Following its first Ivy League loss of the season, Penn football rose from the dead on Halloween night.
On Friday, the Quakers moved to second in Ivy League play with a sound 28-21 win over Brown. Penn’s offense delivered a monster performance, carving up the Bears’ defense to the tune of 453 yards, including 231 on the ground, the team’s most rushing yards in a game this season. In the end, the win marked a bounce-back effort for the Red and Blue team that struggled in all phases against Yale a week ago.
“Last weekend was last weekend, we went into Sunday, we said we had to shake it and do things a little bit different,” coach Ray Priore said. “It’s all about focus. … That’s what we weren’t doing.”
After tearing through the first two weeks of the Ancient Eight slate with 35+ points against Dartmouth and Columbia, Penn managed just 13 against the Bulldogs in an effort hampered by eight offensive penalties and two lost fumbles.
This week, the Quakers (5-2, 3-1 Ivy) outdid that output by leaning on the ground game, a rarity for a team with the Ivy League’s second-leading passing attack. Despite losing senior running back Julien Stokes to a broken fibula against Columbia on Oct. 18, Penn’s running backs carried the ball a season-high 31 times against Brown (3-4, 0-4 Ivy) and averaged over five yards per carry.
Penn also reached pay dirt three times on the ground, including a pair of touchdowns from sophomore running back Donte West.
“Coach has really talked about the ‘next man up’ mentality,” West said. “With [Stokes] going down, I feel like me, [junior running back Sean Williams] and [freshman running back Tommy Lafayette] gotta step into that role, perform, and do our jobs.”
Penn’s defense slowed Brown for much of the first half thanks in large part to strong play from the trenches, including a two-sack game from senior defensive lineman Carter Janki. But after trailing 21-7 at halftime, the Bears got going after the break, including a bit of Halloween spirit on a critical fourth and goal.
RELATED:
Guevarra | Penn football needs to fix its run game now
Turnovers and penalties propel Penn football’s blowout loss at Yale
First, the trick: quarterback James Murphy tossed backward to wide receiver Najih Rahman, who attacked the edge before flipping a pass. Then, the treat: wide receiver Pearson Hill hauled in the throw for a touchdown, part of a 364-yard passing effort for the Bears on the day.
That play brought the game within a score, but after the teams traded touchdowns, Penn once again turned to its ground attack, this time to salt the game away. The Quakers did just that, grinding out an 11-play, 73-yard drive to make the final four minutes disappear.
“We’re just relying on our guys up front, and they did a great job. They did a great job all night,” O’Brien said. “All credit to those guys. They led us today. That four-minute drive — that’s how you seal the game.”
“It starts in practice, just the preparation for the game,” West said. “Keeping the mentality and having trust in [offensive coordinator Greg] Chimera and the things he’s gonna call.”
Since O’Brien took over as starting quarterback during the back half of last season, Penn has scored under 24 points just twice in 11 games, one of which was last week’s loss to Yale. As the Quakers look ahead to a three-game homestretch that will determine their Ivy title hopes, their quarterback is confident the team controls its own destiny.
“When all 11 guys do their jobs and we go out and execute our game plan, it’s hard to stop us,” O’Brien said. “But when we stop doing that, when one guy doesn’t do what he does, when we miss a block, we stop ourselves.”
“We can move the ball at will when we choose to.”
