PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania sprint football team found themselves trailing by just two points midway through the third quarter, but Navy put its foot on the gas pedal and came away with a 36-21 victory Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field.
 
The Quakers have lost three straight games and fall to 1-5 overall and conclude CSFL South division play with an 0-3 record. The Midshipmen stay unbeaten and improve to 6-0 with just two games remaining.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*QB Josh Johnson threw the ball consistently to Jake Wang, who finished with a team-high seven catches for 108 yards. The yardage is a career high for the senior wideout.

*Johnson completed 17 of his 29 pass attempts for 208 yards and two TDs.

*Jason Sheairs added 80 yards on six receptions, which included his third touchdown grab of the year. Ryan Goodrich also had a score, the first of his young career.

*Gavin Griswold led the defense with a team-leading 10 total tackles, adding three TFLs for a loss of seven yards. Luke Pajovich had Penn's lone sack.

*Grant Coulson picked off Navy's QB and returned it 30 yards, the junior's first interception of his career.

*Hugh Maley finished with two pass breakups to lead the defense, while Wang added a third.

*Ezra Granet punted three times for 118 yards, including a 60-yard boot that landed at the Mids' own 1-yard line. He also converted all three of his extra-point attempts.

How It Happened
Penn's defense picked up where it left off last weekend and forced an early 3-and-out from the Navy offense, but Aaron Harris' 55-yard punt was downed at the one-yard line.
 
The Quakers' first play from scrimmage went nowhere, as Xavier May IV lost a yard on his first rush for a safety, handing the Midshipmen an early 2-0 lead.
 
Navy learned from its first-drive mistakes and rebounded with a solid 51-yard drive that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown pass from O'Connell to Biamungu Nkere, extending the lead to 10-0.
 
Jerry McConnell made some adjustments on the offensive side of the ball for the Quakers, erasing 6:08 off the clock and driving 50 yards down the field for their first points of the day. Johnson completed a two-yard pass to Sheairs to make it a 10-7 game early in the second quarter.
 
Navy added another score midway through the second quarter, but missed the extra point to lead 16-7.
 
Penn found some late-half magic when Grant Coulson picked off O'Connell 30 yards to the Navy 42 yard line with just 24 seconds on the clock. Johnson found Wang for 20 yards and the first down, but couldn't capitalize with points and trailed by nine entering the locker room.
 
The Quakers received the second-half kickoff but only managed a first down via a defensive pass interference call and ended up punting away to the Navy 21.
 
After Penn's defense forced a 3-and-out on Navy's next offensive drive, the Red and Blue got back to work and made things interesting when they chipped their way down the field with Johnson completing a nine-yard TD pass to Goodrich. The score made it a 16-14 game.
 
Navy answered back with an eight-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that took 4:12 off the clock, as O'Connell faked out the defense and found Jake Berger 18 yards down the left sideline to take a 22-14 edge. The Mids missed the extra point to leave it a one-score game.
 
Facing third down and long, Jake Wang bailed out Penn's offense by making an acrobatic sideline catch to bring the Quakers down to their own 32-yard line, putting an end to the third stanza. The progress would be short-lived, however, as Johnson found his next pass picked off by Navy's Lexington Megerle as the Mids set up shop at the Penn 38. The Midshipmen converted that turnover into seven more points to lead 30-14 with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Navy added another and ended up scoring 20 unanswered points before May IV punched in a score from three yards out, but the Midshipmen came away with the 36-21 victory.
 
Up Next
The Quakers head to Rockville Centre, N.Y. for their final road contest of the 2025 season at Molloy. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
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