Penn blows early lead to Lehigh

It's funny what can happen in 12 seconds of a football game. A wide receiver can run the length of the field, or a quarterback can run through the plays in the huddle. And for Penn, it's plenty of time to give away a two-touchdown lead. In doing so, the Quakers (2-3) erased the fruits of their best work of the season, a first quarter in which the offense clicked and the defense was in command. The almost instant turnaround set visiting Lehigh (3-4) in motion and led to Penn's downfall, 28-24, in front of 5,074 fans Saturday at Franklin Field. The 56-yard drive that culminated in Lehigh quarterback Seka Edwards's 15-yard scramble took nearly four minutes, but that wasn't what really hurt the Quakers, who knew they would not shutout the high-scoring Engineers. On the next play from scrimmage, though, Penn quarterback Steve Teodecki delivered a ball right into the hands of Lehigh cornerback Tahir Rivers in the left flat. Rivers cruised 27 yards into the endzone to knot the score at 14 with 8:48 to play in the second quarter. "I think today Rivers's interception return was a real big turnaround," said Lehigh safety Mark Miller of the Mountain Hawks' first quarter defensive woes. "We weren't ready for the hurry-up offense." But the game had already turned when returner Mark Fabish muffed a punt at Lehigh's 44. The Engineers didn't score off the turnover, but Penn wasted prime field position and a chance to go up by three scores early. "I don't want to say it's all one play -- because obviously you've got 75 plays after that -- but you have a huge shift in field position after the ball is bouncing around and hits off our returner's leg," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. The Quakers' offense, which had shown its finest form of the year in the first quarter, dried up after that play. Although that pass was not Teodecki's last of the game, it, along with a shoulder injury suffered the week before, must have influenced Bagnoli's decision to rely on backup Tom MacLeod for most of the rest of the game. Both signal-callers faced the same difficulty, as Lehigh cornerbacks forced the Quakers to throw underneath the defense by laying off the line of scrimmage. The result: Teodecki and McLeod combined for a 12-of-30 performance for a season-low 95 yards. "The entire offense, we just couldn't get into a rhythm," said MacLeod, who was intercepted once and had one touchdown pass. "Whether it was a bad pass on my part or a penalty, something held us back today." Meanwhile, the Penn defense was having trouble dealing with the multi-dimensional Edwards. In addition to his ability to break containment and run for yards, the Lehigh quarterback overcame a slow start through the air. He finished 20-for-30 for 248 yards, most of which went to star receiver Deron Braswell (seven catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns). The two struck for the first time 39 seconds before halftime. Braswell got under a deep, lofted pass on the left side, then slipped between Penn defenders Mike Ferguson and Larrin Robertson for a 54-yard touchdown and a 21-14 Lehigh lead. The Quakers got a break after intermission. Five minutes into the second half, Edwards fumbled the exchange from center. Penn linebacker Mark Van Meter scooped up the bouncing ball and jogged eight yards for the game-tying score. But the Quakers were unable to find their form on offense. Lehigh continued to pressure the already struggling Penn quarterbacks, including two successful safety blitzes. In fact, MacLeod did not complete a pass in the second half until Penn's final drive. "I thought they did a better job blitzing the kid [in the second half]," Bagnoli said. "They came with some blitzes that we haven't seen. I thought they did a nice job coming at some key times." The grounded air game limited the effectiveness of the run, although that was still Penn's strongest offensive weapon. The Quakers ran for 187 yards (only 70 in the second half), led by senior tailback Jasen Scott (23 carries, 117 yards) and supported by Rick Granata (12 carries, 41 yards). Lehigh also enjoyed a strong ground game, led by sophomore Brian Baker's 139-yard performance But the second half story, again, was Lehigh's Edwards-to-Braswell combination. That clicked again midway through the third quarter on a 21-yard strike in the right corner of the endzone to put Lehigh up 28-21. Penn mustered a 37-yard Jeremiah Greathouse field goal with just under six minutes to play, cutting the gap to four. The Quakers got the ball again with 4:19 to play on their own two-yard line. Although MacLeod completed four straight passes, the drive -- and Penn's hopes -- stalled out at the 32. Lehigh ran out the clock. It was not the finish anyone envisioned in the first quarter, when Penn, unveiling a new no-huddle offense, marched 80 yards straight through the Mountain Hawks defense. Teodecki then hit wide-out John James at the two-yard line, and the junior danced into the endzone. Four minutes later, MacLeod led an equally impressive 56-yard drive, finished with a roll-out four-yard scoring pass to tight end Travis Arbogast.