Another year, another Harvard field goal to seal the deal.
In a matchup against the undefeated Crimson, Penn football fell 45-43 after a 53-yard field goal from Crimson kicker Kieran Corr in the final seconds of the game. Penn (5-4, 3-3 Ivy) had a strong offensive performance across the evening, with senior quarterback Liam O’Brien completing 80% of his passes, totaling 271 yards.
Ivy League leader in receiving yards and senior wide receiver Jared Richardson logged three touchdowns — tying his career high. The Crimson (9-0, 6-0 Ivy), with a defense that had allowed no more than 14 points per game, faced their toughest challenge of the season.
“We played the lead. We gave them something that they weren’t really expecting to happen,” coach Ray Priore said.
Penn chose to receive after winning the toss, its first time doing so all season, and the decision paid off. After a holding penalty on the Crimson, senior wide receiver Bisi Owens and Richardson came into the spotlight. A patient O’Brien found a hole in the defense, drilling a 16-yard rush into the red zone. Just over three minutes into the game, sophomore running back Donte West ran it to the end zone for a Quaker lead.
The Crimson, without star tight end and leading receiver Seamus Gilmartin, instead relied on running backs Xaviah Bascon and Jordan Harris to fill in the gap. Bascon and Harris were able to rush the sidelines — a consistent theme across the afternoon. A pass from Crimson quarterback Jaden Craig brought the ball to the 36-yard line, and the running backs carried it the rest of the way. Back-to-back rushes from Bascon steadily brought the ball to the end zone to tie the game.
Throughout the first quarter, penalties worked in the Quakers’ favor. The Crimson, one of the least-penalized teams in the nation, were forced to give up 35 yards on an O’Brien interception after an offsides penalty. The Quakers rode the momentum, with O’Brien and Owens marching to the 26 before O’Brien found a gap in a staggered Harvard formation to take back the lead. After an injury left Quaker sophomore defensive back Ty Cortes sprawled on the field, the Crimson followed with a shovel pass touchdown to Bascon, tying the match to start the second quarter.
Harvard ended the afternoon with nine penalties to for 95 yards.
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O’Brien, facing pressure in the pocket after a fake handoff to Richardson, ran free before West scampered untouched to the end zone to put the Quakers up 21-14.
The final two minutes of the first half were an impressive drill for both sides. After a Crimson turnover on fourth down, O’Brien led a touchdown drive of five plays in just over a minute. Walters walked up to split the uprights, but Crimson wide receiver Riley Jenne dove in front, blocking the kick.
“Every point is so, so important during the course of the game, and it affects your strategy that you do to the next play that football,” Priore said.
The Quakers closed the half with the lead, 27-21. It was the most points scored against Harvard’s defense all season. Harvard had not trailed at halftime in any game this season until today.
Coming out of the locker room, Harvard opened with an explosive drive. But, the Quaker defense held, with Cortes forcing a turnover on fourth down just five yards from the end zone.
The Quakers were unable to carry the momentum, with a three-and-out forcing the first Penn punt of the afternoon. Just over two minutes later, the Crimson marched 63 yards across nine plays, culminating in a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brady. With the conversion, the Quakers gave up the lead, 28-27. Another three-and-out ran it back to the Crimson, who widened the lead as Craig notched an 82-yard touchdown pass to Osborne for the longest pass play in the Ivy League this season.
As the fourth quarter began, Penn sought to close the gap after a pass to Richardson made it an eight-point game. O’Brien geared up for the two-point conversion and faked a handoff, but the ball slipped through his fingers.
A kick-catch interference sent back an onside kick, pinning a Crimson ball deep in Quaker territory. Bascon scampered along the sidelines for a touchdown to widen the lead, but O’Brien answered with one of his own to bring the score to 42-40. With pressure mounting against the Quakers and no timeouts remaining, the Quakers marched into field-goal range with just 22 seconds remaining.
Electing to kick on third down, it all came down to freshman kicker Mason Walters. And Walters delivered, sending a 30-yard field goal to give Penn a 43-42 lead.
“It was third down, we couldn’t run the ball [and] set it, and we didn’t think with the time for running the kick, we had to make the field goal,” Priore said. “A fast break field goal … we chose to go with what was the more sure thing was: go put a kick on third down, make the kick and look to see what [Walters] could do.”
“Hats off to the offense for getting us in a position like that. They made my job really easy. Putting through the uprights, unfortunately, wasn’t enough,” Walters said.
But with 22 seconds on the clock, Craig pushed 40 yards in just five plays. Corr lined up on the stripe, his previous career high being 38 yards. The ball sailed through, the Crimson stormed the field from the sidelines, and the Quakers were left with another heartbreaking loss.
With the loss, Penn is eliminated from contention for the Ivy title. The Quakers will return home to battle Princeton for their final game of the season.
