HILLBURN, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania sprint football team opened the 2024 season on a high note, shutting down St. Thomas Aquinas 24-0 on the road on Saturday afternoon.
 
Quarterback Michael Malone exploded in his collegiate debut, scoring three rushing touchdowns to help give Penn its first victory of the fresh year.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The reigning CSFL DPOTY picked up where he left off, as Adrien Montemayor went 1-1 in field goals, 3-3 in PATs, punted three times for 93 yards, and kicked off five times for 265 yards in his season debut. The senior did it all, totaling six stops, including three solos.
 
*Junior Ryan Horvath led a stout defense against the Spartans, tallying a team-high seven tackles.
 
*Freshmen Colin Ambrosius, Colin Cross, Ben Lu, and Malone made their collegiate debuts.
 
*JT Goodman led the offense in rushing yards (66), while Kyle Zeitlian received a Quaker-leading 51 yards.
 
How It Happened
After both defenses started the game strong, forcing three and outs on the first two possessions, Penn got to work quickly on its next drive, as sophomore Goodman started it off solid with a 14-yard rush to the Spartans' 24, followed by a 15-yard rush from quarterback Malone on the next play. The freshman was able to capitalize on the quick ball movement, as Malone scored his first collegiate touchdown with 9:21 left of the first to put the Quakers on the board, accompanied by Montemayor's first extra point kick to bump the lead to 7-0.
 
STAC tried to answer at the end of the first quarter, leading into the second with a ten-play drive, but Gavin Griswold and Lu ended the possession on Penn's 23 to hold the Spartans off the board.
 
The Quakers, however, were able to extend their lead in their first possession of the second, as Goodman and Malone were able to bring the ball steadily down to STAC's five-yard line on fourth down to allow Montemayor to nail his first and only field goal of the battle to push the deficit to 10-0.
 
The Spartans' defense could not contain Penn's offense as Josh Johnson tallied a 12-yard rush to open an 11-play scoring drive to end the second. Freshman Malone did it all in the drive, tossing a 41-yard pass to Zeitlian at STAC's three-tard line to set himself up for his second rushing tally of the game to lengthen the lead to 17-0 to end the half.
 
STAC could not find its footing coming out of the break as Matt McKillop recovered a fumble on the Spartans' 12 to help set up Penn's offense. Malone capitalized off STAC's blunder, scoring his third and final touchdown of the day, trailed by Montemayor's third extra point kick that pushed the hole to 24-0 with 13:26 left of the third.
 
The Spartans had one final promising possession in the bout right after Malone's third touchdown, holding the ball for 7:15 and 11 plays. A foul on the Quakers and STAC's quarterback Ryan Kenny completing for 50 yards on five passes slowly brought the Spartans down to the Quakers' own 34. Luckily, the Red and Blue defense still held strong as sophomore Johnson picked Kenny off at the Quakers' 20 and returned the rock for 40 yards to end any chances of STAC getting on the board.
 
The final quarter of the game went quickly as the Quakers had the ball for two of three possessions in the fourth, starting with an 11-play 7:41 possession. In the Spartans' final drive of the game, quarterback Kenny was quickly passing the ball down the field to Penn's 30 to try and cause some offensive damage, but senior Jordan Ortiz made a huge stop to help end the game and give Penn its first win of the 2024 season.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (1-0) return to Franklin Field for the first time this year on Friday, Sept. 27, hosting Mansfield for a 7 p.m. battle.
 
 
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Penn: (9:21) – Michael Malone 3 yd rushing TD (Extra point good), Penn 7, STAC 0
2nd Quarter
 Penn: (6:41) – Adrian Montemayor 22-yard field goal, Penn 10, STAC 0
Penn: (0:57) – Michael Malone 3 yd rushing TD (Extra point good), Penn 17, STAC 0
3rd Quarter
Penn: (13:26) – Michael Malone 8 yd rushing TD (Extra point good), Penn 24, STAC 0