Quakers rout San Diego, 61-18

SAN DIEGO -- Coming into Torero Stadium to kick off the 2004 campaign, there are a number of questions facing the Penn football team. And for the first two series of the game -- a pair of three-and-outs -- against San Diego doubts hung in the 75-degree air. Ten minutes later, all doubts held by the crowd of 4,012 predominantly Red and Blue faithful were erased by a trio of Penn touchdowns -- two of which the result of San Diego turnovers. This was just beginning of a rout unlike any the Toreros had allowed before -- they had allowed no more than 53 points to any opponent since a 53-7 loss to Humboldt State in 1974. The Quakers earned themselves a place in the history of the San Diego program with a 61-18 triumph, their biggest offensive game since the formal inception of the Ivy League in 1956. Junior running back Sam Mathews got the Quakers rolling with a 26-yard charge to the San Diego 5-yard line midway through the first quarter. One snap later, Mathews put the ball across the line for the first score of the game and the new season. After the kickoff, the Toreros lost the handle, and senior Luke Hadden took the ball for the Red and Blue. This put junior quarterback Pat McDermott back in control and the Quakers' offense did the rest. Mathews drove again to the endzone, and less than a minute later, McDermott launched his first touchdown pass to junior Matt Boyer. After rattling off 20 points in the opening quarter, mostly attributed to an effective use of play-action and a prolific ground attack led by Mathews, the Quakers were off to the races. But while the offense was flexing its muscles, the real stars of the game were on the defensive end of the ball. The Quakers held San Diego to just nine total yards and zero first downs for the initial 13 minutes until the Toreros started a run. Just before the whistle signaled the end of the first Quarter, the Toreros got their first taste of the Penn end of the field. But it would take them until late in the third quarter for San Diego to find the Quakers' endzone. After a failed two-point conversion, the scoreboard read 33-6 in favor of the Red and Blue. The Quakers rush defense was nearly impenetrable, allowing just three first downs and 88 total yards on the ground. But Toreros' quarterback Todd Mortensen quickly turned to a passing machine, completing 37 of 61 throws for a total of 331 yards.

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