ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The University of Pennsylvania sprint football team dropped its first game of the season on Friday night, falling 31-0 to Navy on the road.
 
Senior Jake Inserra led the defensive charge for Penn on the field, tying his career 16 tackles, including ten solos in the road battle.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Charles Tauckus recovered the sole fumble in the game during the third quarter.
 
*Seniors Jake Wang and Kyle Zeitlian both tallied 14 reception yards.
 
*Sophomore JT Goodman rushed for a team-high 15 yards.
 
*Sophomore Josh Johnson recorded a career-high 11 stops against the Mids.
 
How It Happened
Both defenses held tough during the first quarter, as the score was tied at zero heading into the second frame. The Quakers were highlighted by Tom Rebstock converting on two third downs in the opening possession of the game, but Navy's defense quieted down most offensive attempts in the first 15 minutes.
 
The Midshipmen struck first in the battle, scoring on their first drive of the second to lead 7-0 with 10:31 left of the quarter. Freshman Michael Malone tried to retaliate on the Quakers' next drive as he rushed for 15 yards to bring Penn up to Navy's 45, but the Mids' defense forced two incomplete passes to end the drive. Navy kept up the offense on its next possession, doubling the lead to 14-0 with 5:19 on the clock.
 
The Red and Blue's last true offense attempt of the first half came right after the second touchdown, as senior Rebstock rushed for two yards to open the drive. Malone followed Rebstock's rush with a pass to Andy Falletta for eight yards to bring Penn up to its own 41, but ultimately, Navy sacked Malone to force Adrian Montemayor to come out to punt.
 
Right as time was expiring in the second, Navy's quarterback Luke Wagner tossed a 45-yard pass to Chris Stumpf to push the Mids' lead to 21-0 heading into the halftime break.
 
Coming out of the break, the Midshipmen continued to dominate, forcing three-and-outs on every single possession the Quakers had to run time off the clock. Junior Tauckuss shined defensively in the quarter, recovering a fumble of the Mids' punt and returning it for five yards. Unfortunately, Penn could not capitalize on Tauckus' fumble recovery, giving the home team the ball back. With less than 30 seconds left of the third quarter, Navy's Hunter Gennicks added a 39-yard rushing touchdown to the board to lengthen the lead to 28-0 heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
The Mids continued to control the pace to open the last stanza of play, sacking Malone to open the quarter and taking possession of the ball with 13:31 on the clock. Navy ran down the clock till the 4:16 mark of the period and added a field goal to the board to push the game to its final tally of 31-0.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (5-1, 1-1 CSFL South) close out the season next weekend, returning to Franklin Field for the final time on Friday, Nov. 8, for a 7 p.m. Senior Day battle with Chestnut Hill.