Under the Friday night lights, the Quakers shone the brightest.
Continuing its momentum from a statement victory the week prior, Penn football defeated Marist 28-9 in its final non-conference game before the rest of Ivy League play.
The Quakers (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) faced Marist (3-3, 1-1 Pioneer) for the first time in history. In a penalty-heavy game, both teams were held back by a combined 26 penalties throughout the evening. Both teams ended with more penalty yards than rushing yards.
After a quieter game in last week’s win, senior wide receiver Jared Richardson finished the day with 190 receiving yards on 15 receptions, two receptions short of his own record against Yale in 2023 and one yard short of his career high. Richardson finished each of Penn’s first two games of the season with more than 100 yards.
“Honestly, all the credit goes to coach [Ray Priore], Liam O’Brien … it honestly takes all 11 of us. I’m just blessed to be in [this] position,” Richardson said.
The game began swiftly for Marist when quarterback Will O’Dell found wide receiver Reed Shumpert for a 23-yard pass. But this momentum quickly faded when a holding penalty forced a replay of the down. With just under eight minutes in the first quarter, Penn’s defensive line held firm, ultimately forcing a 43-yard field goal from kicker Samer Layous to put Marist up 3-0. This would be the only time Marist held the lead in the game.
Penn responded quickly by marching down the field in its first drive, with senior quarterback Liam O’Brien completing four out of his five pass attempts in the drive and concluding the drive with a 21-yard receiving pass to Richardson. The Quakers continued their impressive offensive outing in the ensuing drive but didn’t see much success in running after a forced turnover on downs.
The Quakers soon found the turning point they were looking for. O’Dell threw a backward pass intended for Marist running back Irene Ngabonziza in the backfield. As the ball slipped through Ngabonziza’s hands and dropped to the ground, the Red Foxes’ running back thought the play was dead, only to find that junior linebacker Cole Olsztyn secured the ball. The turnover set up a Penn rushing touchdown by O’Brien in the second quarter.
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After a quiet trade-off of possessions, the Quakers looked to extend their lead on their final drive before the end of the half. However, back-to-back penalties on the Quakers forced them to lose a total of 20 yards in the drive, which stifled chances of scoring before heading into the locker room.
Three-time Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week senior running back/return specialist Julien Stokes saw significant action at the start of the second half after a 26-yard kickoff return. After facing a potential three-and-out, O’Brien connected with senior wide receiver Bisi Owens for a 12-yard gain. Immediately following, Stokes found his way through the defense for a huge 37-yard rushing touchdown, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty on the Quakers. Another holding penalty extended the field on that drive, which ended with an unsuccessful 47-yard field goal attempt by freshman kicker Mason Walters.
Unfruitful drives and penalties would mark the remainder of the third quarter. Play after play, Penn and Marist lost 50 yards and 53 yards, respectively, to combine for nine penalties in this quarter. The two teams were scoreless for the entire quarter.
“Penalties never come at a good time. … You [make] a successful play, and that’s where it really strikes you, and you try to move past it. But again, our kids fought hard. They fought for four quarters,” Priore said.
The scoring drought was broken up at the start of the fourth quarter by the Quakers. A 14-yard gain by Richardson was followed by a march to the red zone. While a pass-interference penalty briefly held the Quakers back, O’Brien connected with Richardson again before nailing an 11-yard reception to extend the double-digit lead to 21-3.
But Marist was not going down without a fight. O’Dell, looking for a big play, threw the ball down the sideline, but the pass was incomplete. Then came another flag. A defensive pass interference put Marist in Penn’s territory, and two plays later, O’Dell pitched a lateral pass to Marist running back Jeremy DeCaro, who launched the ball to teammate wide receiver Santino Correa in the end zone to complete the 29-yard touchdown.
“[Marist] was a team going into it that had success on really highly explosive plays … hence the flea flicker they did on us … and we sort of took the cheese on that one,” Priore said.
The game continued as Penn and Marist exchanged punts in the next two drives. Following a 15-yard punt by Marist, Penn’s final drive to the end zone featuring a Stokes 25-yard rushing touchdown effectively iced the game for a 28-9 Quaker lead.
Next weekend, Penn will travel to the Big Apple to face off against Ivy League co-champion Columbia during the Lions’ Homecoming game. As the Quakers dive into Ivy play, Priore and the team are taking it one game at a time.
“We have [a] one-game season now, and that is Columbia,” Priore said. “Let’s beat Columbia, and then we’ll move on from there.”
