PHILADELPHIA – Trailing 15-5 entering the fourth quarter, the University of Pennsylvania sprint football team scored 14 unanswered points in the final period, coming from behind for a gritty 19-15 win over St. Thomas Aquinas Friday evening at Franklin Field.
 
The Quakers improve to 2-2 overall on the season, 1-1 in CSFL South division play, while also remaining unbeaten at 2-0 at Franklin Field in 2023. Penn hands STAC its second loss of the year and first since a season-opening defeat vs. Navy on Sept. 16.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn equalize the all-time series against the Spartans, 1-1.
 
*JT Goodman rushed 16 times for 32 yards, his longest being a 19 yard carry. QB Ty Scherer rushed 15 times for 55 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
 
*Andy Falletta led all receivers with 34 yards on two receptions and a TD.
 
*As a team, the Quakers recorded nine TFLs with Cam Janock and Jordan Ortiz leading the way with two each. Janock also had a sack.
 
*Matt Kentra finished with a team-high nine total tackles (seven solos), while Janock and Jake Inserra had seven each.
 
*Adrian Montemayor found success punting the ball with three inside the 20-yard line with a long of 50 yards. The junior specialist also recorded a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter and was 2-for-2 on extra-point tries.
 
How It Happened
Penn began the game on a high note following a 42-yard kick return by Josh Johnson, giving the Quakers excellent field position. With a quick three and out, they stopped the Spartans on the defensive end forcing them to punt the ball.
 
After two solid run plays, JT Goodman's rush attempt was cut short, the ball punched out at the line of scrimmage leading to a fumble recovered by the Spartans, who ran the ball back to the Quakers' two-yard line.
 
On the very next drive, Penn's defense stepped up in a big way as St. Thomas Aquinas attempted to run the ball in for an easy two yard touchdown, but were quickly stopped for a one-yard gain. Forced to try out the passing game, the Spartans struggled to move the ball following significant pressure by the Quakers' defensive line. Again, attempting to run the ball in for a one-yard score, STAC was stuffed for no gain to bring up fourth down.
 
Deciding to go for it on fourth and short, the Spartans handed the ball off to only get struck down immediately by Jake Inserra and Matt Kentra, giving the possession back to Penn deep in its own territory.
 
Following another three-and-out for the Penn offense, STAC's final drive of the first quarter led to a field goal to open the second to put the Spartans up, 3-0.

Penn ran the ball efficiently thanks to Tom Rebstock and Ty Scherer as a 13-play, 57-yard drive that ran nearly eight minutes long resulted in three points and a tie game, 3-3.
 
Penn's defense continued its brilliant night with multiple defensive breakups and a sack by Cam Janock as St. Thomas Aquinas couldn't manage to get in range to do anything on the scoreboard as the game headed into halftime all tied up at 3-3.
 
Just as Penn did to open the first half, STAC began the second with an important 28-yard kick return spotting the ball at the 50-yard line. The Spartans produced short passes and marched down the field to create a seven-yard touchdown, taking a 9-3 lead after Danny Coale blocked the extra point.
 
Penn couldn't do anything productive on its next offensive possession, but a bad snap led to a Spartan fumble recovery in their own end zone, forcing a safety and shorting the deficit to just four, 9-5.
 
After the Quakers couldn't take advantage of the free possession following the safety, St. Thomas Aquinas gained the ball back to create 31-yard touchdown pass with an acrobatic catch from Nyir Jones to up the lead to two possessions, now 15-5.
 
Scherer got his passing game going to kick off the fourth quarter, completing multiple passes down the field, ultimately setting up a slant to freshman Andy Falletta for an 18-yard TD. Adrian Montemayor converted the extra point to make it 15-12.
 
Penn's defense did its job once again, as the offense went right back to work and ran the ball, only to be halted on 4th and 4 with 5:28 to play. A holding call against Nick Bauman backed the Quakers up 10 yards to the STAC 42. On a 4th and 14 with the game on the line, Scherer completed a two-yard pass to JT Goodman, but a face mask call against the Spartans brought the ball up to the 25 with an automatic first down.
 
Goodman's 19-yard carry created the longest rush of the game to put the Red and Blue in the red zone. The very next snap, Scherer scrambled to the right side, avoided multiple defenders, spun around another and into the end zone for the six-yard go-ahead score to give the Quakers their first lead of the game at 18-15.
 
With under four minutes to go and a single possession left for the Spartans to take the lead, the Quaker defense applied the pressure and forced the QB to scramble, eventually being tackled by Kentra and Matt McKillop on three straight plays to force another crucial fourth down.
 
With just one more play to spare for STAC, Ryan Kenny's completed a pass to Bennermon, who was pushed out of bounds mid-air by Kentra, giving the ball back to the Quakers, who went into the victory formation to seal the come-from-behind win.
 
Quotable
"This was a great game, a great team win for us. I'm so happy for our kids. It puts us in a position for when we play Navy, we'll compete for the CSFL South division championship. Our team never quit, we talked all week about this game being a street fight and our guys stepped up and did an unbelievable job. Just so proud of this group." – Jerry McConnell, William R. Wagner Head Coach of Sprint Football.
 
Up Next
Following its second bye week of the year, Penn returns to Franklin Field Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. to take on Chestnut Hill.