A slow start certainly didn’t do the Dartmouth College football team any favors as the Big Green suffered their third loss of the Ivy League season, falling 28-7 to Yale at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn., on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead just under 10 minutes into the first quarter, scoring on their first two possessions. While the Big Green worked to keep the contest close, Yale ultimately pulled away.
After scoring just 14 points in its first win of the season last week against Penn, the Big Green (1-3 overall, 1-1 league) were stifled by a Bulldog unit that entered Saturday’s contest dead last in the Ivy League in scoring defense, allowing 30 points per game.
“We didn’t play a very good game, especially on offense,” said Big Green head coach Sammy McCorkle.
Dartmouth senior quarterback Grayson Saunier went 10-of-26 for 156 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The run game wasn’t any better, as the Big Green managed just 69 yards on 29 carries.
“They got after us,” McCorkle said of Yale’s defense. “They’re very aggressive, put pressure on us. They did a good job of putting us in third-and-long situations.”
Early on, the Dartmouth defense also struggled. Yale junior quarterback Dante Reno, who finished 28-of-37 for 325 yards and two touchdowns, was a perfect 10-for-10 in the first quarter for 111 yards and a touchdown.
While the Big Green defense stiffened and kept Dartmouth within striking distance, the offense couldn’t capitalize.
Dartmouth’s discipline — or lack thereof — didn’t help either, as the Big Green were penalized eight times for 78 yards after being called for just 11 through their first three games.
Things could not have started much worse for the Big Green. After a hold on its first play from scrimmage pushed Dartmouth to a first-and-20 from its own 15-yard line, the Big Green offense couldn’t get a first down and punted.
Yale’s offense opened the game on fire, marching 61 yards in 10 plays in 3½ minutes to take a 7-0 lead. Sophomore running back Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni capped the scoring drive on a 9-yard rush in which he hurdled a Big Green defender.
Kemeni led the charge on what was a big day for the Bulldogs’ rushing attack. The sophomore carried the ball 28 times for 174 of Yale’s 212 yards on the ground.
Like its opening drive, the Dartmouth offense did nothing on its second, going three-and-out. The Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) pounced on the Big Green quickly, driving 80 yards in five plays to take a 14-0 lead. Junior wide receiver Jaxton Santiago led Yale’s second possession with a catch-and-run, evading Dartmouth defenders for a 45-yard gain on the second play of the drive, and later finished it with a 2-yard receiving touchdown.
Trailing by 14, the Big Green answered.
After a personal foul on the kickoff put the Dartmouth offense at its own 13-yard line, the Big Green drove into Bulldogs’ territory. On third-and-6 from Yale’s 30, Saunier — with pressure in his face — threw a pass intended for open senior wideout Nick Lemon, but it fell incomplete. On top of that, the Big Green were called for holding on the play.
When Yale declined the penalty, Dartmouth went for it on fourth-and-6. Saunier rolled to his right and connected with junior wide receiver Ky’Dric Fisher for a 30-yard score, putting his squad on the board with under a minute left in the first frame.
The score stayed 14-7 in Yale’s favor for the rest of the first half as both teams mostly traded punts, save for a key goal-line stand by the Big Green midway through the second quarter.
Yale opened the second half on offense, and the Big Green defense did its job, forcing a Bulldogs’ punt. There was just one problem: Dartmouth roughed the punter. With the drive extended, Yale turned the Big Green mistake into a successful 43-yard field goal to go up 17-7.
Like the first half, the Big Green did little with the ball in their hands in the third quarter, punting on both of their possessions in the frame. The only thing keeping Dartmouth in the game was its defense.
The Bulldogs failed to add to their lead for the remainder of the third frame but were within striking distance early in the fourth. Once again, the Big Green defense came up big, stuffing Kemeni on fourth-and-2 after Yale drove to the Dartmouth 20.
“I thought the defense bounced back and did a very good job after those first couple of series, buckled down and gave our offense opportunities, gave our team opportunities multiple times,” McCorkle said.
With momentum on its side after the stop, Dartmouth drove to Yale’s 43 largely thanks to a pass interference call and a 20-yard reception by freshman wideout Kareem Fisher.
That momentum was short-lived, however. One play after the first-year’s reception, Saunier was hurried and threw a ball that Yale senior defensive back Abu Kamara deflected and caught for an interception. The hosts converted the turnover into three points to go up 20-7 with 9:16 remaining, after what initially looked like a pick-six from Kamara was called back for a block in the back on the return.
Dartmouth entered Yale’s red zone on the ensuing drive but turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-12 from the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line with under seven minutes left. After taking over on downs, Yale marched 85 yards for a touchdown and a two-point conversion with about three minutes left to set the final tally.
“The thing is, we’ve got to learn from it — learn from this, come out tomorrow ready to go. We’ll wipe it and move on to the next,” McCorkle said.
The Big Green host Merrimack (2-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
