The Dartmouth College football team made an Ivy League statement on Saturday, running all over Columbia to earn its second straight win, 38-18, on Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in New York.
The Big Green (3-3 overall, 2-1 league) averaged over five yards per carry, finishing with 247 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Sophomore running back Myles Craddock led Dartmouth’s attack, rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
“I just was really happy and impressed with the way our guys, especially up front — the offensive line — did a great job creating holes for our running backs,” said Dartmouth head coach Sammy McCorkle.
“That was our goal: We wanted to come in here — we knew we were going to have to run the football, establish the run, and I thought we did a good job of that. Our running backs ran hard, our quarterback ran hard, and I think across the board I was really, really happy the way we blocked at the line and in the perimeter.”
Senior quarterback Grayson Saunier also left his mark on the Big Green ground game, rushing for 96 yards and three touchdowns, including a 68-yard score late in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.
After leaving last week’s win over Merrimack with an injury in the first quarter, the senior was also solid through the air. Saunier was 14-of-24 for 172 yards and threw completions to 10 different teammates.
“We got guys. We got studs at every position on our offense, especially all the skill positions, and that’s important,” Saunier said. “If you want to win games, you’ve got to get the ball into those guys’ hands.”
Dartmouth’s defense also had a strong outing, holding the Lions’ offense — which was averaging nearly 300 yards through the air per game — to 209 yards and picking off senior quarterback Chase Goodwin three times in the fourth quarter.
The Big Green also got after the quarterback, picking up two sacks, one from sophomore defensive lineman Chris Chol and another from senior defensive end Keoni Perkins.
“That’s a big difference in the game. The team that can get multiple turnovers, you’re going to give yourself a really good chance,” McCorkle said.
“I really just thought our guys did a really good job of putting pressure on the quarterback and forcing him maybe to throw it a little bit sooner than he wanted to, try and put it in tight windows, and I thought our secondary did a really good job of being in the right spot.”
Dartmouth got off to a nice start, driving 75 yards in 11 plays on its first possession and capping it with a 14-yard run by Craddock on third-and-1 to take a 7-0 lead.
After the squads traded punts, the Lions got on the board before the end of the first frame— but it was more a win for the Dartmouth defense. Columbia drove deep into Big Green territory, down to the 4-yard line, but had to settle for a Hugo Merry field goal.
Dartmouth punted on its next possession, but the defense would come up big again. The Big Green stopped the Lions on fourth-and-short from the Dartmouth 39-yard line, and the offense capitalized.
On the next play from scrimmage, Saunier found sophomore tight end Jason Bish for a 31-yard gain into Columbia territory. Five plays later, freshman running back Jacob Henry punched it homefrom three yards out to put Dartmouth up 14-3 with 10:21 left in the second quarter.
The Lions answered with a 30-yard touchdown reception from junior wideout Hutch Crow. After a couple of punts, the Big Green got another score on a 1-yard rush from Saunier before the half, finishing a drive highlighted by 20- and 36-yard receptions from junior wide receiver James Elliott to go into the break leading 21-10.
Dartmouth came out of halftime determined to gain breathing room, and it did. The defense stopped Columbia on its opening drive of the second half, and the offense began to squeeze the life out of the Lions.
The Big Green went on a 15-play, 83-yard drive that took just over 9½ minutes, finished with another 1-yard score from Saunier to go up 28-10 with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
Columbia got within 10 on its next possession after freshman receiver Bryce Coleman caught a 14-yard touchdown 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, and the hosts successfully converted a two-point pass. But that would be as close as the Lions would get.
Although Dartmouth went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, it immediately got the ball back when junior defensive back Thai Brown picked off Goodwin on a pass that careened off an outstretched Crow’s hands on the first play of the Lions’ drive. The Big Green turned the pick into a successful 41-yard field goal by senior kicker Owen Zalc, extending its lead to 31-18.
Dartmouth picked off Goodwin again on Columbia’s next drive, again on a tip off a Columbia pass catcher, this time caught by senior safety Harrison Keith. But the Big Green couldn’t turn it into points, as Zalc came up empty from 54 yards out.
Junior defensive back No’Koi Maddox joined the pick party after Columbia drove into Dartmouth territory following the Zalc miss. Unlike the Keith interception, Maddox’s turned into points for his squad when Saunier scampered 68 yards for points with 1:42 left to put an exclamation point on the Big Green’s day.
Riding the high of a two-game win streak, Dartmouth will face a major test Friday when it hosts No. 15 Harvard (6-0 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) at 7 p.m.
