Penn Football Drops Home Slugfest Against No. 6 Lehigh

The University of Pennsylvania Quakers dropped their home opener 20-7 against No. 6/No. 7 Lehigh on Saturday, Sept. 26, a pair of tipped punts in the third quarter dooming them in a defensive slugfest.

The Mountain Hawks entered play averaging more than 300 yards on the ground. Penn (1-1) slashed that number to 168 yards on 47 carries (3.57 yards per carry); they also benefited from facing Lehigh’s No. 2 quarterback, Derek Morgan, who started in place of the injured Hayden Johnson. Quakers’ quarterback Miles Teodecki went through growing pains against the Mountain Hawks’ stout defense, completing 18 of 37 passes for 133 yards and two interceptions. He also took three sacks, losing 15 yards across eight carries.

Lehigh took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 48-yard kick from Connor Poole; a pair of penalties earlier in the drive pushed the Mountain Hawks to the edge of field goal range, but they still managed to convert.

The Quakers’ defense kept them within striking distance, but a short punt and a third down pass interference call early in the third set up Lehigh’s first touchdown, an 11-yard run from Morgan. Jayden Drayton got wrapped up deep in his own territory on the ensuing kickoff, leading to a three-and-out and another short punt that set up a quick Lehigh scoring drive.

The Mountain Hawks tacked on a field goal early in the fourth quarter; Penn broke up the shutout with a late two-minute drill, running back Tommy Lafayette punching in a one-yard touchdown, but they couldn’t recover their onside kick and the comeback hopes died there.

Up next, Penn will travel to face Dartmouth in their Ivy League opener at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.