HANOVER — For a quarter, at least, the Dartmouth College football team’s two-quarterback system was working as intended.
Unfortunately for the Big Green, their offense was largely absent the rest of the game, and the defense had few answers for Harvard running back Aidan Borguet in a 28-13 defeat on Homecoming at Memorial Field on Saturday. Borguet rushed for 179 yards on 26 carries and two second-half touchdowns that turned a one-point game at the break into a comfortable win for the Crimson.
“We competed; we just didn’t make enough plays. That’s the difference,” Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said. “He’s as good a back as we’re going to face. Defensively, we were on the field too long.”
Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3 Ivy League) went three-and-out on each of its first two drives against a Harvard defensive front featuring three of the top four Ivy League leaders in tackles for loss. The Crimson (5-2, 3-1) took the lead on their second possession when backup quarterback Luke Emge, filling in for injured starter Charlie Dean, got the Big Green to bite on play action and found leading receiver Kym Wimberly in his own zip code deep downfield for a 34-yard touchdown.
The quarterback tandem of junior Dylan Cadwallader and senior Nick Howard finally got going late in the opening quarter and into the second. Cadwallader completed Dartmouth’s longest pass of the season as senior receiver Jamal Cooney sprinted to catch up with a 44-yard throw. Once the Big Green entered the red zone, they turned to a banged-up Howard, who scrambled to his right and used a Jace Henry block to convert a third-and-11. Howard plunged in for a one-yard touchdown on the next play to tie the game.
“We can’t use (Howard) as effectively as we had earlier on in the season,” Teevens said. “He just doesn’t have the push. But Cadwallader coming in, he’s playing with more confidence, he’s throwing the ball well, not taking losses. The offensive line protected the passer the best that we have this year against the (Ivy League) sack leaders.”
The Crimson responded immediately, with Emge finding Ledger Hatch over the middle for 41 yards on their very next play. That set up Wimberly’s second touchdown of the game, a nine-yard run on a reverse to put Harvard back up by seven. But Dartmouth’s quarterbacks kept their momentum going, leading a 12-play, 75-yard drive that took up more than six minutes for what turned out to be the Big Green’s final score.
Howard took off to his right for a 15-yard run to convert a third down, then Cadwallader twice connected with sophomore receiver Paxton Scott for chunk plays. Dartmouth again let Howard lead the offense in the red zone, and he handed off to fifth-year running back Zack Bair for a four-yard touchdown, his first since the opening game against Valparaiso. Truman Jones blocked senior Ryan Bloch’s extra point to keep the Crimson in front by one.
“After the first extra point, I was able to get a feel for the offensive line and how they were blocking,” Jones said. “We had a great plan coming into this week. I was able to get in there and use my height to get my hand up.”
Harvard lost Wimberly to a leg injury late in the first half, but the Crimson rode Borguet and that defensive line to dominate the final two quarters. Borguet carried seven times on Harvard’s nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive in the third quarter, capping it off with a 12-yard outside zone run to the left. Dartmouth, meanwhile, had just one first down in the third quarter, and that was the result of a pass interference penalty.
Senior safety Quinten Arello helped keep it a one-score game with a fourth-down interception late in the third, but the Big Green punted after just one first down. Borguet’s two longest runs of the day, a 27-yard carry down the left sideline and an impressive 21-yard touchdown that accounted for the final score, came on the ensuing Crimson possession.
“(Borguet) gave us a lot to worry about today,” Arello said. “It showed what we need to work on as a defense. I believe we can rally from here on out.”
Harvard outgained Dartmouth on the ground, 257-90. Howard was the Big Green’s leading rusher with 46 yards on eight attempts, but he completed just one of six passes for a mere two yards. Cadwallader finished 19-of-32 for 212 yards and an interception on an end zone shot on the last play of the game.
Dartmouth is now out of contention for a third straight Ivy League title, and its toughest test — a road matchup next Saturday against undefeated Princeton — is still yet to come.
“We have good guys. and they’re committed to each other,” Teevens said. “Every week, if we can get a little bit better, we’re moving the program forward. Certainly it’s substantiated when you have a win to show for it, but there’s enough good stuff on tape against a good football team.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.