PRINCETON, N.J. -- As the Penn sprint football team took the field at Princeton on Friday, it was able to put a disappointing skid in the past and close out the season with a 3-3 record, as they had hoped for.
The Tigers, who saw a 40-game losing streak end a week earlier, were no match for the Quakers, with Penn winning 38-12.
Penn began their dominance of the game by scoring its first touchdown less than two minutes into the first quarter, as senior running back Scott Pickett rushed for 58 yards to the end zone. Running back J.T. Hutchinson added to the lead with 45-yard scoring run.
Defensively, Penn was solid as well, blanking the Tigers in the first half.
In the fourth quarter, Penn answered Princeton's first score with a touchdown of its own. But sophomore linebacker Albert Tsai lined up in the backfield and ran it in from three yards out to give the Quakers its last points of the game.
Junior quarterback Mike Loguidice had his best passing game of the season against Princeton, completing eight of 14 attempts and passing for 117 yards.
In their last game as Quakers, several seniors shined on both the offense and defense. Senior defensive end Nick Kopec led the game with 11 tackles and was able to block a punt, leading to Penn's field goal in the first quarter. Pickett rushed for 135 yards during the game and made 14 carries for two touchdowns. And senior David Derr caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Throughout the game emotions ran high, especially because it was the last game of the season and the last football game ever for many of the seniors on the team.
Senior captain and linebacker Kevin Piro spoke of the admiration he had for his team and how they persevered together through the good and the bad. As the seniors leave their beloved team, they are optimistic about the future of sprint football at Penn, especially with the new emerging crop of talented underclassmen.
To the younger players, senior captain Duncan Pelly wanted to leave them with some words of wisdom that he hoped that they would remember for the rest of the years they will be at Penn.
"Enjoy the rest of the years. Sprint football is the best experience you can have at Penn," Pelly said.
