Andrew Shoop, Lafayette College football team blow away Penn, 37-12

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

The University of Pennsylvania put on a fireworks show after its football game with Lafayette College at Franklin Field Saturday night.

But the Leopards didn't wait for their incandescent display of the night — they set off their explosions during the game.

Lafayette used a dazzling succession of big plays to drop a massive 37-12 bomb on the stunned Quakers in front of 9,438 fans — a healthy percentage of them in Leopard maroon and white — Saturday night.

"After the way the last two weeks went and the injuries we had, this team rose up and beat a very good football team," Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said. "And the way we did it was even more pleasing. We finally made some plays — and we made some big plays."


The Leopards sure did. They lit up Penn (0-1) for five scoring plays of 28 yards or more, plus a blocked punt and a 48-yard field goal.

Junior quarterback Andrew Shoop, playing with Ryan O'Neil sidelined with a concussion, completed 14 of 23 passes for 230 yards and touchdowns of 28, 37, 44 and 73 yards.

Penn, the preseason pick to win the Ivy League, had no answers for the Leopards' downfield aerial assault.

"They had trouble matching up with our receivers all night in single coverage," Shoop said. "The receivers put us in a position to win."


Lafayette also got a breakout game from freshman tailback Ross Scheuerman, who ran for 98 yards, including a first-quarter 36-yard romp that seemed to spark the Leopards, and popped up all alone behind the defense to haul in a 44-yard TD strike from Shoop in the second quarter.

"They were in man coverage and the cornerback went with our receiver and that left me wide open out there," Scheuerman said.


The inspiring triumph offered a remarkable contrast to Lafayette's heartbreaking Patriot League loss to Georgetown last week and gives the Leopards (1-2) more than several roman candles' worth of rocket-propelled momentum into next Saturday's non-league game at Stony Brook, the last of four straight away games to start the Lafayette season.

"Lafayette made all the big plays," said Penn coach Al Bagnoli, now 7-4 against the Leopards. "Kudos to them. I don't think anyone saw this coming."


The game's momentum swung wildly just before halftime.

Shoop's 37-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Mark Ross (four catches, 126 yards, 2 TDs) put the Leopards up 13-10 with 44 seconds left before the break. But Penn blocked the PAT and Justyn Williams ran it back 92 yards for two points.

Then, though, Penn couldn't move the ball after the kickoff and had to punt and sophomore linebacker Mike Boles barreled in and blocked the punt at the Quaker 41. After Shoop hooked up with Ross to the 30, freshman Austin O'Brien nailed a 48-yard field goal as time expired and the Leopards roared off the field for the half.

"That was huge," Tavani said. "We hadn't seen a blocked-PAT for two points in a while but then we block a kick and regain the momentum right away."


Lafayette then put the game away with two third-period scores. First came Shoop's 73-yard strike to Ross with 4:41 to play in the quarter followed by Simmons' 31-yard interception runback at the 1:13 mark.

"Shoop had told me if I got press (man-to-man) coverage to get ready for the ball," Ross said. "It was a great ball by Shoop, and (the Penn defender) got my left arm and I saw the (penalty) flag and I hoped it wasn't on me because I'd pushed off a little but then I looked back and saw everybody celebrating."


More delight followed on the Leopard sideline when Simmons, who finished with a career-high 15 tackles, posted his first college pick-six.

"I was sitting on the screen all the way," Simmons


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