BETHLEHEM, Pa. — In the battle of the Keystone State, Penn lost bragging rights to Lehigh in a rivalry dating back nearly a century.
On Saturday, Penn fell to Lehigh 44-30 in Bethlehem. The odds were stacked against Penn (1-1) before the game even started as Lehigh’s undefeated record loomed over Penn’s young season. The Quakers had not won a game against a top ten opponent in 72 years, and that streak would ultimately continue.
After winning the coin toss, Lehigh (5-0) got off to a quick start with a 47-yard, seven-play drive. Penn's defense held down the fort to force the Mountain Hawks to take a field goal in their first possession. This trend would continue as Penn forced Lehigh into four field goal attempts.
The Quaker offense quickly mounted a sloppy start. Senior quarterback Liam O’Brien was sacked to start the game before missing a wide-open senior wide receiver Bisi Owens two plays later. The connection would have went for a walk-in touchdown. Meanwhile, Lehigh's lead would only widen on their ensuing possession as Mountain Hawk quarterback Hayden Johnson drilled a 22-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game.
Penn followed Lehigh’s lead with a touchdown on their own on their second possession. After a rocky snap where O’Brien almost lost his footing, the senior signal caller completed a 48-yard streak to Owens to cut the Lehigh lead to three. The Quakers would find the end zone again in the second quarter behind the legs of O'Brien with just over five minutes remaining.
“The mindset is always [to] execute whatever the play call is,” O’Brien said. “Understand what the defense is doing and go through the progression based on what they’re giving us.”
In the first half, the Mountain Hawk offense was piloted by running backs Jaden Green and Luke Yoder. With 140 rushing yards altogether across 17 combined rushes, the two led Lehigh to score on every possession in the first half. Lehigh, playing through their halfbacks, went into halftime leading 16-14.
The third quarter would be a back-and-forth battle for the lead. In just the first minute, a 60-yard kick return by senior running back Julien Stokes was followed by a long 34-yard catch by senior wide receiver Jared Richardson. O’Brien and Richardson then connected again for a six-yard touchdown, giving Penn its first lead of the game.
“Liam trusted me to make the play and just got me the ball," Richardson said. "Me and him have a great connection.”
Later in the third, Lehigh would take the lead again off a fake field goal. The ball was snapped directly to wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel, who cut down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown rush. The Mountain Hawks would hang on the lead until the end of the game.
Pressure from Lehigh started to affect O'Brien's play in the second half. Right before the end of the third, Lehigh defensive back Nick Peltekian forced a strip sack on O’Brien, allowing Lehigh to recover possession. In total, O'Brien was sacked three times in the contest. In the remainder of the game, Lehigh’s offensive momentum far outweighed Penn’s, and the final scoreboard read 44-30 as Penn evened its record to one win and loss for the season.
On the day, O’Brien and Richardson took over in a loss. O’Brien completed a total 28 of his 37 passes, and Richardson climbed the ranks to seventh in Penn’s history for receiving yards. The senior wideout hauled in 12 receptions for 141 yards.
On his achievement, Richardson said, “Honestly, I had no clue, but it’s a blessing. … I have to give Penn my all because this was my only D1 offer, and I feel like I just owe Penn everything.“
Looking forward to the Quakers’ first Ivy game next weekend, the Quakers aim to climb the ranks of the Ancient Eight early with a win against Dartmouth.
“We fell against these guys,” coach Ray Priore said. “We needed to go through the air a little bit more. … I think this sets us up real well for our game against Dartmouth next week. Our kids battled down to the last play of the game.”
