Penn beats No. 22 Princeton; but watches Yale capture Ivy League title

Not all progress leads to the desired end result.

In a thrilling and bittersweet season finale, Penn played spoiler to Princeton’s hopes of a share of the Ivy League title with a 20-19 road win that was propelled by a 13-point fourth-quarter comeback and culminated when quarterback Aidan Sayin connected with Trey Flowers on a 5-yard touchdown pass with just 5 seconds left in the game.

However, Penn (8-2, 5-2 Ivy) would also be pushed out as Yale’s 19-13 victory over Harvard Saturday gave the crown to the Bulldogs, who finished 6-1 in the conference. It also thwarted what would have been a four-way tie for the league title between all four programs.

Princeton wasted no time trying to avenge its 24-20 loss last weekend to Yale and marched down the field for the game’s first touchdown, as quarterback Blake Stenstrom threw it up to wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, who made a spectacular grab to give Princeton a 6-0 lead before a missed PAT in the first quarter.

Another drive easily staying ahead of the sticks resulted in a Tigers touchdown as running back Ryan Butler powered his way up the gut of Penn’s defense. A failed 2-point conversion kept the score at 12-0.

With the offense and defense struggling, Penn’s special teams came up with a game-changing play to get on the board, breaking through the Princeton front to block a punt and recovering the ball in the end zone.

Invigorated by the turnaround before halftime, Penn’s offense churned out its sharpest drive of the day, but an unfortunate strip in the Princeton red zone led to a another touchdown, increasing the Tigers’ lead to 19-7.

With title hopes on the line, Penn’s defense stepped up, deflecting a Stenstrom at the line of scrimmage and the ball all but fell into the hands of safety Jaden Key for an interception.

With the game essentially hanging in the balance on a fourth-and-goal for Penn, coach Ray Priore dialed up one of his most successful plays: a jet sweep to sophomore wide receiver Julian Stokes, who leaped into the end zone with 10 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the game.

The ball would change hands until Penn’s final drive. Sayin, who converted on fourth down with just 9 seconds remaining, found Flowers, the senior running back, for the winning touchdown on the next play to dash Princeton’s title hopes.

In facing Princeton, the FCS’s No. 2 scoring defense, Sayin delivered the best performance of his career. Down 13 in the fourth quarter, he orchestrated two lengthy touchdown drives to steal the win away on Princeton’s home turf. The sophomore finished 38-of-47 for 261 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn’s seniors on offense also had memorable days in possibly their last game as a Quaker. Wideout Rory Starkey Jr. caught 12 passes for 95 yards, while Flowers had 90 total yards and the game-winner.

» READ MORE: Behind Ben Stitz’s two goals, Penn routs Rutgers, 3-0 in first round NCAA Tournament play

It was a season in which Penn far exceeded expectations, improving from a horrible 1-6 Ivy League record in 2021 to competing for aleague crown and finishing 5-2 in the Ivy.