Penn Flips a 20-10 Deficit with Two Late Touchdowns
Penn trailed 20-10 after three quarters and had led only briefly, in the second quarter. It won 24-20 anyway, and the way it got there is the kind of thing you do not draw up on a whiteboard.
Start with the touchdowns. With 11:55 left in the fourth, Karson Siqueiros-Lasky, the quarterback, caught a 6-yard touchdown pass. The man who threw it was Isaac Lee, a wide receiver, who finished the day 1 for 1 through the air. Then, with 57 seconds left, they swapped back: Siqueiros-Lasky threw, Lee caught, 13 yards, and Penn was in front 24-20. Quarterback catches from receiver, receiver catches from quarterback, same two guys. (I would like that play call explained to me.)
Howard had the early momentum. Ja'Shawn Scroggins ran in from a yard out in the first quarter, and after Penn went ahead 10-7 on a 12-yard Siqueiros-Lasky pass to Jack Donnelly, Scroggins hit Zaden Jackson from 30 yards to put Howard back on top. Matt Conord kicked a field goal as time ran out in the half, and another from 34 yards in the third, and the Bison led 20-10. They never scored again. Penn was down ten and still had a quarter to work with.
The numbers say Penn should have been closer all along. It threw for 295 yards against Howard's 140 and out-gained the visitors 366 to 247, despite just 21 rushing attempts to Howard's 33. Both sides threw one interception, Penn also lost a fumble, and the difference was the two late scores. Howard's Scroggins completed 13 of 33.
Both teams sit at 2-2 after it. Penn found a way to win, and Howard found a way to go quiet for the final 23 minutes of the game (the last Howard points came with 8:41 left in the third).