EASTON, Pa. –  Lafayette's fourth quarter rally came up just short on Homecoming Weekend on College Hill, as Penn outlasted the Leopards 28-24.
 
A pair of freshmen, QB Keegan Shoemaker and LB Marco Olivas, had strong outings for the Leopards. Shoemaker was 23-of-33 for 287 yards and three touchdowns, despite being sacked seven times. Two of Shoemaker's touchdowns went the way of sophomore TE Zadok Scott who saw his first action of the season. Olivas had to pick up the slack left by the injury departure of Major Jordan. He did that and more, making 17 tackles, including 13 solo stops and a forced fumble.
 
For the second time this season, the Leopards scored first and led after the first quarter. Junior PK Jeffrey Kordenbrock booted a 43-yard field goal on the first drive of the game, equaling his career long. The score capped an eight-play, 46-yard scoring march over 3:52.   
 
The Quakers (1-1) looked to tie the game one minute into the second quarter, but the Maroon and White defense broke through with Ryan Barnett, Ryan Dickens, Keith Earle and Malik Hamm pressuring the kicker and Hamm officially blocking the 39-yard attempt to keep the Leopards lead.
 
Penn took the 7-3 lead with eight minutes left in the first half, scoring on a four-yard pass from Nick Robinson to Ryan Cragun to finish a nine-play, 76-yard scoring march. It was a familiar combination as Robinson completed eight passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns to Cragun on the afternoon.
 
The Leopards cobbled together a seven-play, 74-play drive in response. In his first action of the season, Scott beat a defender down the visitor sideline and made an over-the-shoulder grab from Shoemaker for 29 yards and his first career TD. The Leopards led 10-7 with five minutes left in the first half.
 
Penn scored just before intermission. The Quakers converted three long third-down plays before Robinson found Cragun again, this time for a 15-yard TD and a 14-10 lead.
 
The third quarter passed without any scoring. At 11:36 in the fourth, Penn took a 21-10 lead. The Quakers started in the Leopard half after a punt out of the Kirby Sports Center end zone. Seven plays later Karekin Brooks ran it in from two yards out on the three-minute drive.
 
The Penn running game continued to drive on the Leopard defense, rushing for 72 yards on eight plays, including a 22-yard run by Brooks that moved Penn to the two-yard line with five minutes left in the fourth. The Leopard defense came up with a big stop as Olivas put his helmet on the ball, forcing a fumble that and Yasir Thomas recovered and returned 17 yards.
 
Lafayette took advantage of the turnover. A Shoemaker scramble and 44-yard pass to fellow Texan Quinn Revere set up the Leopards' second touchdown of the game. Shoemaker connected with Joe Gillette for an 11-yard touchdown strike on a leaping grab. The Leopards cut the deficit to a field goal, running the Philly Special on the PAT, as WR Nick Pearson tossed it to Shoemaker off the double reverse. Penn led 21-18 with 2:04 left in regulation.
 
The Penn rushing game finished things off. Brooks broke away for a 40-yard run on first down to the Lafayette 35-yard line. On 2nd-and-6, Brooks scampered away, this time for 31 yards and a 28-18 lead with 1:43 left. He finished the day with 29 carries for 202 yards and three catches for 21 yards, accounting for nearly half of Penn's 530 yards of total offense.
 
Lafayette did not go away until the final whistle. A 45-yard strike to Revere took the Leopards deep inside Penn territory. Two straight passes to Scott, the second for 11 yards put the Leopards in the Bourger end zone as time expired.  
 
Lafayette (0-5) will have a week off from game action, before returning to the road for the next two games. The Leopards next play on Friday, Oct. 11 at Princeton. That game is a 7 p.m. kick off and can be seen on ESPNU.