Penn Thwarts Football, Forestalls Ivy Title

Friday night at Franklin Field, with just over three minutes left on the game clock, it appeared that overtime was likely in the heavyweight bout between Harvard and Penn football.

After going down 14-3, the Crimson had scored 11 fourth-quarter points to tie the game. The comeback had great importance, as a win over the Quakers would assure Harvard a share of the Ancient Eight title.

But with 3:23 remaining, senior quarterback Alek Torgersen took control. He guided the Penn offense downfield bolstered by ample time in the pocket and relatively unguarded receivers. The drive culminated with a quick strike to junior wide receiver Justin Watson to make it 21-14 with 15 seconds left.

“I think the touchdown showed a lot of confidence to throw the ball from the two-yard line,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “They just did a great job executing the one-and-a-half minute drill and made all the plays when they had to.”

Three plays later, a celebratory somersault into the end zone proved to be a fitting end to the rivalry matchup.

On a desperation try with five seconds left in the game, senior quarterback Joe Viviano saw his primary wide receiver, Justice Shelton-Mosley, open over the middle. While the sophomore caught the pass, cornerback Sam Philippi forced a botched pitch. Teammate Tayler Hendrickson caught the ball, ran to the end zone, and put the game away for good with a front flip.

The competitiveness began early in the night. Just after the coin toss, the Crimson and the Quakers converged at midfield. Referees broke up the scrum, with both teams eventually returning to their sidelines. It was a sign of a contentious battle to come.

And a battle it was. Penn (6-3, 5-1 Ivy) and Harvard (7-2, 5-1) traded blows on offense all game, but it was the timeliness of game-changing plays that gave the Quakers the win. With a 27-14 victory, Penn prevented the Crimson from clinching an Ivy title.

That task remains for next week, when Harvard can claim at least a share of a championship with a win over Yale.

“Obviously Yale has tremendous meaning for us, no matter the records,” Murphy said. “It now has the utmost meaning because we still control our own destiny to get a piece of the Ivy League championship.”

The Quakers had an advantage for much of the second, third, and fourth quarters, but a Crimson field goal and touchdown in the fourth made the game competitive again.

With about four minutes remaining, Viviano fired a pass to Shelton-Mosley, who snagged the ball and kept his feet in bounds. This completion set up a crucial touchdown to senior wide receiver Joseph Foster to bring Harvard within two points. A tricky two-point conversion attempt featuring a direct snap and a pass from Shelton-Mosley to Viviano tied the game at 14.

Harvard accumulated 352 total yards to Penn’s 284, but turnovers and missed opportunities proved costly. Interceptions were a problem for Viviano in the first half. The Berwyn, Pa., native threw three picks in the second quarter alone.

On two of the three interceptions, Viviano was forced to scramble as the pocket collapsed around him, so the offensive line was at least partially to blame for the errant throws.

The senior quarterback was also sacked six times. Often scrambling to evade the rush, he seemed to be unable to find his receivers consistently.

Harvard appeared poised to add to its 3-0 lead in the second quarter, but Viviano was intercepted by sophomore cornerback Mason Williams on third down in field goal range.

“We take on a bend-don’t-break motto and try not to worry about the offense moving the ball,” defensive end Louis Vecchio said. “The closer that they get, it’s almost harder for them to get in.”

The Crimson defense did its job, forcing a Penn punt and setting up another drive for Viviano.

However, on a screen pass to Viviano’s right, Vecchio bolted in between the quarterback and his intended target. Vecchio tipped the ball up over his head and came down with the interception. He sprinted to the end zone to put Penn on top, 7-3.

“It was one of those plays where I really didn’t think—just kind of reacted,” Vecchio said. “The first thing I thought about when I got the ball was, one, don’t fumble and the other thing was, get in the end zone as fast as I can.”

With 19 seconds left in the first half, Harvard had advanced to Penn’s 28 yard line. Rather than try for a field goal on fourth down, Murphy elected to take a shot for the end zone. Viviano appeared unable to find an open receiver and threw up a floater. Williams came down with his second interception of the game.

The timely turnovers provided Torgersen with several opportunities to put Penn on the board, but the Quakers’ only points in the first half came on the defensive score.

Even so, Torgersen seemed very comfortable in the pocket against Harvard’s pass rush. He took his time on a deep touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Christian Pearson at the beginning of the third quarter. Pearson faked a cut to the left, which shook junior safety Tanner Lee, and the wideout had plenty of room to make the catch and get in for the score.

Harvard completely dominated Penn’s ground game in the early going, and the visitors extended this dominance throughout the game. The Quakers carried the ball 20 times and netted only 21 yards, and primary rusher Tre Solomon averaged 2.2 yards per carry.

On the other hand, Harvard’s rushing attack bolstered the turnover-plagued offense. Sophomore Charlie Booker got 15 carries out of the backfield rushed for 64 yards. Junior Semar Smith and freshman Lavance Northington combined for another 44.

“Really proud of our kids because they battled and hung in there,” Murphy said. “They played heroically defensively at times. But at the end of the day, we just made too many mistakes to beat a good football team.”

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.