Dartmouth squeaked out a 35-28 victory at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon, earning its first road win of the year. But it wasn’t easy.
Last week, it was the defense that sealed Dartmouth’s victory over New Hampshire. This time, the offense delivered the late heroics.
Junior quarterback Grayson Saunier found sophomore wideout Ky’Dric Fisher wide open down the sideline for a 50-yard, game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds remaining.
Saunier, who threw for 407 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, credited Fisher with capitalizing on the opportunity.
“Ky’Dric works his butt off every single week … he’s ready to go at all times … he’s a great kid, we all love him,” Saunier said.
Fisher said the winning score came on a play the Big Green had run for the first time in the game.
“For them to have that confidence in me, obviously they’ve seen it — you know, it doesn’t get overlooked,” Fisher said. “This just reassures me that they do watch me day in and day out.”
Dartmouth again found itself trailing early after miscues, much like the week prior against UNH.
The Big Green forced a punt on the game’s opening drive, but Saunier threw an interception on Dartmouth’s first possession — the only blemish in an otherwise strong performance.
Working with a short field, the Blue Devils scored six plays later on a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brady Olson to sophomore wide receiver Dave Pardo.
On the next drive, Dartmouth answered with a four-play series capped by a 2-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back D.J. Crowther, set up by a 71-yard completion to senior wide receiver Grayson O’Bara.
Central Connecticut drove for another touchdown on the next possession. And Big Green wide receiver Ian Scott’s fumble ended the ensuing drive.
“We can’t leave points on the field,” Dartmouth head coach Sammy McCorkle said. “We’ve got to clean that up. We’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football and making good decisions.”
Down 14-7, Dartmouth’s defense forced a three-and-out, and Crowther scored again from 12 yards out to tie the game.
The Big Green converted a Blue Devils fumble and a punt into two field goals from junior kicker Owen Zalc, taking a 20-14 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Zalc missed field goals from 50 and 29 yards, and neither team scored. Central Connecticut then regained the lead on the fourth quarter’s first play, a 9-yard touchdown rush from senior running back Elijah Howard.
After trading punts, Dartmouth regained possession with 9:38 remaining. The Big Green put together a nine-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Chris Corbo.
Saunier added a two-point conversion run to make it 28-21.
The Blue Devils sent the homecoming crowd into a frenzy when they tied the game with less than a minute to play.
But a contest that looked destined to end in regulation on a Zalc field goal attempt instead ended on Fisher’s streaking catch on the deep ball from Saunier to secure the 35-28 win.
“We talk about it all the time, you’ve got to be resilient,” McCorkle said. “Most of the time, things are not going to go your way, and you can’t allow that to bother you … It’s all about the confidence.”
Now 2-0, Dartmouth opens Ivy League play on the road at Penn next Saturday at 1 p.m.