NEWARK, Del. – The University of Pennsylvania football team had a strong first half, but in their first game of the season, the Quakers couldn’t keep it up against a Delaware team playing its third game. The Blue Hens (3-0) used a dominant third quarter, a late touchdown and a turnover in the final 90 seconds to outscore the Quakers 29-22.

Quaker Note Flour
*This will appear later tonight

How it happened

Penn received the opening kickoff and the offense immediately went to work to start the contest. A 20-yard gain through the middle by Hosley put the Quakers in the red zone. Penn had 4th and 3 at the 25-yard line when Sayin found Julien Stokes for the first attempt. On the next play, Sayin faked the handoff to Hosley, threw the ball 18 yards to Richardson and scored, giving Penn an early 6-0 lead.

The Blue Hens also had a long first drive, lasting nearly seven minutes. Delaware ran 58 yards down the field and got within four yards of the end zone before Penn’s defense caused a turnover with a drop.

Penn got the ball towards the end of the first and the beginning of the second half, marched 75 yards down the field and Sam Smith converted a 30-yard field goal and the Quakers took a 9-0 lead.

The Quaker defense did an excellent job of limiting Delaware on their next attack, as the Blue Hens gained negative yards when Bryce Hall And Carter Janki combined for a sack on second down. That forced UD to punt from the Quakers’ 40-yard line.

With less than five minutes left in the first half, Delaware used three minutes to mount a nine-play, 80-yard drive and score a 47-yard touchdown (with a failed extra point) to cut Penn’s lead to 9-6.

Penn was lucky to avoid danger after an interception by Sayin and got the ball back after a Blue Hens punt during the two-minute timeout. The Quakers used the time well, a 27-yard run by Hosley and a 47-yard pitch-and-catch from Sayin to Stokes enabled them to run a nine-yard fade route. Bye Owens. Penn went into the locker room with a 16-6 lead.

The third quarter belonged to the Hens, the hosts defeated Penn 9-0 and prepared for another point at the start of the fourth quarter.

Ja’Carree Kelly set the tone by taking the second-half kickoff and running it back to the halfway line. After that, UD needed just five more plays to score, as Ryan O’Connor found Phil Lutz down the left sideline for a 39-yard touchdown. The Hens attempted two but were unsuccessful, and the Quakers’ lead was 16-12.

Unable to move the ball out of his half, Penn punted, and the Hens immediately went back to work. Delaware started from their own 38-yard line and took the ball to the Quakers’ 18-yard line, and Nate Reed kicked a 35-yard field goal to bring the hosts within 16-15.

Penn had a sustained push after that, taking the ball from its own 25-yard line and needing 10 plays to get to the Delaware 22-yard line before stalling. Smith came in to kick the field goal, but after being charged with a false start, his 44-yard kick went just wide of the left upright and it was still a one-point game.

Delaware’s offense was still in control, and soon the Hens were ahead for the first time of the night. The nine-play, 73-yard drive spanned the third and fourth quarters and ended with O’Connor throwing a touch pass into the left corner of the end zone, which Jake Thaw ran under and caught in front of a Penn defender. Now leading 21-16, the Blue Hens tried again to score two points, but were unsuccessful.

Penn went three out on its next possession, but the defense came and held UD to three out and then Francesco Barone blocked the Hens’ punt attempt. That gave the Quakers the ball at Delaware’s 38-yard line, and then a defensive holding call was followed by a 13-yard rush by Hosley, who got the ball to Delaware’s 13-yard line. On a third-and-12 play, Sayin found Stokes on the left sideline, giving Penn first down at the 1-yard line. It took four plays, but on the fourth attempt, Penn ran an option to the short side and Sayin spun into the end zone to give the Red and Blue a 22-21 lead. Sayin’s pass to Richardson was incomplete on the two-point play, giving Penn a one-point lead with 6:02 left.

Delaware’s offense was once again on fire. It took the Hens 10 plays and just over four minutes to cover 75 yards, and with 1:44 left, they scored the game-winning goal when Jo’Nathan Silver ran around left end and outran two Penn defenders at the pylon from 13 yards out. UD then converted a 2-point conversion when O’Connor found Thaw on the right side, giving the Hens a seven-point lead, 29-22.

It looked like Penn was in a position to tie the game or even take the lead. Jared Richardson caught a pass from Aidan Sayin near the halfway line, shook off two UD tacklers and ran with the ball to the Hens’ 17-yard line. On the next play, however, Sayin threw to Hosley, who was hit as the ball reached him. The sophomore juggled the ball and it fell into the arms of Delaware’s Ty Davis with 1:26 left. The Hens were able to get to their knees three times to finish the ball

Next

The Quakers will host Colgate next Saturday for their first home game at Franklin Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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