Football bounces past Rams

The fans filing into Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon anticipated a blowout. For much of the first half, they got one. What the 10,529 stunned witnesses did not expect to see was underdog Fordham score 24 unanswered points to grab a 24-7 second-quarter lead. The Penn football team's first-half free fall, however, turned into a bungee jump, as Penn (3-0) snapped back just before it was too late. When the manic marathon ended, Penn led 34-30 and was still unbeaten. Senior quarterback Jim McGeehan's 11-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wideout Miles Macik with 4:56 left to play provided the final margin of victory. Even Houdini would have envied the Quakers' narrow escape from defeat. The game-winning march began at the Fordham 40, but the Quakers were quickly retreating. A holding penalty and a sack forced Penn into a second down and 33. Sophomore running back Terrance Stokes carried for eight yards to make it third and 25. Then McGeehan found Macik for 20 yards, the longest of the sophomore's school record-tying 12 catches on the afternoon. On fourth and five, McGeehan spotted sophomore Matt Tonelli over the middle for seven yards, the tight end's only catch of the day. Six plays later, the Quakers had their first lead since 7-0. Until Macik's touchdown, the Penn defense had piggybacked on the offense's effort, as Fordham quarterback Joe Moorhead and flanker Calvin Hargrove dissected the Penn defense five times for 185 yards. On Fordham's possession following Macik's go-ahead touchdown, Moorhead uncorked a bomb from the Fordham 46. Hargrove and Penn safety Sheldon Philip-Guide jumped for the ball. Hargrove appeared to have his hands on it, but Philip-Guide ripped the ball away as the two fell to the ground inside the Penn 10. "We always knew that we could come back," Stokes said. "You have to have confidence." Moorhead was very confident in his first start. He threw for 181 yards in the first half on only seven completions and connected on touchdown passes of 48 and 34 yards to Hargrove and Randy McKee. The pass to McKee followed the most bizarre play of the season. Penn cornerback James Daniels picked off a Moorhead pass, only to fumble the ball forward on the return. The fumble bounced off the turf before hitting an official's foot and careening backwards. McKee recovered and was celebrating in the endzone one play later. "I have been in coaching as a head coach for 12 years," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "I am trying to think back if there has ever been a game like that with so many crazy things happening, and I honestly cannot." The touchdown gave Fordham a 17-7 lead. On Penn's next possession, Rams linebacker Ryan Reinert returned Penn tailback Joe Allen's fumble 37 yards to score and the Quakers were in trouble, trailing 24-7. Before the half, McGeehan and Macik connected on four straight passes, including a 12-yard touchdown to narrow the gap to 10 with 57 seconds remaining in the opening half. The Quakers had a chance to close the gap further after recovering a Fordham fumble at the Fordham 16 only 29 seconds later, but the offense sputtered and senior kicker Andy Glockner's 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as the half ended. "Their kid [Moorhead] got a little confidence early, and as soon as that team got some confidence they really became a difficult team to play," Bagnoli said. The difficulties continued in the third quarter. An apparent touchdown pass from McGeehan to Stokes was called back due to an illegal procedure penalty. After a blocked Penn field goal attempt, Moorhead led the Rams 73 yards on just four plays. The 22-yard touchdown strike to flanker Shawn Harris gave Fordham a 30-14 lead, but the extra point was blocked by Quakers defensive lineman Brent Ruhkamp. It was the last pass Moorhead would complete all day, and the only one in the entire second half. McGeehan's one-yard scramble closed the gap again, but a failed two-point conversion left Penn down by 10 points entering the final quarter. A Daniels interception, his third of the game, set up a 30-yard burst by Stokes to pull Penn within three. The Fordham defense showed no ability to stop Stokes all afternoon as he carried 31 times for a career-high 192 yards. The offensive line opened up some gaping holes for Stokes, and he usually picked the right one to burst through. Stokes' success running the ball on draw plays prevented the Fordham defense from zeroing in on McGeehan when Penn fell behind. "They couldn't stop the run nor the pass," Stokes said. The Penn defense just couldn't stop the pass. The defensive line smothered the Rams' running game, allowing just 35 yards on 33 carries.