EASTON, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania football team scored in the first minute and the last minute of Saturday's season opener at Stonehill, and the latter proved to be the difference as the Quakers knocked off the Skyhawks 24-21 at W.B. Mason Field.
Making his first field goal attempt as a collegian, freshman
Mason Walters kicked a 45-yard field goal with just 15 seconds left to provide the winning points over a Stonehill team that entered the day 1-2 and was coming off a 13-10 win last Saturday at the University of Maine. The game was the first-ever meeting between these programs.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn takes its first meeting with Stonehill and improves to 6-4 in season openers in the
Ray Priore era.
*Freshman
Mason Walters drilled his first career field goal on his first collegiate attempt, which turned out to be the Quakers' first game-winning field goal since Nov. 2, 2019 vs. Brown at Franklin Field. A 22-yard kick from Daniel Karrash—also his first attempt as a collegian—defeated the Bears, 38-36, with two seconds remaining.
*
Jared Richardson recorded the fifth 100-or-more receiving yard game of his career, totaling 103 on four catches with a touchdown in the victory. The 69-yard reception was also the longest of his career.
*Richardson is already making his way up the all-time receiving list, upping his career total to 1,575 and passing Rory Starkey Jr. '22 (1,549) for eighth. He's just 40 yards away from passing Doug O'Neill '00 (1,614) for seventh in program history.
*
Bisi Owens reeled in a team-leading six catches—one of which was for 25 yards—for 79 yards, while
Alex Haight hauled in three passes.
Davis Ellis and
Donte West each added one.
*Despite a late interception,
Liam O'Brien displayed flashes of efficiency after going 16-of-31 through the air for 238 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed nine times for 38 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
*
Julien Stokes led the rushing attack with 11 attempts for 52 yards (4.7 ypc), while
Sean Williams, Jr. had eight carries for 36 yards and his first-career touchdown.
*Defensively,
Carter Janki put together a spectacular performance with a career-high two sacks, two hurries, and a pass breakup (which was nearly an interception). Janki now has 4.5 sacks for his Penn career, totaling a loss of 16 yards.
*Senior co-captain
John Lista finished with a team-leading 11 total tackles—on six solos—to go along with two hurries.
Kadari Machen added nine tackles, including two TFLs, while new defensive back Jayden Drayon had seven (along with a TFL) and
Josh Narcisse finished with five solo stops.
*Stokes continued to showcase his return specialist abilities, taking a 63-yard punt return to the house. It was the Quakers' first punt return for a touchdown since Isaiah Malcome's 69-yard return TD at Delaware on Sept. 21, 2019, also on opening weekend. It's Penn's first return touchdown of any kind since Stokes' 97-yard kickoff return against Brown in 2022.
*Penn gained 375 yards of total offense against Stonehill's stingy defense. Through their first three games of the season, the Skyhawks' defense ranked 28th in the nation in scoring defense (21.3 ppg) while ranking 34th in total defense.
*Despite going just 6-of-15 from third down, the Quakers were a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions during the contest.
How It Happened
Penn needed exactly 50 seconds and three plays to get on the scoreboard for the first time in 2025. O'Brien found Richardson across the middle and the senior receiver took over from there, covering the final 65 yards on the ground for the touchdown.
The Quakers doubled their lead midway through the first.
Julien Stokes caught a punt at his own 37-yard line. He shook off an immediate tackler, moved to the left sideline and was gone, 63 yards to the house. Stonehill was able to get one of those scores back late in the period with its first score of the day, and the Red and Blue's lead was 14-7 after one.
Penn responded to the Stonehill TD by again making it a two-score game in the second quarter. The Quakers used 11 plays to drive 49 yards with Sean Williams Jr. picking up the final one up the gut. That made the score 21-7, and the Red and Blue had another chance to tack on points on the last play of the half but missed on a 22-yard field goal. As a result, the teams went to their locker rooms with Penn up by 14.
After a scoreless third quarter, Stonehill made this a one-score game on the first play of the fourth quarter when Zavion Woodard spun off a few Penn defenders and got into the end zone from five yards out. Penn got into Stonehill territory after that score, but O'Brien threw a jump ball pass to Owens on the right sideline and it was intercepted by the Skyhawks' Zack Athy.
Starting on its own 1-yard line, the Skyhawks got some breathing room and then used the big play to get to midfield, O'Connell finding Zachary Kim down the left sideline for 32 yards. Several plays later, Stonehill tied this game on a fourth-and-2 play when O'Connell rolled to his left and flung a pass into the left corner of the end zone that Torance Washington Jr. caught behind an outstretched Quakers defender. The play went for 28 yards and tied things at 21-21.
The teams traded punts on their next drives, with Stokes briefly muffing the Stonehill punt but picking it up and putting Penn on its 36-yard line with only a few minutes remaining. O'Brien used a pair of quarterback draws to get the ball into Stonehill territory, the second going for 16 yards as he shook off a few tackles along the way. O'Brien then found Richardson for nine yards to the Skyhawks' 28-yard line with 27 seconds left, and after a Stonehill timeout the defense stuffed a rush up the middle for no gain. The Skyhawks again took a timeout, giving Penn time to think of its next step. Facing fourth-and-1, the Quakers put the ball on the freshman Walters' foot and he delivered, splitting the uprights for a 45-yarder that would have cleared the crossbar from a good 10 yards or more.
Stonehill returned the ensuing kickoff to its 40-yard line, offsetting penalties keeping the ball on the 40. With just nine seconds left, the Skyhawks attempted a hook-and-ladder play at midfield but the ball was fumbled on a second lateral and the clock ran out as the Stonehill player fell on it.
Quotable
"You're forced to hit the ground running at Penn. It was like that for school and football. This is definitely a boost in confidence, and it's one step closer to making me feel like I belong here. I was nervous for sure, but all my teammates crowded around me. I don't think there was a single one of them that was on the field that didn't say they believed in me," - freshman kicker
Mason Walters, via the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Up Next
Penn continues its road trip up to the Lehigh Valley to face No. 10/10 Lehigh at Goodman Stadium next Saturday at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and through the airwaves on the Quaker Audio Network.
For the latest on Penn football, follow @PennFB on X (formerly Twitter), @PennFootball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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