EASTON, Pa. - They're back.
After a four-game losing streak that put last year's team under .500 in the Ivy League, the Quakers of old have seemingly returned.
Penn used 166 yards from senior running back Joe Sandberg and timely plays on defense and special teams to hold off No. 22 Lafayette and win its sixth consecutive season opener.
The triumph was a milestone for head coach Al Bagnoli, who picked up his 100th win as Penn's head coach.
"It basically means you're old, you've been around a while. It's been a little time coming," Bagnoli said.
Sophomore quarterback Robert Irvin sent Penn off to a flying start in his debut. On the game's opening drive, Irvin went 5-of-5 for 55 yards before handing off to Sandberg, who punched in a 1-yard touchdown run.
The 12-play, 80-yard march was Penn's best drive of the game and was the key to a fruitful day for the sophomore, who started the contest 11-for-11 and threw for 182 yards in all.
"I was pretty nervous at first," said Irvin, who had never taken a snap in a collegiate game and was not revealed as the starter until game time. "But once you get out there, it all goes away. . I just stuck to the game plan and tried not to make any mistakes."
After Lafayette's Rick Ziska responded with a field goal to open the second quarter, the Leopards came out pressing to take the lead. Lafayette drove to the Penn 29 before the defense produced the first of several important stops.
Senior captain Scotty Williams stuffed tailback Jonathan Hurt for a 3-yard loss on second down; junior Joe Anastasio forced quarterback Brad Maurer into a poor throw on the next play; and junior Naheem Harris brought Maurer down for an eight-yard loss on fourth down.
"There's a lot of stress on those down kids to rush the quarterback, and not do it out of six- and seven-man blitzes," coach Al Bagnoli said of the defensive line's stellar output. "I thought the upfront kids did a nice job, and I thought they really got after" Maurer.
The Quakers rode that momentum straight to the opposite end zone. Irvin led a perfect two-minute drill and punctuated it by sneaking into the end zone with 18 seconds left in the half.
In the second half, Lafayette stepped it up a notch and forced Penn to come up with another key play. After knifing through the Quakers for 60 yards on the opening drive of the half, Lafayette faced first-and-goal at the 5.
Again, Penn rose to the challenge, stuffing the Leopards on three straight plays. Williams capped it off by getting a hand on the field goal attempt, leaving Lafayette with nothing to show for its most impressive drive to that point.
Lafayette did manage to push through early in the fourth quarter on a 98-yard drive. Maurer scampered 25 yards into the end zone and finished it off by completing the two-point conversion to bring the Leopards within three of Penn.
That momentum was ruined, though, by a risky fake punt employed by Lafayette coach Frank Tavani. After the play backfired, Sandberg took immediate advantage, running the next play in to score from 36 yards out.
"You make those decisions, and you live with it," Tavani said. "If they work, you look good - if they don't work, you don't look so good."
Penn struck the finishing blow while up 21-11 with less than two minutes to go in the game. Lafayette drove 63 yards into field goal range, but again had their kick rejected - this time by senior J. J. Stanton.
"We needed those two field goals badly, and there's just no excuse for that," Tavani said of his squad's special teams miscues.
For its part, Penn had few of those errors. The Quakers' offensive line dominated the play - a factor not lost on Sandberg and Irvin in handing out praise for their big days. Meanwhile, the defensive line came up with timely plays and protected Penn's young secondary relatively well. But perhaps most encouraging was that the Quakers didn't turn the ball over.
"For the first game, on the road, in this environment, I think [having no turnovers] is just a tremendous stat," Bagnoli said.
It's one that almost guarantees victory if Penn sustains it.
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