Penn extends win streak over Colgate in a rainy home opener

In its season opener last week, the Penn football team showed some of its potential by putting a scare into perenially tough Delaware. The Quakers took it up a notch Saturday in their home-opening 27-17 win over Colgate.

On Saturday, the Quakers showed more than a flash against Colgate, taking a 27-17 win in their home opener at Franklin Field. The victory extended a six-game winning streak for the Quakers in the matchup. Penn (1-1) got hot early, scoring the first 14 points of the game and took a 21-7 lead into halftime. However, Penn’s offense would sputter in the second half, scoring just a pair of field goals in a driving rain at Franklin Field.

» READ MORE: Meet Penn's ace in the hole on the gridiron, sophomore running back Malachi Hosley

“Very, very happy today. We worked hard this week,” coach Ray Priore said. “I thought we took the next step as a football team.”

Here’s what we saw from the Quakers.

On Saturday, former coach Al Bagnoli was honored for his recent induction into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame. Bagnoli is the winningest coach in Penn football history (148-80) and led the team to nine Ivy League championships.

Before the game, Bagnoli walked out to midfield as an honorary captain for the coin toss.

“[Bagnoli] has done so much for Penn, for other coaches, and the program,” Priore said. “You learn so much from someone like that, just the sheer wisdom of the sport.”

Priore served as an assistant coach for Bagnoli’s entire 23-year tenure at Penn before taking on the role himself.

Penn’s offense used sophomore running back Malachi Hosley conservatively to start the game before letting him loose after halftime.

Hosley ended his day with 131 rushing yards and 21 through the air. This marks the first time since 2003 that Penn has had a rusher gain 100 yards in five consecutive games.

Senior quarterback Aidan Sayin ended his day with zero turnovers after he threw a costly interception to end the game last week.

“It’s huge to not turn the ball over,” Sayin said. “Especially after two turnovers last week. You can’t have that, so just keep working on that every week in practice.”

Late in the second half, Sayin found his favorite target in 6-foot-2 junior wideout Jared Richardson on a 36-yard go route. Richardson climbed the ladder over sophomore defensive back Tymir Win for six; Richardson let the Colgate sideline hear it, gesturing that the 6-foot Win was “too small.”

“They were talking a little bit,” said Richardson, who finished with six receptions for 96 yards. “It got me going. I know not to get a 15-yard personal, but I had to do that for the culture.”

Although Penn didn’t find the end zone after halftime, Sayin did not force any dangerous balls, keeping the Quakers in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game. He ended his day with 320 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Last week against Cornell, Colgate employed a three-quarterback attack. Against Penn, there were two: junior Zach Osborne and sophomore Jake Stearney.

Stearney played the entire first quarter, which produced 83 yards and a missed field goal attempt.. Then came Osborne in the second quarter. A threat on the ground, Osborne took a designed quarterback run for 31 yards to the end zone for the Raiders’ first points on the day.

Stearney later got on the scoreboard, hitting junior wide receiver Brady Hutchinson on a 3-yard touchdown pass. He ended his day with 229 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

“Every quarterback and part of the system had a uniqueness to it,” said Priore, who now will prepare the Quakers for its Ivy League opener Saturday at Dartmouth (1 p.m., ESPN+).

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