As it appears in New England Football Journal:
By Colby Shannon | @cjshannon7 October 31, 2026
By Colby Shannon
NEFJ Correspondent
PROVIDENCE — On Saturday afternoon, the Brown Bears gave Pennsylvania’s top-two FCS defense a Halloween fright, as they surpassed their Ivy League opponent – accomplishing a feat no other team has: putting up 29 offensive points against the Quakers.
“We’re playing really physically right now on both sides of the ball,” said Coach James Perry following his team’s 36-17 victory. “I’m really proud of the kids because, against an excellent defense, we were able to move those guys.”
After home wins against Bryant, Cornell – in thrilling fashion, and Penn, the Bears have won three consecutive games at Brown stadium for the first time in 13 years, to improve to 4-3 on the season (2-2 Ivy League).
The key to Saturday’s feat was ball control. The Bears led the Ivy League in turnovers entering their seventh game of the season, while Penn had just intercepted Yale four times in their come from behind victory a week ago. Quarterback James Murphy threw one interception, bringing his season total to 10.
“Interceptions are gonna happen. It’s about ‘how can we limit them?’ When they do happen you gotta respond,” said Murphy. “If the guys up front miss a block, they come back on the next play and hit the guy in the mouth. If I cripple on the next play then I’m just not a good teammate.”
Murphy stayed focused all game despite putting the ball on the ground on a second quarter strip sack from Connor Martin and an interception to Cole Olsztyn in the third quarter. The senior quarterback threw for 230 yards against the top passing defense in the nation, surpassing their 149 yards allowed per game by a large margin.
From the jump, Murphy showed he wasn’t afraid of Penn’s hyped up defense. He attempted three passes of 40-plus yards on his first three attempts – none completed. A 15-yard connection in the back of the end zone to Carson Hill gave Brown a two-score lead to start the second quarter, after Matt Childs put the Bears on the board with a one-yard rush in their previous drive.
Thanks to a defense that allowed only five first downs, the Bears went into halftime with a 17-3 lead over the Quakers.
Faced with a large deficit, first-year head coach Rick Santos turned to backup quarterback Karson Siqueiros-Lasky midway through the third quarter. On his second drive, he connected with Isaac Lee near the front left pylon from three yards out to give the Quakers a fighting chance.
However, a highlight reel catch from Trevor Foley, where the junior receiver fought through contact on the sideline to scoop the ball into his chest with his left hand, all but sealed the game in a masterful third down conversion.
Jackson Bennett would run for 18-yards and a score to keep the game out of reach of the Quakers.
Late game fireworks contributed to a plethora of points added, as Penn scored on a 4th-&-20 on a Mason Page catch in the middle of three defenders. The ensuing onside kick attempt was recovered by Brown’s Max Malo, who decided that the fun wasn’t over yet, as he took the ball all the way down the field for a kick return touchdown.
Drew Crabtree nailed three field goals to assist in the win, his longest from 40-yards out. Mason Walters of the opposition, hit the longest field goal from any Ivy League player this season at 53-yards.
While the Bears two forced turnovers were impactful to their victory, the real defensive assistance came from their ability to stay off the field. Entering Saturday, Penn’s offense held the ball for an average of 32:14 per game, the best out of all Ivy teams. Brown only allowed the Quaker offense to be on the field for 24:49.
“This group is a lot like a lot of the guys who’ve worn the Brown jersey,” Perry added.
“We’re hungry to get better. We’re certainly not satisfied.”
Brown is now just a game behind Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton, who are all 3-1 in Ivy League play with three weeks remaining. The Bears travel to Yale next Saturday.
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