PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania football team used momentum gained out of the first half and a late fourth-quarter touchdown to take down Yale, 20-13, Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field for Homecoming: Presented by David Auto.
 
In a battle of 2-0 Ivy League squads heading into the contest, the Quakers improve to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Ivy play with four games to go on the schedule.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn's win snaps two different Bulldog winning streaks: four straight against the Quakers and four straight this season.
 
*Jake Heimlicher recorded his first career interception, setting up the game-tying touchdown before the half.
 
*Joey Slackman was a part of the interception, batting the ball into the air before Heimlicher pulled it in. Slackman finished the day with seven tackles with 1.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
*Jack Fairman and Jaden Key led the defense with eight tackles each.
 
*Quarterback Aidan Sayin was all over the offensive statistical sheet for passing, rushing and even a reception. He finished 28-for-43 for 298 passing yards and a touchdown, while rushing four times for six yards and catching one pass for 26 yards.
 
*Sayin spread the love in passing, connecting with seven different receivers.
 
*Rory Starkey, Jr. set a career high in receptions with nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. He now has three touchdowns for the year off 27 receptions for 254 yards.
 
*Jonathan Mulatu led the rushing game with eight attempts for 30 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
 
How It Happened
Both teams went three-and-out to start the game, but Penn gifted Yale a short field when punter Ben Krimm handled a bad snap and was forced into a rush. He had open field but was caught from behind by Nathan Campbell at the Quakers' 22-yard line. The Bulldogs got to the 16-yard line, then chose to go for it on fourth-and-4 instead of taking the points with a chip-shot field goal. The strategy backfired when Nolan Grooms' pass into the right corner of the end zone was too long for David Pantelis, and Penn took over on downs.
 
The Quakers immediately drove nearly the length of the field, getting all the way to Yale's 6-yard line before a personal foul penalty knocked them back to the 21. Penn went incomplete on a pair of passes after that but got on the board when Graham Gotlieb knocked home a 38-yard field goal for the first points of the game.
 
Yale took the ball into the second quarter, opening the change of direction with Grooms hitting Pantelis for a 38-yard pass play down the right side. That put the Bulldogs on Penn's 22-yard line, and while the Quakers defense held from there the visitors got their first points of the day when Jack Bosman converted a 37-yard field goal.
 
Penn had a prime opportunity to drive the ball down the field following the score, using an 18-yard pitch and catch from Sayin to Julien Stokes to get to the Penn 34, followed by a crucial pass interference call to get into Yale's territory. The Quakers ended up turning the ball over on downs on 4th and 7 at the Bulldogs' 30-yard line.
 
Yale's second scoring drive of the afternoon started with 4:50 to play in the second quarter, and it proved to be the rushing attack that got the job down with an 11-yard burst from Tre Peterson and then a 47-yard scamper down the right sideline by Joshua Pitsenberger to give the Bulldogs a 10-3 edge.
 
It looked like that would be the score heading into the locker room at halftime, but the Quakers' defense stepped up following Ben Krimm's punt with 37 seconds on the clock.
 
On the very first play of the drive, Joey Slackman tipped Grooms' pass at the Yale 42-yard line which landed in the out-stretched arms of Jake Heimlicher, returning it six yards to the Yale 40.
 
That takeaway set up a deep ball down the right side from Sayin to Malone Howley for 37 yards and first down. Following a timeout with 19 seconds to play, Sayin completed a short three-yard touchdown pass to Rory Starkey, Jr. which tied the game at 10-10 at the break.
 
Penn's first drive of the second half was a productive one, going eight plays for 72 yards which resulted in three points and a 13-10 cushion. The key play of the drive was a trick play in the play action as Maurcus McDaniel took the ball and threw deep to Sayin for 26 yards and a trip back to the red zone. Gotlieb sank his second field goal of the game with 11:19 to go.
 
The Quakers' defense did a phenomenal job of keeping the Bulldogs at bay over their next few drives, resulting in back-to-back punts. Penn got a grand chance to extend the lead after time expired in the third quarter after another pass from McDaniel to Mulatu for 27 yards, down to the Yale 9-yard line.
 
Starting the fourth quarter, Penn got the ball down to the 3, but on 4th and 3, Gotlieb attempted his third field goal of the day, this time blocked by Yale and recovered on the 9.
 
With 9:21 to play, Yale milked the clock down four minutes following an eight-play, 63-yard drive to tie the game up at 13-13.
 
After the Quakers gave the ball up after a 3-and-out, the Bulldogs got back to work, only to turn the ball over following a one-yard sack of Grooms by way of Slackman and Micah Morris.
 
Penn's final offensive drive was a special one, starting with 5:14 to go from its own 41. Sayin used a pair of chunk plays to Starkey, Jr. and Mulatu to get to the Yale 30 and with 20 seconds to spare, Mulatu ran up the gut to convert on the one-yard touchdown run, upping the Penn lead to 20-13.
 
With no timeouts remaining, the Bulldogs were unable to get a final play off following a 10-yard completion from Grooms to Mason Shipp as the Quakers held on for the victory.
 
Up Next
Penn is on the road each of the next two weeks of Ivy play, starting next Saturday when the Quakers are at Brown. Kickoff with the Bears is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.