PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania football team pitched a shutout on Saturday, blanking Lafayette 12-0 at Franklin Field.
Penn improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018, while the Leopards fell to 1-3.
Quaker Notemeal
*Both of the Quakers' wins so far in 2022 have come against Patriot League opponents following a 25-14 win over Colgate last weekend.
*Penn has pitched a shutout over the last six quarters, the second half of the season opener against Colgate and today vs. Lafayette. The last time Penn did that was in 2009, when the Quakers did not allow a point over eight consecutive quarters spanning wins over Columbia (October 17), Yale (October 24) and Brown (October 31).
*The last time Penn had back-to-back games without allowing the opponent to score an offensive touchdown was in 2011. The Quakers held Brown to a pair of field goals in a 6-0 loss to the Bears on October 29, then a week later they limited Princeton to three field goals in a 37-9 win at Franklin Field.
*Penn held its opponent to under 250 yards of total offense for the second consecutive contest (Colgate 192; Lafayette 242)
*Sophomore QB
Aidan Sayin completed 23 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown in the victory. His longest throw came late in the first quarter, a 57-yard completion to
Julien Stokes which set up
Justin Cayenne's one-yard TD grab to give the Quakers a 6-0 lead.
*Junior wideout
Sterling Stokes led Penn with five receptions, tallying 32 yards.
Julien Stokes caught four passes for 75 yards (29 after catch) while senior running back
Trey Flowers and sophomore tight end
Justin Cayenne both hauled in three catches each.
*Flowers was the center of the Quakers' rushing attack against the Leopards, totaling 17 rushes for 82 yards and an average of 4.1 yards per carry. Sayin ran the ball six times with the one-yard touchdown that extended the Penn lead to 12-0.
*It was truly the
Jake Heimlicher show on defense, leading the Quakers with 10 total tackles (seven solo) with three tackles for a loss of four yards and a sack. Junior
Shiloh Means was all over the Lafayette offense, recording six tackles with a pass breakup. Junior
Jack Fairman also had six tackles, while
Micah Morris,
Jonathan Melvin,
Garrett Morris and
Jack Plank all recorded sacks on the tandem of Leopard quarterbacks in Ryan Schuster and Rent Montie.
*On
Ben Krimm's eight punt attempts, he racked up 364 yards with an average distance of 45.5 yards per attempt. He had a long of 55 yards with two punts inside the 20 yard line.
*After holding the Colgate rush to 43 yards last weekend, the Quakers held Lafayette to just a single yard on the ground for the day. Penn has allowed a combined 44 yards through two consecutive games. The last time the Quakers held an opponent to fewer yards in back-to-back games was in 2009 against Columbia (-20) and Yale (25).
How It Happened
The first quarter ended scoreless, despite Penn literally doubling Lafayette up in total yardage (116-58). The Quakers were driving and had second and goal to start the second quarter. It took three plays to get home, but the Red and Blue got there on a fourth-and-1, change-of-direction that saw 21 players move to the right. The one moving to the left,
Justin Cayenne, was wide open and
Aidan Sayin hit him for an easy score. The PAT was blocked and nearly returned by Lafayette's Malik Hamm; however,
Grant Ristoff keeping the 'Pards off the board with by catching Hamm on Penn's 20-yard line.
Lafayette had its best drive of the game to that point after Penn's score. The Leopards drove 76 yards, all the way to Penn's 18-yard line, but on fourth-and-7 a Ryan Schuster pass intended for Elijah Steward was broken up by
Shiloh Means and Penn took over.
The Quakers' possession started with a holding call and got no better, ending when Sayin was sacked on his own 1-yard line on third down.
Ben Krimm's punt was caught by Jamar Curtis at Lafayette's 40-yards line, and he sped around the left side and all the way to the end zone. However, penalties by both teams forced a replay, and on the second punt Curtis was brought down at midfield.
Lafayette, sensing that momentum was on its side, went for it all on first down but
Logan Nash intercepted to give Penn the ball back at its 10-yard line. The Quakers got out of the shadow of their goalposts but not much further, but Krimm's 50-yard punt and a Lafayette punting penalty flipped the field and left the Leopards starting at their own 17.
Penn drove all the way to Lafayette's 25, but with just seconds to go before halftime Sayin went for paydirt and the Leopards' Saiku White won the 50-50 battle with Josh Casilli just outside the end zone for the interception. Lafayette was content to run out the clock, the teams went to the locker rooms with Penn up, 6-0.
Penn's defense stuffed Lafayette midway through the third and nearly got a safety when
Jonathan Melvin sacked Lafayette QB Ryan Schuster right at the Leopards' goal line. Lafayette's punt gave Penn the ball at the Leopards' 35 and the Quakers took advantage of the short field.
Tysen Comizio got things started, totaling 20 yards over the drive's first four plays, and when Sayin found
Bryce Myers up the middle for 14 yards Penn had first down at Lafayette's 1-yard line. From there, Sayin faked the handoff and snuck in around the right side for the score. Penn went for two and was unsuccessful, so the Quakers' lead was 12-0 after three.
The fourth quarter was a matter of seeing whether or not Penn could complete the shutout. Lafayette was forced to go with Rent Montie at QB after Schuster was stretchered off on the final play of the third quarter. The furthest he got the Leopards into Penn territory was the 21 on their final drive, but the Quakers stiffened at that point and punctuated the day when
Jack Plank sacked Montie for an 11-yard loss on fourth down with 1:23 to play.
Up Next
The Quakers open Ivy League play next Friday night at defending co-champion Dartmouth. Kickoff with the Big Green is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast to a national TV audience on ESPNU.
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Gallery: (9-24-2022) Football vs. Lafayette - 9/24/22
