By Michael Kelley ’14 & Ben Brown ’14

After their 28-21 victory against the University of Pennsylvania this evening, the Lafayette Football team is 2-0 for the first time since 2008.

The defense headlined the victory with seven interceptions, tying a school record set back in 1944 when Lafayette played UrsinusCollege.

Absent was quarterback Andrew Shoop ‘13, who was suspended by Head Coach Frank Tavani for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Shoop, whose captaincy was revoked, will be available to play next week against Bucknell.

Taking his place was Zach Zweizig ‘15, who made his collegiate debut. Zweizig exceeded expectations, throwing for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and running for another one.

“I got to thank all my teammates and coaches, they prepared me very well,” Zweizig said at the post-game press conference.

Tavani, however, gave a lot of recognition to Zweizig.

“You have to give him an awful lot of credit with no game reps under his belt and throwing in that situation.”

Playing in their home opener, Lafayette gave their fans cheering opportunities early and often.

Less than two minutes into the game, a tip ball was intercepted by Kasheem Hill ‘14, who returned it to the 14-yard line. Four plays later, Zweizig punched it in, scoring his first collegiate touchdown.

Two plays into Penn’s next drive, Safford jumped in front of a quick out-pattern for an interception, returning it for a touchdown.

The turnover festival was just starting, as Lafayette had four first quarter turnovers, and five in the first half.

“Kasheem got the first [interception], it’s a competition from the get-go,” Safford said. “From there on, we’re competing, but still reading our keys and doing everything within the defensive scheme.

If Billy Ragone’s ‘13 first two interceptions didn’t rattle him, the third one was enough to convince his coach, Al Bagnoli, to pull him for their backup. Another tip ball was intercepted, this time by Ben Aloi ‘15.

Thirteen plays later, Zweizig hit Rodney Gould ‘13 for a 17-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 21-0.

Andrew Holland ‘13, Ragone’s backup, didn’t fare much better. Jared Roberts ‘15 intercepted an overthrown ball to put an exclamation point on the first quarter.

In the second quarter, momentum began to fade, especially when Penn scored right before halftime to make it 21-7.

When Lafayette was forced to punt after their first drive of the second half, a feeling of unease descended on Fisher Field. It was short-lived though, as the defense came up with yet another interception.

Off the turnover, Zweizig lobbed a ball over the Penn secondary into the hands of Mike Duncan ‘15, making the score 28-7.

Penn scored early in the fourth quarter and then picked off a Zweizig pass, re-shifting momentum. The threat amounted to nothing though, as Lafayette forced a fumble and recovered it in their end zone, resulting in a touchback.

It wasn’t over yet. Penn scored with a little more than five minutes to go. A defensive stop gave the Quakers the ball back with a chance to tie the game.

However, Penn’s hopes were destroyed when Safford intercepted Lafayette’s record tying seventh interception to seal the victory.

Adversity is no stranger to Lafayette football, who has gone 6-16 in the past two seasons.

“[I’m] very happy about getting a win,” Tavani said. “We talk to our team all the time about overcoming adversity. [It’s] certainly no secret we had to overcome some adversity, not having our starting quarterback out there.”

Next Saturday, Lafayette travels to Bucknell to begin Patriot League play. Kick off is set for noon.