Penn Splashes Past Bucknell Football, 53-7 - BUCKNELL OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Penn Splashes Past Bucknell Football, 53-7

Penn Defense Scores Twice, Limits Bucknell to 103 Total Yards

Ryan Slater finished with eight tackles in the loss at Penn.

Oct. 8, 2005

Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Pat McDermott threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns and Penn's stingy defense parlayed five turnovers into a 53-7 victory over Bucknell at rain-drenched Franklin Field on Saturday. The Bison fell to 1-4 with the loss, while the Quakers improved to 3-1.

Dante Ross, who rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns last week against Marist, was held to 31 rushing yards against Penn, although he did score the team's lone touchdown. The combination of a Penn team that entered the game with the nation's third-best rushing defense and a pelting rainstorm crippled Bucknell's rushing attack.

The Bison were held to minus-15 rushing yards in the first half and 74 total. Freshman quarterback Mahdi Woordard returned to the lineup and came off the bench to complete 5 of 10 passes 24 yards.

Bucknell's defense fared better than the 53-7 final indicates. The Bison held Penn to 267 total yards and only 82 on the ground, while limiting star running back Sam Mathews to 34 yards on 14 carries. But Penn had two defensive scores in the first half and collected three more turnovers deep in Bucknell territory to set up short scoring drives in the second half.

The Quakers raced to a 31-7 halftime lead behind a defense that scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns and held Bucknell to only nine total yards.

Leading 8-0, Penn's Greg Ambrogi recovered a fumbled handoff in the end zone, and a missed extra point left the score 14-0. McDermott's second TD pass of the half, a 24-yarder to Matt Carre, made it 21-0, then just over a minute later the Penn defense scored again when an attempted shuffle pass to Josh DeStefano was bobbled, then tipped into the arms of Scott Williams, who returned it 48 yards for a 28-0 lead.

The Bison used a big defensive play from Sean Conover to set up its first score. Conover picked off a screen pass inside the Penn 10-yard line, and two plays later Ross dove across the goal line from five yards out. It was the first rushing touchdown of the year allowed by Penn. Freshman Will Carney tacked on the conversion for his first collegiate point.

A 24-yard field goal by Derek Zoch with two seconds left in the half made it 31-7.

Two more turnovers deep in their own territory hurt the Bison in the third quarter. Linebacker Kory Gedin intercepted a tipped pass near the line of scrimmage to set up Kyle Ambrogi's 3-yard scoring run at the 11:24 mark of the third quarter.

In the final two minutes of the quarter a fumbled snap was recovered by Joe Anastasio at the 8-yard line, and Ambrosi ran it in on the next play.

A fumbled punt return at the 12-yard line led to Penn's final score, a 4-yard run by Kelms Amoo-Achampong with 1:08 to play. For the second time in the game, the Quakers botched the snap on the point after but ran it in for a 2-point conversion. Penn's three second-half scoring drives went 19, 8 and 12 yards.

Bucknell returns home next week to take on Villanova at 1 p.m.