A season-best performance by Brown’s defense and a late first-quarter touchdown weren’t enough to put the football team on top, as it fell 17-7 to Penn in its final home game of the season Saturday. Bruno (2-5, 0-4 Ivy) held the Quakers (3-4, 1-3) to 303 yards but gave up 65 yards in penalties and fumbled twice in the first half.
“The only team that can beat Brown is Brown,” said Head Coach Phil Estes P’18. “Brown is beating itself right now. Offensively, we move the ball, we shoot ourselves in the foot and we have a critical error that puts us in long situations. You can’t win football games if you can’t consistently drive the football. … There was no consistency, whether it was play calling, or it was just execution. We have to do a better job with all that.”
Bruno struggled to keep up with Penn offensively as the Quakers lit up the scoreboard on the first play of the game. Quarterback Nick Robinson hit Justin Watson for an 80-yard touchdown reception, stunning the Bears from the start.
Brown had no response for the 11-second score, punting the ball away on its first possession and fumbling on the second. Penn took advantage of the turnover to take a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Bears found some success on the ground later on as running back David Moodie ’19 powered into Penn territory with four consecutive rushes. Quarterback Nicholas Duncan ’19 took over from there, connecting with tight end Anton Casey ’19 on a 33-yard shovel pass and later scrambling five yards into the end zone to cut the Quakers’ lead to seven.
A second-quarter fumble recovery by defensive lineman Michael Hoecht ’20 appeared to swing the momentum in Bruno’s favor, but the offense could not capitalize on the turnover as a field goal attempt sailed wide left.
The Quakers found themselves in a similar situation after forcing a Brown fumble on the Bears’ next possession, but Penn managed to increase its lead to 10 with a 51-yard field goal.
The score remained locked at 17-7 for the second half, giving the Quakers the edge and their first Ivy League win of the season as the clock expired.
Brown has yet to notch a conference victory but is looking for a win against Yale Friday. The Bears will travel to New Haven to battle the top-ranked Bulldogs under the lights of the Yale Bowl. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
