PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania spring football team unofficially kicked off its 2024 season with the annual Alumni Game, as the Quakers topped the Alumni 7-0 Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field.
 
Quarterback Jaxson Nield tossed a 72-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jason Sheairs to carry Penn to a close one-possession victory over the Alumni.
 
How It Happened
The Quakers tried to stir up some offense on their first drive as quarterback Ty Scherer opened the drive with a seven-yard pass to Jacob Rios to bring the ball to their own 32. An offside penalty on the alumni on third down gave the Red and Blue an additional chance, but senior Adrian Montemayor was forced to punt for 32 yards.
 
Luckily for Penn, the alumni fumbled the ball on their opening drive, allowing Rios to recover and rush to the ten-yard line. Ultimately, quarterback Michael Malone fumbled in the end zone for a touchback to give the ball back to the Alumni.
 
The Quaker defense was stout on the Alumni's third possession as Matt Kentra intercepted the ball on the first drive, followed by an illegal use penalty that brought the ball to the Alumni 35. The Alumni were able to answer back, forcing a three and out on Penn's possession.
 
The Red and Blue defense kept it up to open the second quarter, as Kentra tallied his second interception of the game at the Alumni's 45 on third and down to give the Quakers the ball back. Running back Tom Rebstock tried to muster some offense, rushing twice for a total of two yards, but the offense could not capitalize off the interception.
 
The Alumni caught a spark on their next drive as a 19-yard pass steadily brought them down to their own 34, and then a 17-yard pass furthered them to Penn's 30. Another 19-yard pass brought the Alumni closer to the end zone at Penn's 11, but a stop from Jake Inserra kept the rock at the 11. Luckily for the Quakers, freshman Colin Cross intercepted the Alums and returned for 29 yards to Penn's 38 to end any offensive scoring for the Alumni to end the first half.
 
The second-half teams looked a little different as the Quakers and Alumni mixed teams, but the Quakers still kept the edge as junior Nield heaved the rock for 72 yards down the field to freshmen Sheairs, who reached the end zone to break the scoring drought and put Penn ahead 7-0.
 
Both defenses held tough the next few drives, keeping the offenses from moving far down the field, but the Alumni closed the third strong, getting their first interception of the game to hold the score at 7-0.
 
The final stanza of the annual game went fast as the Quakers did not allow the Alumni to score off their third-quarter interception to highlight the action in the final period.
 
Quotables
"We accomplished what we set out to do today, which was staying healthy. Our defense played very well, and our offense shows that we are on the right track to get to where we want to be. The biggest thing for us was making sure our guys stayed healthy, and they did, so we will take that win today."  – Jerry McConnell, William R. Wagner Head Coach of Sprint Football
 
Scoring Summary
3rd Quarter
Penn: (4:10) – Jason Sheairs 72 yd pass from Jaxson Nield (Extra point good) – Penn 7, Alumni 0
 
Up Next
Penn opens the 2024 season on Saturday, Sept. 21, heading to St. Thomas Aquinas for a 1 p.m. battle.