Penn 16 - Princeton 15 PRINCETON, N.J. -- Each week, as the No. 19 Penn football team's list of consecutive Ivy League victories gets longer and longer, the wins keep getting narrower and narrower.
At this rate, the streak will be coming to an end soon, because wins do not get much narrower than Saturday's nail-biter on the road against Penn's most bitter rival.
Princeton's Derek Javarone missed a 41-yard field goal with 23 seconds left, preserving a 16-15 win for the Quakers, their 20th Ivy League win in a row. Penn had taken the lead on a 27-yard field goal by freshman kicker Derek Zoch with 2:54 left on the clock.
Tigers quarterback Matt Verbit rallied his team in the final two minutes, driving deep into Quakers territory to set up Javarone's decisive miss.
"The last couple weeks we've endured some roller coaster rides, and it continues," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "Our kids have such heart, and I couldn't be more proud of the team, overcoming some of the adversity we had today. I just think our kids showed tremendous resolve. We consider ourselves very fortunate to come out with a 'W.'"
As relieved as Bagnoli was after the game, there was not much for the coach to be proud of early in the game.
The Red and Blue went almost the entire first half without a first down, finally breaking through on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Pat McDermott to wide receiver Dan Castles with 4:37 left in the first half.
Princeton held a major advantage on special teams edge in the first quarter. Tigers punter Colin McDonough pinned the Quakers back to their own 3-yard line to start their first drive, beginning a trend of poor Penn field position in the first half.
This possession ended in a punt, and Princeton's Greg Fields returned Josh Appell's punt 49 yards to the Penn 12-yard line. Three plays later, the Tigers were on the board on a 27-yard field goal by Javarone.
The special teams gave Princeton a golden opportunity when Penn senior Duvol Thompson fumbled the ensuing kickoff.
But, in a recurring first-half theme, the Tigers could not fully capitalize on the chances given to them by the Quakers.
Penn linebacker Luke Hadden forced a fumble by Fields, and safety Kevin Stefanski recovered on the Penn 9-yard line.
But the Quakers could again do nothing offensively, and after a short punt, Tigers running back Branden Benson led Princeton into field-goal range. Javarone's second field goal gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
But the Quakers' defense stiffened after that, with its seniors providing the leadership. Hadden, Thompson and defensive end Michael Sangobowale led an emotional defensive unit that stopped Princeton cold for the rest of the first half.
After linebacker Chad Slapnicka intercepted a Verbit pass to end one possession, Sangobowale stuffed running back Jon Veach on a fourth-and-one near midfield to give the ball back to the Penn offense.
But the Quakers' attack took a while to get untracked. The Red and Blue fumbled and went three-and-out five times in its first six possessions before McDermott found Castles on a third-and-eight, which moved the ball out to the Penn 45-yard line.
The play changed the course of field position in the first half, and seemed to inject life into a dormant Quakers offense.
Penn struck quickly from that point. Seven plays after Castles' momentum-turning play, running back Von Bryant scored on a 12-yard run that gave the Quakers a 7-6 lead at the half.
At the start of the second half, Bagnoli sought to establish the run game with Sam Mathews, conspicuous by his absence in the first half.
Mathews moved the ball to the Princeton 42-yard line before the momentum of the game changed again.
McDermott threw what appeared to be a forward pass to Mathews, who dropped it. But the officials ruled it as a lateral, and Peter Kelly fell on it for the Tigers.
"I thought that was a huge call," Bagnoli said. "We had just had two or three first downs, the ball was right at midfield, we were starting to get a little bit of momentum ... I didn't think it was close."
Princeton took advantage, going back on top on an 8-yard run by Fields. The two-point conversion failed, and Penn remained within one score after Javarone's third field goal gave Princeton a 15-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
As it always seems to do, the Penn offense played its best with its backs up against the wall.
McDermott led the Quakers on a seven-play, 66-yard drive, culminating with a beautiful 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gabe Marabella on a rollout to the left.
Marabella finished with a season-high seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
But the two-point play failed, and Penn found itself still trailing by two points.
The Quakers got the ball back on its 31-yard line with 8:43 left. McDermott led a determined drive that finally stalled at the Princeton 5-yard line with 2:54 remaining.
It was up to Zoch to give Penn the lead. Visions of kicking failures flooded the heads of the Penn faithful as Zoch shanked his first attempt.
But Penn's J.J. Stanton was called for a false start, negating the play and giving Zoch another chance. This time he delivered, nailing a 27-yarder to put Penn on top, 16-15.
"I have a lot of confidence in the snapper and the holder," Zoch said. "I knew the ball would be there."
But to their credit, the Tigers did not give up. Fields kept Princeton in the game, converting a crucial fourth down by slipping through Penn junior Victor Davanzo's tackle.
A personal foul call on the Quakers moved the ball to the Penn 19-yard line. Instead of kicking the ball from that spot, the Tigers tried to pick up extra yardage, a move that backfired when Hadden and Sangobowale stopped Benson back at the 24-yard line for a five-yard loss. Thus, Javarone's kick was from 41 yards away rather than 36.
The kicker had hit his first three of the day, but his fourth attempt went wide to the right, sending Quakers players and friends into a frenzy along the sideline.
The Quakers had escaped with another Ivy League victory.
