PHILADELPHIA – Too many big plays resulted in a two-touchdown defeat for the University of Pennsylvania sprint football team, falling to Chestnut Hill 28-14 Saturday evening at Franklin Field on Senior Night.
 
The Quakers fall to 2-3 on the year, while the Griffins improve to 2-4.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn closes the home-and-home against Chestnut Hill with a loss, getting swept in the season series with the Griffins.
 
*The Quakers totaled 188 rushing yards, while Tom Rebstock had a career game, totaling 104 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. Ty Scherer had 15 carries for 69 yards and a score.
 
*Sam Herzog finished with a team-high six catches for 36 yards.
 
*Cam Janock led the defense with 10 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
 
*Matt McKillop also had a sack and a forced fumble, while Gavin Griswold and Matt Kentra each recorded interceptions.
 
*Two of Adrian Montemayor's six punts fell inside the 20-yard line.
 
*Penn honored the careers of four seniors—Kush Addepalli, Nick Bauman, Stephen Chen and Danny Coale—with a pre-game ceremony.
 
How It Happened
Penn's defense did its job on the game's opening drive by holding Chestnut Hill to a three-and-out. After both offenses failed to move the chains on the ensuing possessions, the Quakers used a 12-play, 46-yard drive to move down the field, shaving nearly seven minutes off the clock. However, that resulted in an interception thrown by Ty Scherer as the Griffins took the ball over with 2:18 on the clock.
 
The Penn defense held Chestnut Hill to a fourth-and-1, but a 63-yard pass from C.J. Small to Nick Ocampo put the Griffins up, 7-0, to close out the first quarter.
 
After the Quakers couldn't take advantage of a pair of first downs, getting into Chestnut Hill territory, the Griffins took full control of their next drive with a 96-yard touchdown pass from Small to Kyree Griffin, zooming ahead, 14-0.
 
That two-score deficit didn't last long, however, as Penn answered right back with an eight-play, 53-yard drive. Scherer put together two nice runs for a total of 26 yards, including a 16-yard scamper that brought the Quakers to the CHC three-yard line. That allowed Tom Rebstock to punch it in, cutting into the Griffins' now 14-7 advantage.
 
With 1:07 remaining in the first half, Matt Kentra picked off Small, returning the ball 35 yards to the Chestnut Hill 31-yard line. That set the Quakers up with prime field position in the final 53 seconds of the stanza. Scherer was called for intentional grounding to begin the offensive drive before an incomplete pass and a six-yard pass-and-catch to Kyle Zeitlian ran out the first-half clock.
 
Penn entered the locker room trailing by a TD.
 
The first possessions of the half for both teams stalled out, but Penn committed a costly turnover as Tom Rebstock fumbled the punt return over to the Griffins at their own 35-yard line.
 
With 5:53 remaining in the third quarter, the Quakers capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown run for Scherer.
 
Chestnut Hill responded with another long drive that went deep into Penn territory, but Small threw his second interception of the evening, this time to Gavin Griswold as the Quakers took over from their own seven.
 
With just 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter, CHC's Jerry Clark returned a Scherer interception 40 yards for a touchdown, upping the advantage to 21-14 heading into the final period.
 
Chestnut Hill got right back to work on its first fourth-quarter offensive drive, using five plays and half the field to convert a 22-yard pass from Anthony Cancellare to Keshad Turner for six points and a 28-14 edge.
 
Penn's offense struggled the rest of the way, Scherer throwing his third interception of the evening with 2:03 to play in the fourth, as the Griffins kneeled to run out the clock and come away with a 28-14 win.
 
Up Next
Penn closes the book on the 2023 regular season next Friday vs. Navy at Franklin Field. A trip to the CSFL Championship Game is on the line, as the game will decide the South division champion. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., streamed live on ESPN+.