Ravens home opener set for next Saturday vs. Cornell

PHILADELPHIA (September 19, 2015) – Three first-half turnovers and a trio of long touchdown plays dug a hole the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team could not climb out of in its season opener on Saturday afternoon. The Ravens surrendered 21 first-quarter points at historic Franklin Field, en route to a 51-7 loss to Penn in Collegiate Sprint Football League play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce opens its season at 0-1 (0-1 CSFL), while Penn improves to 1-0 (1-0 CSFL). For Penn, it is the second straight win over the Ravens, after posting a 14-7 win at Sodexo Field a year ago. For Franklin Pierce, it was both the most points allowed and the largest margin of defeat in program history.

Things got away from Franklin Pierce pretty early on Saturday afternoon. Not counting the 23-second possession which ended the half, the Ravens had the ball eight times in the first half, resulting in four punts, two interceptions, one fumble and one turnover on downs. The Quakers converted the three turnovers into 13 points, and would later add a third-quarter field goal off of a turnover to finish with 16 points off of turnovers.

Penn set the tone on the game's first drive, as it took the opening kickoff and then marched 64 yards in nine plays and 4:09 for the day's first score. Junior quarterback Mike McCurdy scored on a 23-yard keeper to cap the opening drive. After Franklin Pierce went three-and-out, Penn immediately added a six-play, 51-yard touchdown drive to push the lead to 14-0, less than 10 minutes in. This time, freshman running back Max Jones did the scoring, with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Franklin Pierce managed a first down on its next drive before senior quarterback Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.) was picked off, but Penn junior defensive back Robert Diorio fumbled the ball right back to the Ravens on the interception return. Unfortunately for Franklin Pierce, Reddy threw another interception just two plays later and this one went for six points, as senior defensive back Stu Helgeson took it 39 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Already with a 21-0 lead, Penn made it a four-touchdown game on its first drive of the second quarter. Taking over at their own 20 after a punt, the Quakers needed just two plays to traverse the 80 yards ahead of them, as Jones broke off a 65-yard touchdown rush to make it 28-0. Penn would tack on a 12-yard touchdown pass from McCurdy to Jones and an eight-yard strike from McCurdy to senior wideout Henry Mason to take a 41-0 lead into the halftime break.

In all, Penn piled up a 321-139 advantage in total offensive yards in the first half, en route to a 373-228 margin for the game. Rushing, in particular, proved a problem for the Ravens, as they collected just 14 first-half yards on the ground, and only 28 for the game, to Penn's 159.

In the third quarter, Penn added a 19-yard field goal from junior Mario Del Cueto and a 35-yard pass from McCurdy to Mason to tally the game's first 51 points. Franklin Pierce's only answer on Saturday came at the end of a 12-play, 79-yard, third-quarter scoring drive, when senior running back D.J. McDonald (Mattapoisett, Mass.) capped it off with a two-yard touchdown plunge.

Under center, Reddy finished 19-for-45 with three interceptions for 200 yards, but was sacked nine times, as the Ravens had to turn to the air often after falling behind. McDonald was the team's leading rusher, as he netted 15 yards over seven carries (2.1 yards/rush). He was also the team's leading receiver, as he amassed 61 receiving yards on four catches. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Paul Tancredi (Mountain Home, Idaho) and junior linebacker Josh Castro (Nashua, N.H.) factored in on six tackles each, with the latter adding three tackles for loss totaling eight yards.

For Penn, McCurdy went 12-for-21 for 211 yards and three touchdowns, while being sacked twice. Meanwhile, Jones piled up a net of 130 yards on the ground over just 16 carries (8.1 yards/rush) on his way to the pair of touchdowns. Mason hauled in five passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, as Penn finished with 214 passing yards to go with 159 rushing yards. Defensively for the Quakers, sophomore linebacker Hunter Heflin keyed a defense which piled up nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss on the day. Heflin figured in on eight tackles (five solo) and collected 1.5 sacks totaling 10 yards.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 26, when they return home for their home opener against Cornell. Opening kickoff is set for noon at Sodexo Field in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce sprint football apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).