The Penn football team's defensive secondary pulled a disappearing act in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 34-31 overtime victory over Yale and nearly overshadowed another incredible day on the ground for Quakers running back Sam Mathews.
The sophomore paced the Penn offense through the majority of the first three quarters and would finish the game with a career-high 204 yards on 36 attempts. Led by an experienced offensive line that was able to create some gaping holes for Mathews, Penn found itself up 24-3 and seemingly in complete control as the final stanza began.
However, Yale's Alvin Cowan found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter as he scrambled five yards for the score. The run capped off a 17-play drive that consumed 7:51 of playing time and set the tone for the rest of the quarter.
"In the second half it seemed like we did not have the ball at all, their offense did a great job of just keeping us off the field," Mathews said.
Penn did answer on the ensuing drive as senior quarterback Mike Mitchell was sharp, leading the Quakers 71 yards on eight plays.
But from that point on it was all Yale, all Cowan.
The Elis cut the deficit to 31-17 with 8:04 remaining in the game and turned their hopes over to the special teams and kicker Ryan Allen. The onside kick and Yale's recovery unit were both perfect as Yale recovered and Cowan continued to move the ball with ease against the Penn secondary.
"It's unbelievable how many of those [Allen] gets," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.
"We saw tape of him against Colgate, it doesn't matter if [he kicks] on grass or turf, he's got to be one of the best [at onside kickoffs] in D I-AA."
Yale went 52 yards, helped by a questionable pass interference call on a crucial third down conversion. Cowan then found one of his two favorite targets on the day, Ralph Plumb, for a 17-yard connection to cut the lead in half to 31-24.
Again the Elis looked to Allen and the special teams to get the ball back, but this time Penn was able to recover. With only 4:29 remaining in the fourth quarter and the ball at the Yale 45-yard line, Penn, again, seemed to have the game well in hand.
However, after a drive that lasted a grand total of 32 seconds and covered four yards, the Red and Blue were forced to give the ball back to Yale with plenty of time remaining on the clock.
Yale took its time moving methodically down the field with Cowan, picking apart the Penn secondary. The senior quarterback went 10-for-15 on the drive before finally connecting with Plumb for an 11-yard touchdown pass. After the extra point by John Troost split the uprights the score was knotted at 31.
After three completed passes by Mitchell, the Red and Blue had one final chance to erase the mistakes of the previous 15 minutes. Senior place kicker Peter Veldman lined up a 45-yard field goal attempt but came up short as the game clock showed zero. The 45-yarder would have been Veldman's career high.
After losing the overtime coin toss, Elis marched down to the 5-yard line, but they were forced to attempt a field goal after being stopped on a key third and 10. The kick by Troost, however, came out low and Penn's Casey Edgar got a hand on the ball, forcing the miss.
Yale originally recovered the ball after the block, taking it into the end zone for what was ruled a touchdown by one referee. However, after a quick meeting among the officials, the play was ruled not to be a touchdown as the ball passed the original line of scrimmage.
After a 15-yard Mathews scamper, Penn had a first down from just outside the 10-yard line. After two more rushes, Veldman was called upon for 23-yard chip shot that went right through the uprights and gave Penn the 34-31 victory.
"Games like this build character," Bagnoli said. "You have to give [Yale] credit, they played for a full 60 minutes."
