FINAL - Yale 17, Penn 14 OT

 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Both Penn's and Yale's spotless Ivy League records are on the line, and it looks like they couldn't have picked a better day. The sky over the Yale Bowl is almost cloudless, and despite some brisk winds, it looks to be a great day for football.

FINAL: Yale 17, Penn 14

Alan Kimball sent his attempt from 35 yards out straight through the uprights to give Yale the win. Tough loss for Penn, and a huge win for Yale, which now sits even with Princeton atop the Ivy League. Hundreds of Elis fans rush the field, a fitting end to a game that had everything a fan could ask for. You couldn't have scripted this one.

Check back for complete coverage in the next issue of the DP.

Overtime: Penn 14, Yale 14

After the offense gained five yards, Zoch, with the wind at his back, hit the right upright with his 37-yard field-goal attempt, and the Yale Bowl went crazy. Not good for Penn.

Fourth quarter: Penn 14, Yale 14

Regulation won't be enough to decide this one. Penn has been unable to come up with a play when needed in the second half, and despite some late heroics, the Quakers will face their first overtime match since beating Bucknell in double-overtime two years ago.

Ambrogi added to an already-impressive performance by intercepting Polhemus near the sidelines and giving Penn the ball on Yale's 37 with 10 seconds to play. Backup QB Bryan Walker, who has relieved Irvin of his duties for now, threw a short pass and a Flutie-esque hail mary, but neither were successful.

Walker had led the Quakers downfield almost into the red zone, but after a low snap Braden Lepisto was unable to pull down an endzone jump-ball on fourth-and-four, and Yale took over on downs. McLeod immediately responded with a 20-yard dash to midfield, but it only set up Ambrogi's pick.

Here we go again.

Third quarter: Penn 14, Yale 14

Both teams spent most of the past quarter pinned in their own territory. Irvin threw a pick after Yale was forced to punt for the first time today, but safety Scotty Williams sacked Polhemus for a huge loss on the ensuing sequence. Penn got the ball back, punted, and Williams downed the ball on the Elis' three-yard line.

It's been that kind of quarter. These next 15 minutes should be far from boring, though -- they will decide who moves into a tie for first and who falls back in the Ivy League.

Halftime: Penn 14, Yale 14

Penn took a 14-7 lead on a 6-yard run by Joe Sandberg, who has been solid if inconsistent so far. The Quakers did miss a golden opportunity to make it a two-possession game when Derek Zoch missed a chip-shot field goal.

Yale then got some help to even things up. Deep in the red zone, Polhemus rolled right and was smoked from behind by the Penn defense. But he somehow got rid of the ball, which was tipped right into the hands of what would otherwise have been an ineligible receiver. Tailback Mike McLeod punched in the TD on the next play.

If that wasn't enough, the Quakers found an even wilder way to end the next drive -- but this one didn't result in a score. Facing a huge third-and-four in Elis territory with 0:56 left in the half, Robert Irvin lined up in the shotgun and watched as the snap sailed over his head. Sandberg ran down the loose ball and heaved a pass -- his second completion of the year -- to Mizell. The Quakers punted to end the half.

Carre is in the midst of a big game, with 85 receiving yards on three touches. Irvin is an impressive 13-of-16 for 144 yards, while Sandberg has 71 on the ground. For the Elis, Henley is the leading receiver with 58 yards, while McLeod has 50 on the ground -- good, but on pace to be well below his league-leading average.

It's up the Quakers to make sure that doesn't change in the second half.

First quarter: Penn 7, Yale 7

The storyline coming in may have been Yale's running game, but both teams have relied equally on the passing attack so far.

The Elis scored first on a 7-play, 60-yard drive highlighted by a big kick return by Matthew Murray and a 40-yard toss by quarterback Matt Polhemus to wideout Chandler Henley. Henley, considered a focal point of Yale's offense, finished the drive with a 9-yard TD catch.

Penn answered quickly, with a long pass to wideout Matt Carre and a shorter toss to TE Chris Mizell.

Yale gave back some momentum with a missed 42-yard field goal near the end of the first quarter. It's anyone's game at this point.

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