Bill Wagner’s last season opener ever, Penn sprint football

www.thedp.com/article/2019/09/penn-sprint-football-army-bill-wagner-season-opener-eddie-jenkins-laquan-mckever


was unable to complete its comeback as time expired, suffering a 24-21 loss to Army at Franklin Field on Friday night.



It was a slow start to the game for the Quakers (0-1) as they struggled offensively in the first quarter. After a three-and-out to start the game, Penn’s offense was in a position to score after a 47-yard run by sophomore running back Laquan McKever. But the drive ultimately ended in a turnover as senior quarterback Eddie Jenkins was intercepted at the Army (1-0) 16-yard line.



After another Penn three-and-out, Army scored its first touchdown of the game on a 62-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan Sullivan to senior running back Jake Gigliotti. On the very next offensive play, Jenkins was picked off again, leading to a 14-0 Army lead by the beginning of the second quarter.




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“We have a lot of things to clean up, our pass game obviously. I wasn’t happy with my passing performance tonight,” Jenkins said.



The Quakers were able to pick things up in the second quarter. Midway through the first half, the Red and Blue drove the ball 70 yards in 19 plays, chewing up more than 11 minutes of clock while getting close to the end zone. However, Penn was unable to convert a fourth and 1 on Army’s five-yard line, heading to halftime still down 14-0.



“We were down 14, and we decided we wanted to get back in the game. That’s why we went for it on fourth and 1 instead of kicking a field goal,” Wagner said.



Putting the first half behind them, the Quakers seemed like a different team in the second half. After a fumble recovery on an Army punt return, the Red and Blue took just three plays to score their first touchdown. A 38-yard reception by sophomore wide receiver Brendan McCaffrey set up a Jenkins 14-yard rushing touchdown to put his team on the board. On Penn's next offensive possession, Jenkins scored again, this time on a three-yard rushing touchdown to knot the game at 14.