Here’s how Penn kept its Ivy League title hopes intact following a dogfight with Yale

Two tough Ivy opponents down, another four to go.

Penn had its hands full with the reigning Ivy League champion Yale Bulldogs but showed off some of its own championship potential Saturday in a 27-17 victory on the Bulldogs’ home field.

Playing in honor of sophomore Michael Gavin, a Penn (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) defensive lineman who passed away before last week’s game due to a rare form of brain cancer, the Quakers all wore stickers on their helmets with his initials.

Penn quarterback Aidan Sayin, who finished with a career-high 364 yards and two touchdowns, normally spreads the ball to multiple receivers, but against Yale (3-3, 1-2 Ivy), his favorite was wide receiver Jared Richardson.

Richardson dominated the Bulldogs’ secondary all day, tallying career-highs of 17 catches (a Penn record) for 191 yards, and also chipping in a second-quarter touchdown. Richardson’s catch count set a Penn record previously held by Spencer Kulcsar who caught 16 in 2014. Six of Sayin’s first eight completions were to Richardson, and over half of his completions in the game found the sophomore.

After barely seeing the field as a freshman, Richardson has emerged as the Quakers’ primary receiver, and in just five games has amassed 501 yards — 254 more than the next closest Penn player.

“He came to our high school camp as a freshman. He played quarterback in high school, and he was a punter,” Priore said. “We recruited him. He had never caught a ball until he came to Penn, and last year we got to see him develop, develop, develop, and he is a tremendous athlete.”

On defense, the Quakers held Yale senior quarterback Nolan Grooms to just 121 yards through the air. Grooms did have a solid day rushing with 78 yards.

“What happens is, you have a tendency to run past him, or knife in, and that’s when he does a great job of spinning out and uses his legs to beat you,” Priore said.

One of the biggest plays of the day came with Yale in Penn territory and having a chance to take an early lead. Senior defensive back Logan Nash perfectly read Grooms’ underthrown deep ball and made a circus grab with his right shoulder pad to come down with the pick.

The interception marked the only turnover of the game for either team and led to a Penn field goal on the ensuing drive.

On 3rd-and-goal at the Yale 18 with around five minutes left, Penn was up three and needed a touchdown to put Yale away for good. Richardson caught a short pass from Sayin and juked past Bulldog defenders to march in for the touchdown. But as Richardson was working his way through, junior tight end Bryce Meyers held a Yale defender while making a block, and was caught by a referee.

Once again on 3rd-and-goal — this time from the 15. Meyers made up for his error in the most emphatic way possible, catching a ball in double coverage right in the end zone.

In his 16th game as a Quaker, the score marked the first touchdown of Owens’ career, and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time for Penn.

The Quakers will return to Franklin Field for another Ivy contest against Brown (3-2, 1-1) this Friday (7 p.m., ESPNU). It was the Bears who broke up Penn’s undefeated run last season.