In a game with every chance to win, Penn football couldn’t find a way to take it home.
In the third game of their season, the Quakers (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) fell 14-10 to Dartmouth (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) on Saturday afternoon. The Big Green were led by quarterback Grayson Saunier, who put up a near-perfect performance with 13 of 15 completed passes for 173 yards and 36 yards rushing. The Quakers struggled offensively again, but showed some signs of life behind freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki’s 214 passing yards with a 69.2% completion rate, his best performance yet.
The Quakers wasted no time getting Teodecki involved. On his second snap, Teodecki scanned the field and rolled to his left, finding junior wide receiver Ronan Johannson open for a 14-yard gain. That success was short-lived, and Penn was forced to punt on their opening possession.
The Big Green were quick to establish their offensive presence. Led by Saunier, Dartmouth alternated between their ground game and passing offense to push into Quaker territory. Penn’s defense struggled to stop Ivy League-leading running back Myles Craddock, who converted a crucial 4th-and-1 to keep Dartmouth’s drive alive. Dartmouth kept pounding on the ground, rushing for 26 yards across three consecutive plays to advance to the Penn 16-yard line. With Penn focused on run defense, Saunier capitalized by firing home a touchdown to give Dartmouth an early 7-0 lead after the extra point from kicker Owen Zalc.
After a quick Penn three-and-out, Dartmouth’s second drive started off much the same as its first, with Saunier carving up the Penn defense. On another designed run play, junior linebacker Derek McCrum made a critical tackle, forcing a six-yard loss and a long third-down attempt. Dartmouth’s offense was unable to recover and was forced to attempt a 53-yard field goal that Zalc couldn’t fit through the uprights.
Penn took over in decent field position and quickly set up a first-and-goal opportunity. However, a first-down holding penalty proved too much to overcome, forcing a short field goal attempt. Sophomore kicker Mason Walters sent the kick wide right, keeping the Quakers off the board.
After Penn’s defense made quick work of the Big Green, forcing a three-and-out, Teodecki got to work. A series of quick plays got Penn down inside the Dartmouth 10-yard line again, where they faced a crucial 3rd-and-1 from the four-yard line. Yet, penalties handicapped the offense, as a false start forced the Red and Blue back five yards. Another third-down failure forced a field goal attempt, which Walters drilled through to cut the deficit to 7-3 heading into halftime.
To start the third quarter, Craddock burst out to his left for a huge gain of 25 yards to put the Big Green at midfield. However, Penn’s defense was quick to recover, getting a huge pass break-up by the secondary, and then chasing Saunier out of bounds to force a 51-yard field goal try. Zalc stepped up for the kick but ended up missing badly.
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For the next 10 minutes, both teams struggled to find footing on offense. Teodecki started the second half by completing all four of his passing attempts, pushing the team downfield. Then, from Dartmouth’s 23-yard line, coach Rick Santos elected to go for it on 4th-and-3 but failed to convert.
Dartmouth failed to capitalize on the Quakers’ turnover on downs. Saunier and the offense moved the ball down to Penn’s 20-yard line, yet a third field goal miss by Zalc saved Penn to keep the score at 7-3.
With a few minutes left in the third quarter, Penn’s offense finally found a way to the end zone. Facing a 3rd-and-4 from midfield, Teodecki completed an eight-yard pass to junior running back Donte West to keep the drive going. A few plays later, West carried the ball five yards for another third-down conversion. Teodecki also participated in the run game, notching a 15-yard run to get the Quakers near the end zone.
Then, facing a crucial 3rd-and-3 at Dartmouth’s five-yard line, Teodecki completed yet another pass, going 3-for-3 on third downs to extend the drive. Senior running back Sean Williams Jr. capped off the lengthy drive with a run to the end zone to put Penn up 10-7 and give the Quakers their first lead in the game.
But Dartmouth wasted no time responding. With two quick passes of 34 and 23 yards, it flipped the field into Quaker territory. Dartmouth hustled to the line on every play and outclassed the Penn defense on a quick eight-play, four-minute touchdown drive to retake the lead by four points with just under five minutes on the clock.
Facing a must-score situation, Santos let Teodecki work the field. Teodecki made several quick completions on multiple third-down attempts, including a 13-yard laser to senior tight end Dante Barone on a key 3rd-and-4 just before the two-minute warning.
The first play on the other side of the warning was a 17-yard completion to West, who picked up a hurdle and a hard hit before being shoved out of bounds. However, facing a 2nd-and-4 in the red zone, Dartmouth’s defense stuffed Penn’s attacks and forced another 4th-and-3 scenario. On the most crucial play of the game, Teodecki’s throw, intended for Barone, fell flat, effectively sealing the win for Dartmouth. Penn got the ball back with nine seconds left, but Dartmouth notched a game-ending sack to dash any hopes of a Quaker miracle.
Penn will hope to rebound from another disappointing loss next Saturday, Oct. 10, as it prepares to face Howard (2-3) at Franklin Field.
