Senior defensive end Ed Cai recorded eight total tackles and a team high two sacks as the University of Pennsylvania sprint football team defeated Collegiate Sprint Football League opponent Franklin Pierce 33-12 during a cool, gloomy homecoming contest Saturday afternoon on Sodexo Field. The loss drops the host Ravens to 1-2, 1-2 CSFL and the win keeps the Quakers unblemished at 3-0, 3-0 CSFL.
The Quaker defensive unit had a strong afternoon as they allowed only 12 points, recorded seven sacks, snagged five interceptions, forced three fumbles and held the Ravens to 0-for-6 on fourth down.
FPU did their part on the defensive side as the squad held the guests to 200 yards of total offense and three net yards of rushing. Senior linebacker Josh Castro led the charge with nine total tackles and 1.5 sacks for the Ravens and Jacques Elias added one sack of his own. The Crimson and Grey’s defense harassed Quaker quarterbacks all day as they matched their counterparts with seven total sacks.
Penn however capitalized on the weather conditions as they scored twice on defense thanks to two botched snaps. The first came with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter on an FPU punt as Tom Console jumped on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown to go up 21-0 early on.
Their second defensive score came with 14 seconds left in the first stanza as Raven starting quarterback Mike Mancini mishandled the snap, recovered the pigskin in the end zone and was signaled down for a safety to put the Quakers up 23-6 after one.
The Ravens got their first points of the contest with 2:42 left in the first quarter when sophomore running back Tyler Zech took a pitch from Mancini and rumbled left through a hole created by his lineman. Zech hit the hole hard and rumbled 44 yards for a score to cut the lead to 21-6 at the time.
At halftime, Franklin Pierce made a change at quarterback as Jose Melo took the reins of the offense and threw for 246 yards in the second half with his lone touchdown coming with 5:39 left in the game. Melo hit Alex Powell down the seam in stride for a 55 yard score.
Alex Powell led the FPU offense with a 7-113-1 reviving line as fellow teammate Alex Revere hauled in six receptions for 108 yards.
Franklin Pierce returns to action in two weeks on Oct. 15 at Mansfield at 2 p.m.