It was a historic night in South Philadelphia on Friday as the sprint football team (0-6 overall, 0-4 CSFL) lost both its season finale to Penn (4-2, 2-2), 61-28, and its record-setting 35th consecutive game. This losing streak is the longest skid in men's Division I athletic history and shows no sign of improvement any time soon.
After falling behind early in the game on freshman wide receiver Lon Johnson's 26-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Dennis Bakke, Penn reeled off 39 unanswered points in the form of six touchdowns and three converted extra points.
The Quakers tied the game at 7-7 when quarterback Mike LoGuidice, who completed 13 of 14 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns, connected with wide receiver Pat Monaghan for an 18-yard touchdown score. On Penn's ensuing possession, J.T. Hutchinson, who rushed for 133 yards on 18 carries, scored his first of two rushing touchdowns on the night, a four-yard run. From there, the Quakers proceeded to dominate for the rest of the game.
Scoring three second-quarter touchdowns to increase its lead to 32-7 at the half, Penn virtually closed the door on this final game of the season. Monaghan scored two of the final three touchdowns of the half on 32-yard and 21-yard touchdowns passes from LoGuidice. Monaghan caught 10 passes in the game for 184 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the Quakers' all-time single-season receiving record.
After a LoGuidice 14-yard quarterback scramble started the scoring in the second half, Bakke scored Princeton's second touchdown of the contest on a one-yard quarterback keeper with one minute, 32 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting Penn's lead to 25 points.
That is as close as the Tigers would get as the Quakers answered with three more rushing touchdowns in the final quarter on 72-, four-, and 41-yard runs. Princeton added two more trivial scores of its own in the fourth quarter on junior wide receiver Frank Langston's 58-yard touchdown reception and senior running back Matt Worley's 22-yard run.
"We hurt ourselves offensively with penalties," Bakke said. "The first three drives after our first touchdown were all stalled because of penalties."
Defensively, Princeton struggled to contain the run, giving up six rushing touchdowns on the night. The same can be said for Princeton's red-zone defense, allowing the Quakers to score six of the seven times they were within 20 yards of the end zone.
"Defensively, we just couldn't stop Monaghan," Bakke said, "and things just fell apart in the second half."
Despite losing the game, seniors Bakke and Worley, playing the final game of their Princeton sprint football careers, went out in style. Bakke threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Worley, Princeton's leading rusher in the game, rushed the ball 13 times for 84 yards and one touchdown. He also added five tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
"It's weird not to be a football player anymore," Bakke said. "I have been thinking about it the past couple of days, and it's strange to think that I'm not going to suit up again."
Penn barely topped the Tigers in total yardage, 489-446, and each team rushed for more than 200 yards on 43 rushing attempts. Worley and Bakke combined for 162 of Princeton's 234 rushing yards.
Despite the key offensive losses of Bakke and Worley, the defensive outlook is more promising with the return of many starters.
"[The team] just has to get in one game, keep it close, and make things happen in the end," said Bakke. "That is how the team can start winning."
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