On Saturday, Penn football eked out a 24-21 win on the road at Stonehill (1-3). Like something out of a cliche sports flick, a first year was called off the bench to kick the game-winner.
Freshman kicker Mason Walters did just that as he drilled a 45-yarder with only nine seconds remaining in the game, lifting Penn (1-0) over Stonehill. The game winner was Walters’ first collegiate field goal attempt — Hollywood should be calling any day now.
With Penn holding a 21-7 lead at halftime, fans packed into Stonehill’s stands didn’t expect such late-game dramatics.
Mistake after mistake by Penn allowed the Skyhawks to soar back into the contest. Penn’s secondary, which lost key members in the offseason, fell apart in the fourth quarter. Costly penalties and blown coverages allowed Stonehill’s offense to score two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Meanwhile, Penn’s offense was not showing much life either. After explosive plays carried the Quakers in the first half, the unit stalled after the break. Before its final possession, Penn’s second-half drives ended like this: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt — not exactly what offensive coordinator Greg Chimera envisioned after the quick start.
Senior quarterback Liam O’Brien struggled with accuracy throughout the game, completing just 51.6% of his passes. This percentage would have been even lower if senior wide receiver Bisi Owens had not made some miraculous catches on multiple high balls.
Owens, who finished with six receptions good for 79 yards, couldn’t corral them all, though. On a jump ball to Owens in the end zone, O’Brien threw a costly interception on a would-be touchdown pass that could have iced the game late in the fourth quarter. There was visible frustration on Penn’s sideline — which had lost all of its early momentum.
But O’Brien still got it done. On the final drive, Chimera called for his quarterback to run the ball himself on a multitude of draw plays. O’Brien showed incredible patience on these keepers, finding space behind one of the best offensive lines in the Football Championship Subdivision. In seven plays and just over one-and-a-half minutes, O’Brien got the Quakers into field goal range.
Walters, deservingly, got his flowers postgame. However, Penn wouldn’t have won if O’Brien did not show great composure. The senior signal caller was having a subpar game by the high standard he set for himself last year, before physically willing his team to a win.
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Penn’s season-opening loss to Delaware last season resembled Saturday besides the final outcome. Down by seven points with just under two minutes remaining, then-senior quarterback Aidan Sayin looked to shock the FBS-bound Blue Hens. Instead, Sayin overthrew an outlet pass to the running back, resulting in a drop and an ensuing game-sealing interception.
This trend continued into 2024, as the Quakers were down 0-5 in single-possession games. Simply put, last year’s team would not have responded in the way this year’s did on Saturday. This is a great sign, but Penn cannot be expected to continue pulling out sloppy wins. It is not sustainable — especially with Ivy play starting in two weeks.
Fans have to hope that Penn’s poor play can be attributed to the team shaking off rust after a long offseason. This is the simplest explanation, especially given that Saturday marked Stonehill’s fourth game of the season. After the game, players reacted differently to this assumption.
“With starting late, the first game of the season comes with some jitters,” senior defensive lineman Carter Janki, who recorded two sacks on Saturday, said. “There’s always a lot of mistakes to be made. The biggest improvements come between game one and game two.”
Senior running back Julien Stokes, who ran 63 yards for a punt return to score Penn’s second touchdown, held a different point of view.
“[Stonehill] hasn’t seen us on film in 2025, but we watched three of their games, so I think [that is why] we started pretty fast,” he said.
Either way, the Quakers will need to clean up some of their errors going up to Lehigh next week. Especially, as Stokes noted, the Mountain Hawks now have film on Penn to study.
CONOR SMITH is a College senior from Mount Royal, N.J. studying communications. He currently serves as deputy sports editor. All comments should be directed to dpsports@thedp.com.
