HANOVER, N.H., Sept. 29 - Penn's season has officially taken a turn for the worst.
In a wild finish, the Quakers trailed Dartmouth 21-13 with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. On 4th-and-4 from Dartmouth's six-yard line, quarterback Bryan Walker found wide receiver Dan Coleman in the end zone for what appeared to be a potentially game-tying score.
However, the three officials in the vicinity of the play elected not to signal anything, waiting for an official on the other side of the field to come over and discuss the call.
In the end, the referees ruled an incomplete pass, and the game was over - the Quakers had used all of their timeouts, allowing Dartmouth to kneel down for one play and run out the clock for its first win in this series since 1997.
But the mere fact that Penn (0-3, 0-1 Ivy) had the opportunity to tie the game on its final drive was the result of an even stranger twist.
Down 21-6 with 2:37 to go in the fourth quarter, Walker - who made his first start of the year - capitalized on the Quakers' field position after a blocked punt, hitting senior Braden Lepisto for a nine-yard touchdown catch and end the three-play, 26-yard drive.
Then freshman kicker Andrew Samson bounced an onside kick to his left off of a Dartmouth special-teamer, and senior Greg Ambrogi pounced on the loose football.
An incomplete pass intended for sophomore Marcus Lawrence on fourth down seemingly ended the Quakers' chances. But a late pass interference call on the play gave Penn an automatic first down.
Then Walker took matters into his own hands, quite literally. He rushed for 17 yards on the ensuing first down and 12 on a fourth-and-two to keep the Quakers in the game.
Coach Al Bagnoli said junior quarterback Robert Irvin "dinged" his shoulder last week and was "not really close to full strength." Irvin had started Penn's last twelve games but had struggled so far this year.
Walker filled in admirably, running 11 times for 61 yards and completing 30 of 60 pass attempts for a career-high 266 yards, setting a new Penn record for attempts in a game.
"I'm a senior; I've been here for four years," Walker said. "I'm comfortable with everything we're doing. I'm responsible when I'm out there; I'm the leader."
His help with the ground game was much-needed, since senior tailback Joe Sandberg - who sat out last week after tweaking a muscle against Lafayette - took a helmet to the back in the middle of the fourth quarter, knocking him out of the game. Until that play, Sandberg had been productive, running 20 times for 80 yards and catching eight passes.
All game long, the Quakers struggled mightily in the red zone and deep in Dartmouth (1-2, 1-0) territory. Penn had 406 yards of total offense, yet it only managed to put 13 points on the board.
"Our execution on both sides [was] very disappointing," Bagnoli said. "We had numerous opportunities to stop them, and I just am not happy with where we are as a program right now."
Punter Anthony Melillo pinned Dartmouth back to its own 10-yard line in the first quarter. Yet the Big Green, led by quarterback Tom Bennewitz, marched all the way up the field in 12 plays for a touchdown. Bennewitz completed 18 of 26 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, including one exceptional 35-yard heave as he was knocked to the turf in the third quarter, putting Dartmouth up 14-6.
"I thought it was Tom's best ball game," Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said. "I'm real pleased with his progression; there was a lot of confidence in that huddle."
Bennewitz picked the right time to step up for Dartmouth. The Big Green's offensive leader, running back Milan Williams, didn't play due to injury.
Dartmouth's final scoring drive started at its own three-yard line and was capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bennewitz to junior wide receiver Eric Paul, who was wide open because junior defensive back Britton Ertman slipped on the coverage.
One bright spot for the Quakers was the freshman kicker, Samson, who made his first field goal of his career, a 23-yarder, in the second quarter following Dartmouth's 90-yard touchdown drive.
With the wind at his back, Samson would later drill a 45-yard kick through the uprights to cut Dartmouth's lead to 7-6 with seconds to go in the first half. The field goal was Penn's longest since 2004.
For the Quakers, the loss marks the first time in Bagnoli's 16-year tenure that the team has started out 0-3.
"Obviously something's wrong, and it falls on me to get it fixed," Bagnoli said. "It was a tough way to end the game, and a little more controversial than I would have liked, but we have problems above and beyond a few guys making some calls."
