Nov. 11, 2006, Hanover, NH – Dartmouth 19, Brown 13 (OT)
Wins were hard to come by in a 2-8 season, but this one was memorable.
Trailing 10-0 to start the fourth quarter, Dartmouth fought back to tie the score on a four-yard touchdown run by Nate Servis with 12:24 to play and an Andrew Kempler 35-yard field goal with 6:59 remaining.
After Brown took a three-point lead on a field goal with 1:48 on the clock, quarterback Mike Fritz drove the Big Green from its own 20 all the way to the Bears’ 22 with help from a fourth-and-seven pass interference penalty. Kempler then came on and booted a 39-yard field goal to force overtime.
Dartmouth’s second overtime game of the season – the first was a 24-21 loss to Holy Cross – saw the Big Green lose the flip and have to take the ball first. Aided by a 16-yard Fritz run, Dartmouth grabbed the lead when Jason Bash pounded in from the one. But things got dicey when Kempler, the hero of regulation, saw his PAT hit off the right upright, leading the Big Green’s lead at six.
There were a lot of hearts in throats at the end of the bottom half of the overtime as a penalty flag signaled pass interference on Brown’s fourth-and-15 throw into the end zone. But after a short conference it was ruled that because the pass had been tipped, the penalty was nullified and Dartmouth had the win.
Fritz had a big game for Dartmouth with 24 completions in 36 throws for 250 yards and a team-high 58 yards rushing. Ryan Fusilier caught seven passes for 99 yards while Justin Cottrell led the defensive effort with 13 tackles.
Tomorrow: It wasn't over until it was over
