Perfection: Penn 59 - Cornell 7

From the first play from scrimmage, the Penn football team dominated the Cornell Big Red en route to posting a 59-7 victory that put the finishing touch on another Ivy League championship and an undefeated season.

Playing in his final game for the Red and Blue, senior quarterback Mike Mitchell wasted no time getting his day started. After a play-action fake, Mitchell found junior wide receiver Dan Castles for a 60-yard touchdown pass on the game's first snap.

"You want to go out with a bang," Mitchell said. "Everyone on offense really just went and played their heart out."

The Quakers used the momentum from that play and never looked back.

When the first quarter whistle finally sounded, the Big Red found themselves trailing 28-0 and completely out of the game.

In the first quarter, Mitchell completed all eight of his passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

Castles was Mitchell's favorite target in the first quarter, as he pulled down five catches -- two of which went for touchdowns -- and eclipsed the 100-yard mark with an incredible 168 yards.

"We really wanted to get out to a fast start and get some points early," Castles said. "I think the seniors did a really nice job of setting the tone and by game time everyone just came out firing."

By the end of the day, both Quakers would set new school records. Mitchell threw for a total of five touchdowns, eclipsing the old record of four in one game.

Castles set the Penn record for most touchdown receptions in one game (4) and also set a new personal high for yards receiving (204).

Mitchell and Castles were not the only offensive players who had their way against the Big Red defense. The Quakers tallied almost 600 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns on the day.

The 59 points is the highest Penn total in 56 years and the 52-point margin of victory the greatest since 1947 when the Quakers shut out Lafayette, 59-0.

The final score of the game belonged to sophomore Kyle Ambrogi. Ambrogi accounted for all his 74 yards on just four carries. But his final four yard scamper created a small bit of post-game controversy, as the Big Red felt the Quakers were running up the score.

"I think we were disappointed with the way the game ended," Cornell quarterback D.J. Busch said. "I know that I'll have this game marked on my calendar for a long time."

Penn coach Al Bagnoli defended his actions after the game.

"We were playing our third and fourth string, it's not like we had our starters in there," Bagnoli said. "I just felt that we owed it to some of those kids who practice so hard but haven't really been given many chances in the games."

One of those was senior Jake Perskie. The running back, who has seen little time behind starting sophomore Sam Mathews, scored a touchdown in his final game.

The Penn defense was every bit as good as the offense was. In the decisive first quarter, the Quakers held the Big Red to just 23 yards of total offense on 17 plays.

Junior linebacker Ric San Doval terrorized the Big Red offense all afternoon, recording 12 tackles and three sacks.

Senior co-captain Steve Lhotak closed out his career in style with two sacks and seven tackles on top of a forced fumble.

The Quakers' defense forced six turnovers in the game. Cornerback Pat McManus led that charge with two interceptions of his own.

Senior safety Kevin Stefanski, who returned unexpectedly early from an injury that had been thought to be season-ending, was able to recover a fumble and break up a Cornell pass.

For the graduating seniors, the victory meant they would leave Penn having won three championships in four years while finishing with a league record of 26-2.

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