PHILADELPHIA – Football is a funny game.
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Coaches can game plan all they want, and prognosticators can make as many predictions as they want.
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Well, good luck finding anyone at historic Franklin Field for Homecoming who foresaw Penn's eventual game-winning touchdown coming off a play started in the hands of the backup quarterback who threw back to a transfer quarterback/returner/receiver who then uncorked an 80-yard touchdown pass to a converted defensive back who'd never caught a touchdown before.
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That's just what the Quakers dialed up with 13:21 remaining in the fourth quarter as Ryan Glove tossed a screen pass to
Owen Goldsberry who then launched a perfect arc to
Eric Markes to put the Quakers ahead, 21-14, over Cornell.
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That play – as exciting as it was – didn't end the game. Cornell rallied, and a 16-play, 94-yard drive was capped by a 10-yard pass from Richie Kenney to Phazione McClurge with 0:50 remaining in regulation. The Big Red left the offense on the field, and freshman cornerback
Kendren Smith stepped in to knock down a Kenney pass attempt and keep the Quakers in the lead.
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Penn had to suffer through two onside kick attempts – the first was ruled to have gone out of bounds but video replay showed Cornell had secured the ball in the field of play. One problem for the Big Red though – they'd gone offside on the play and had to rekick. This time,
Ryan Cragun batted the kick out of bounds and the Quakers could celebrate a Homecoming win and retention of the Trustees' Cup.
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The game wasn't pretty. Penn had 11 total first downs and was 1-for-9 on third down while managing just 263 yards of total offense.
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Nick Robinson was 10-for-15 in the first half for 64 yards before Glover came on midway through the third quarter as lingering injuries caught up with Robinson. Glover would go 5-for-6 for 69 yards and a touchdown.
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With the offense taking time to find its gear, the defense put together its best overall game of the season. The Red and Blue conceded just 21 points – a season-best – while registering four sacks, seven pass breakups and an interception.
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The defensive stands started on Penn first defensive series. Cornell started at its own 12 but had worked to the Penn 27 before a third-down stop set up a 44-yard field goal attempt which was short.
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On its next defensive series, the Red and Blue were on the field for just one play – the first career interception for
Zach Evans who picked off Kenney at the Penn 47. After a Penn three-and-out,
Prince Emili registered one of his 2.5 sacks with a 10-yard loss for the Big Red on third down which forced them to punt from inside their own end zone.
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The biggest defensive drive of the game was Penn's first of the second quarter. A 19-yard completion had set the Big Red up with first down at the Penn 5. The Quakers would go offside twice, ultimately leading to third down from the 1-yard line. Dez'mond Brinson twice called his own number out of the option formation, but the Quakers didn't bite and Brinson was stuffed on both third and fourth down by a swarming Penn defensive front.
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That defensive stand followed Penn's first touchdown of the game. On third-and-nine from the Cornell 12, Robinson connected with Rory Starkey, Jr for a diving catch which put Penn on the board.
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The Big Red answered midway through the second quarter, needing three plays to level the game, 7-7. The big play was the scoring one, a 45-yard pass from Kenney to McClurge with 5:08 remaining.
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Cornell took a 14-7 lead following an 11-play, 80-yard drive midway through the third quarter. A 21-yard SK Howard run brought the Big Red to the Penn six, where again it seemed as if the defense would stand tall. It took until fourth down and a pitch to Delonte Harrel for the Big Red to score from one-yard out with 4:58 left in the third.
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Glover took over at quarterback on the next drive and led a 4-play, 75-yard drive which needed just 1:44. Glover opened with a 20-yard screen to
Karekin Brooks. Three plays later, Glover uncorked a jumping pass to
Kolton Huber who hauled it in for a 40-yard touchdown catch with 3:12 left in the third.
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Cornell's next drive was halted by a
Benji Mowatt sack on third down as the fourth quarter began.
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Penn needed two plays to take the lead. The first was an attempted screen to Goldsberry which gained just two yards. The second started out the same way – a screen to Goldsberry – but the transfer from Michigan who started the year as a quarterback showed why with his first career touchdown pass to Markes.
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The Big Red were off kilter, and an Emili sack for a loss of eight on first down eventually led to a punt. The Quakers looked to put together a drive and run some clock, but two false starts and a dropped third down pass which would have reset the chains led to a punt – a good one which went 50 yards before being downed at the Cornell 6.
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Cornell did not wilt, marching 94 yards over 16 plays before Kenney found McClurge for the second time to close within one and set up the deciding 2-point play.
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Penn heads to Harvard next weekend to take on the Crimson on November 16 at 12 p.m.
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