Not much went right for the sprint football team on Friday night at Franklin Field, as it fell 56-7 to Navy (5-0).
Penn (3-2) would have clinched a share of the CSFL championship with a win.
The Quakers had trouble holding onto the ball and establishing any rhythm on offense. They turned the ball over six times, gained only 31 yards on the ground, and had nine first downs compared to Navy's 26.
"I think the weather was really a disadvantage to us," coach Bill Wagner said. "We wanted to be able to pass the ball against them . The ball was wet, and we had some receivers drop some passes for the first time this year."
Penn has leaned on a strong running game this season but managed only a yard per carry against the Midshipmen.
"We had some key injuries this game," Rob Lombardi, the league's leading rusher entering Friday's game, said. "Teams know that, . so they start teeing off on the run game."
On the other hand, Navy racked up 370 net yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
Early in the first half, the game seemed destined to have a close finish. Neither team scored in the first quarter, but Navy exploded for 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.
With 24 seconds left in the first half, the Quakers caught a break when freshman Marcus Goodwin recovered a muffed punt by Navy's James Campbell.
On the next play, junior quarterback Michael D'Angelo scored on an eight-yard scramble to cut the lead to 14.
However, on the play, D'Angelo took a vicious hit and suffered a dislocated shoulder, which pressed freshman backup Colin Dampier into action. Facing constant pressure from the Navy defense, Dampier struggled, throwing two interceptions and only one completion in nine attempts.
As the last home game of the season, the loss was especially tough to swallow for the team's seniors, who have now played their final game at Franklin Field.
"I had a great time in the sense that I got to leave it all out on the field," Lombardi said. "But obviously the win would have been ten times better."
Despite the loss, Wagner stressed to his team that the season is not over yet. If Navy loses at Army next week, Penn could still earn a share of the league title with a victory over Princeton. The Quakers dismantled the Tigers 60-7 earlier in the season.
