Football beats Duquesne, 51-10

After finishing last season with a 31-0 rout of Cornell, Penn started its 2003 campaign against Duquesne in similar fashion, torching the Dukes 51-10. The Quakers' offense was flawless early, led to a 20-0 edge by two quick touchdowns by sophomore running back Sam Matthews, who transferred this season from Navy. Matthews finished the game with 89 rushing yards and 29 yards receiving. Senior quarterback Mike Mitchell completed 19 of 30 attempts for 206 yards and four touchdowns. On the receiving end, senior receiver Joe Phillips led Penn with 76 yards, junior Dan Castles caught three passes for 23 yards, and junior Gabe Marabella had 20 yards receiving, including a touchdown. In the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Pat McDermott subbed in for Mitchell. He completed four of five passing attempts, and had one interception. For Duquesne, hyped quarterback Niel Loebig had only 18 passing attempts, completing seven passes for 116 yards. He threw three interceptions and was sacked three times. The Dukes' lone touchdown came on a 56-yard interception return by junior Armar Watson. Defensively, Penn's secondary dominated the game. Sophomore Doug Middleton, senior Steve Lhotak and junior Bryan Arguello each had an interception, with Lhotak returning the ball 88 yards. The game marked Penn's first ever meeting with Duquesne.