Philadelphia, Pa. – (9/28/2018) – Unable to make any headway on the ground, the Griffins took to the air in tonight's historical 31-26 Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) victory over the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). Junior quarterback Michael Marino (Blue Bell, Pa.) completed 14-of-24 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns to direct Chestnut Hill College to their first win in three meetings with the Quakers. He had plenty of success with the deep ball, hitting senior wide receiver Reggie Robinson Jr. (Washington, DC) for a 33-yard touchdown with 13:50 (7-0) remaining in the first quarter and a 63-yard touchdown with 14:49 (14-7) in the second quarter, before giving the Scarlet and Gold the fourth-quarter cushion (31-19, 2:44) they needed with a 51-yard touchdown toss to junior wide receiver Domoree Hill (Bethlehem, Pa.).
 
Robinson's 33-yard touchdown capped the opening drive for Chestnut Hill College (2-1, 2-0 CSFL South), who started their first possession on their own 42-yard line and benefitted from a 15-yard UPenn (2-1, 1-1 CSFL South) personal foul penalty before the Marino-Robinson connection (7-0, 13:50). The Quakers answered late in the first quarter, when a 50-yard pass from junior quarterback Reed Connor (Rye, N.Y.) to sophomore wide receiver Joshua Trybus (Altoona, Pa.) brought them to the Griffin five-yard line and a five-yard touchdown run from senior running back Jake Klaus (Haddonfield, N.J.) knotted the game at 7-7 (2:02, 1QTR). The Scarlet and Gold's ensuing possession spanned the first-quarter break and ended with another score as Marino hit Robinson with a 63-yard bomb just seconds into the second frame (14:49). Two possessions later, Marino made it 21-7 (5:56, 2QTR) with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Hill.
 
The Quakers trimmed the lead prior to halftime with a late second-quarter field goal (21-10, 2:35 2QTR), but a scoreless third quarter allowed the Griffins to regain their two touchdown lead with a 21-yard field goal from junior kicker Dante Fuchs (Sinking Spring, Pa.) early in the fourth quarter (10:44, 4QTR). But, Klaus and Trybus took UPenn back down the field on their next possession as the Quakers reduced the spread to seven points, 24-17, with 7:09 to play. Just a minute later (6:00) a blocked Fuchs punt ended in a safety that further cut the Griffin lead to five points, 24-19, but fortunately for the Griffins, Marino had one more trick up his sleeve. This time, a 51-yard pass to Hill found pay dirt, pushing the Scarlet and Gold lead to 31-19 with just 2:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the insurance was enough for Chestnut Hill College to endure a late Quaker touchdown (31-26, 1:29 4QTR) that concluded the scoring in a 31-26 final.

Robinson totaled a team-high 173 yards on five receptions, while Hill finished with 144 yards on six receptions; both scored twice. Marino also hit freshman Akeem Browne (Elkins Park, Pa.) twice for 12 yards and senior running back Raevon Floyd-Bennett (Union City, N.J.) once for two yards. On defense, senior linebacker Jonathan Baldwin (Hudson, N.H.) led the Scarlet and Gold with 11 tackles (4 solo, 7 assisted). He was complimented by a two-sack effort (3 solo tackles) from junior linebacker Mike McIlhenney (Philadelphia, Pa.), that also came with an interception.
 
Chestnut Hill College resumes their CSFL schedule on Saturday, October 13, after a league-wide bye week with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Cornell University.