 1997. Dennis was one of two offensive linemen to play all 667 offensive snaps, and did not give up a sack all season. Soslow led the conference in field goals made (10), field goal percentage (83.3), and was a perfect 36 for 36 on extra points. Brooks, the Ivy League’s second-leading rusher, ran for 840 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry, fifth in the FCS.
Penn officially kicked off the 2018 season on Feb. 26 with the first of 11 on-field activities leading up to the Spring Game.
Calling plays at the Spring Game were enthusiastic special guests Craig Carnaroli, executive vice president of Penn, and Provost Wendell Pritchett.
“It’s a rush,” Pritchett said. “It’s much different than watching.”
“It’s much more complicated than you realize,” said Carnaroli. “I think I’m going to stick to the stands and the TV; no career changes in my future.”
Ray Priore, the George A. Munger Head Coach, said he thought Carnaroli and Pritchett did a great job play-calling.
“We had some great drives that they put on in, they both were very, very feisty, and so it was great to see them have fun with it,” he said. “Our kids embraced it. They had a lot of fun and I think it’s something we’ll keep on doing.”
The Quakers open the 2018 regular season on Sept. 15 versus Cornell and end it on Nov. 17 against nemesis Princeton.
“The final weekend of Ivy League play will have a rivalry feel to it across the league,” Priore said. “I know our players and fans will enjoy the anticipation and excitement of playing Princeton the final week of the season. At the same time, I am glad that our storied series with Cornell—the fifth-most played series in all of college football—will have an important place on our home schedule every other year as part of Homecoming Weekend on campus.”
