Penn sprint football survives scare in alumni game, 26-21

On Saturday, the Quakers looked to their past to get ready for their future.

In a final tune up before the season, Penn sprint football held its annual alumni game, as the team took on recent graduates of the program. The current team bested the former players in a hotly contested game by the score of 26-21.

The star of the game offensively for the Red and Blue was junior wide out Marcus Jones, who looks poised to lead the team in receptions after Henry Mason, who lined up against the squad yesterday, graduated last year. Jones led the team with 87 yards on six receptions, scoring two touchdowns.

“I think I’m going to have a pretty big role,” Jones, who primarily played on defense in 2015, said. “We lost [Mason] last year, so I have pretty big shoes to fill, but I think the way we’re practicing right now, we’re looking good. I’m having good progress and good rhythm, and I think that I’m going to be a player that they can count on on any play, any down.”

Freshman quarterback Edward Jenkins also had a solid game, running in the Quakers’ first TD after scrambling away from the defense, and throwing the winning TD pass to Jones. On the other side of the ball, senior defensive back Chris Colavita came up with the biggest play, a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The alumni gave a particularly strong effort this year, pushing the current team to the brink. Ultimately, the current team pulled ahead with Jenkins’ TD pass to Jones with 0:44 left in the game.

“It was a super effort by our alums to come out and put on a tremendous effort like they did in this atmosphere,” coach Bill Wagner said. “All of them love to play, they love football, and they loved their experience here. They all have great careers, but they all remember to come and give back to something they truly love.”

Despite both sides’ efforts during the game, the day was about far more than the results on the field. This weekend, which is alumni weekend for the team, serves as a way to connect old and new, to create and further the bonds between the current and former players.

“It’s an incredible show of family, just how united this whole brotherhood is,” Jones said. “Once you’re done for four years, you’re not really done. You just come back. It’s all a family, everyone talks to each other, we have mentors coming back, just talking to other guys. It doesn’t end after four years.”

The weekend’s festivities included a Mentoring Panel and reception on Friday night, as well as a barbecue for family and friends of the players, former and current, after the game.

The weekend also serves as the Quakers’ biggest fundraiser of the year, with many alumni giving back to the team that they once played for.

“We are probably about 100 percent self-endowed,” Wagner said. “We’ve raised over several million dollars; the locker room has been done over again. Our alums support us, they follow our team and they’re mentoring our kids through the Mentoring Program.”

With their first game against Mansfield just a week away, this final tune up gives Penn a chance to see just what they are capable of this year. Hopefully, they can carry the momentum of this victory into a hot start of the season.

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