PHILADELPHIA – This University of Pennsylvania Quakers can now officially be called the 2015 Ivy League Football champions. The Quakers claimed the title this past Saturday with a victory against the Cornell Big Red, winning the contest 34-21 in front of the proud Penn faithful at Franklin Field.
Junior quarterback, Alek Torgersen, contributed a game high 237 total yards with a majority of them coming via the air attack. Torgersen ended the game with 195 passing yards, including two passing touchdowns, while also adding a rushing touchdown and a team second best 42 rushing yards, ultimately partaking in three of the five Quaker touchdowns.
Justin Watson, Penn’s sophomore wide receiver, was on the scoring end of both of Torgersen’s passing touchdowns. The six-foot-three Bridgeville native led the team in receiving with 133 total yards, marking his fifth straight game and seventh overall with 100 or more receiving yards this year. Watson also became just the third player in Penn history to accumulate over 1,000 yards in a single season.
In rushing yards, junior Brian Schoenauer ran for a game high 118 yards while scoring a touchdown for the Quakers during his dominance on the ground. His longest run was a game high as well, carrying Penn from their own 22-yard-line all the way to Cornell’s 45-yard-line for a total of 33 rushing yards in a single play during the fourth quarter.
On a pitch-pass play with 10:21 to go in the first quarter, senior Eric Fiore, was able to throw and connect with fellow senior, Ryan O’Malley, for the second Quaker touchdown of the game in their last game donning the blue and red of Penn. This made the score 13-0 and it was the ideal trick play to ignite Penn to score 11 more points and come away with the victory on senior day.
Penn's head coach Ray Priore's press conference
During the post-game press conference, first year head coach, Ray Priore, expressed honor in his players. “[I’m] so proud of them. They probably don’t know what they have accomplished today,” Priore said. “It is hard to win. It’s hard to go out there week-in and week-out and for six straight weeks, it’s been back to the wall, must win.”
Though Priore acknowledged the feats that his players have accomplished this season, Priore has a reason to be proud of himself with the accomplishments he has achieved in his first year at the helm.
Priore became just the second coach in Quaker history to win the Ivy League title in his first season, and coached the Quakers to the most overall wins in a season, including the team’s first six-game win streak since 2010.
Priore said he did not do it alone. Instead, he credited a strong supporting cast that helped him succeed this season. “I would be remised not to tell you that we’re sitting here today with this opportunity because of everybody who is associated with Penn football,” Priore said. “From all players, staff, alumnus, support administration, I can tell you…there is no better place than Penn.”
Dartmouth and Harvard also concluded their seasons with 6-1 Ivy conference records, making the 2015 Ivy League title a three way tie. Nonetheless, the season undoubtedly ended on a strong note, with six straight victories for Penn and the 17th Ivy League Title in school history.