Penn drops opener at Jacksonville, 34-31

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Penn's first venture into Florida did not prove to be a pleasant trip.

The Quakers could not maintain a 12-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, as Jacksonville scored two touchdowns in the last six minutes - including the game-winner with 39 seconds left - to post a 34-31 win over the visitors.

It was anything but bright skies that greeted the Quakers in their first game in the Sunshine State. The teams played in an on-and-off rain that at times turned into a downpour.

"At times we played really well, but then we let it slip away late from us," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "I don't know if it was the heat and humidity that caught up to us. We knew they were a good football team, and we knew we would have to play well to beat them.

"We just couldn't quite capitalize on some opportunities late to put the game away and salt it away," Bagnoli said. "It came back to bite us. We could have closed it out offensively, and we could have closed it out defensively, and we didn't do either one. That's a frustrating feeling."

Kade Bell threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to D'Andre Randle to give Jacksonville (2-1) the win.

The Quakers, playing their season opener, led throughout the first half, getting a 6-yard touchdown run from Alek Torgersen and a 1-yard TD run from Adam Strouss, plus an 18-yard Jimmy Gammill field goal. Penn led, 17-13, at intermission.

The Quakers scored twice in 1 minute, 46 seconds in the third quarter. Torgersen's 17-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Kelly was followed by a Dan Wilk interception on the next play from scrimmage.

It took just five plays for Penn to reach the end zone on a 3-yard rush by Strouss.