Penn downs Dartmouth with TD in final seconds

HANOVER, N.H. - Penn's quest for a third-straight undefeated Ivy League season remained alive after the Quakers edged Dartmouth, 22-20, Saturday night.

Quarterback Billy Ragone led a 13-play, 89-yard drive and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Ryan Calvert with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

On a night when Penn (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) seemed to have all the momentum heading into halftime, the Big Green (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) snatched it back early in the second half and looked headed for victory.

Penn looked dominant at select times during the game but couldn't land the knockout punch until the final round. Despite totaling nearly 100 more offensive yards and 20 more offensive plays than Dartmouth, the Quakers nearly let this one get away.

"We knew we were coming into a hornet's nest, and the kids did a nice job of responding," coach Al Bagnoli said. "Trust me, we are nowhere near where we need to be, will be, hope to be. The common denominator is we have a lot of young guys."

The Quakers were outscored, 17-9, in the second half as they struggled to find any success moving the ball after halftime. Dartmouth took its first lead on a 27-yard Nick Schwieger run up the middle.

The touchdown left Penn down by four and needing a touchdown on its final drive.

The first home night game in the history of Dartmouth football came down to Penn's final drive. An apparent Ragone touchdown pass to Ryan Mitchell with 30 seconds remaining was negated by a holding call that moved the Quakers back to the 21. On the next play, Ragone found receiver Joe Holder over the middle to get to the 3. He then connected with Calvert on a comeback route for the game-winning touchdown. A Jason Rasmussen interception with 11 seconds left sealed it.

For Ragone, the game offered some closure as he led the Quakers to a dramatic victory at the site of the injury that cost him his freshman season.

"Freshman year, I got hurt here and kind of lost my freshman year," the quarterback said. "I was looking forward to getting up here and taking care of business."

Penn lost its first two games, to Lafayette and Villanova.