Editor's Note: Each day while Team BGA is soaking up some warm weather this site will repost game stories that appeared on the BGA Premium site last fall. Typos have been fixed and minor editing has cleaned up what was deadline writing ;-)
HANOVER – Granite helmets and gray pants aside, the hard-hitting, Dartmouth-Penn Ivy League opener had a familiar feel.
Except for the ending.
Quarterback Dalyn Williams scampered for three touchdowns, tailback Kyle Bramble for for 113 yards and another touchdown and the Dartmouth defense limited the Quakers to one touchdown and a couple of field goals as the Big Green posted a rain-soaked, 31-13 victory.
The game marked Dartmouth’s first win over Penn since 2007 and just the second in 16 years. The Big Green is now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Ivy League.
Penn, which dropped its final four games last year, is 0-3 this fall (0-1 Ivy League) and in the midst of its longest losing streak in retiring coach Al Bagnoli’s 23 years at the helm.
After surrendering the first points of the afternoon on a 54-yard pass to fullback Matt Schwartz midway through the first quarter, Dartmouth reeled off four touchdowns on a two-yard Bramble run and keepers of 9, 24 and 11 yards by Williams, to build a 28-7 lead with time running down in the second quarter.
A 28-yard field goal by Jimmy Gammill made it 28-10 at the half and while Dartmouth was held without a touchdown in the final 30 minutes, the defense made the lead stand up by allowing just a 37-yard Gammill field goal the rest of the way.
The win gives Dartmouth a head of steam as it heads to New Haven, Conn., next week for a key showdown with surprising Yale, which improved to 3-0 on the strength of a 51-13 walkover against Cornell.
“I think it’s huge,” Williams said of riding a 1-0 Ivy League record into the Yale Bowl. “Our coaches always say, `Win the first.’ You win the first and you put yourself in a good position to chase the title. You can look at last year. If we win that first game against Penn, it’s more than likely that we win the league. So this is huge.
“We not only control our destiny, but our morale is high, we are confident, and we are ready to face Yale.”
Coming off a 41-7 embarrassment at No. 6 Villanova – which rolled up the sidewalk after scoring all of its points in the first half – Penn got off to a much better start against Dartmouth.
The Quakers took the opening kickoff and hit seven short passes without a drop while marching to the Dartmouth 28, only to miss a 45-yard field goal attempt. Undaunted, after forcing a three-and-out they came right back and grabbed a 7-0 lead when first-year starting quarterback Alek Torgersen hit Schwartz with a short pass down the middle and the 220-pound fullback had just enough in the tank to hold off hard-charging safeties Steve Dazzo and Troy Donahue for the touchdown.
Torgersen finished the day completing 40-of-58 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown, but he was intercepted twice and sacked four times by Dartmouth’s bend-don’t-break defense.
The Big Green answered Penn’s opening score by immediately driving 79 yards on 11 plays, the last a 2-yard Bramble run with 4:56 left in the first quarter.
Dartmouth’s next two touchdowns came on short fields.
Donahue jumped a receiver and intercepted a pass in front of the Big Green sideline on Penn’s second play after the Dartmouth touchdown to set the home team up at the plus-39.
Five plays later Williams ran left and beat the last Quaker defender for a 14-7 lead before time ran out in the first quarter.
A fumble recovery by Frankie Hernandez at the plus-42 and a roughing-the-passer penalty for hitting Ryan McManus on an option throw set the Big Green up early in the second quarter for a 24-yard TD run by Williams, who stepped out of a shoestring tackle on his way to the end zone for a 21-7 lead.
Then it was Williams’ third-and-goal run from the 11 with 3:33 remaining in the first half capping a 70-yard drive and completing Dartmouth’s 28-point blitz.
“He’s always been an elusive kid,” said Bagnoli of Dartmouth's junior quarterback. “I think he was the difference in the game. Especially in the first half. We didn’t have as many answers for him. A lot of his plays were either quarterback draws or designed quarterback plays. We had him three times, third-and-10, and we couldn’t get off the field. He scored touchdowns on two of them.
“As result, instead of getting off the field, instead of having field goals, you scored two touchdowns in scenarios that statistically overwhelmingly favored the defensive side. It’s a credit to him.”
Penn drove from its 19 to the Dartmouth 1 at the end of the first half but couldn’t punch it and and had to settle for the field goal that left the visitors trailing by 18 heading into the locker room.
The Dartmouth defense rose up again early in the third quarter after a 53-yard completion got the Quakers into the red zone but all Penn could manage was Gammill’s 37-yard field goal.
With the rain getting heavier and the Big Green unable to pad its lead, the Quakers were lurking in two-possession range until Alex Gakenheimer’s 35-yard field goal with 14:35 left on the afternoon gave Dartmouth an 18-point lead.
And still Penn wasn’t done.
Torgersen completed all five of his passes to quickly drive the Quakers deep into Dartmouth territory. With 10:30 remaining, Penn was in position to cut the lead to a manageable 11 points when the Big Green caught a break . . . and the ball.
On first-and-goal from the 6, Torgersen’s pass to the goal line caromed off Donahue and back toward the line of scrimmage. An alert Brandon Cooper dove and caught it just off the ground for the interception that ended the march.
“A good football team, on the road,” summarized Bagnoli said. “Obviously, the elements they handled better than we did. We had our chances. Made some mistakes on both sides. Gave up some critical third-and-longs that ended up scoring plays, and weren’t able to get off the field. And then we turned the ball over and didn’t convert when we had opportunities down deep. So, we are still a work in progress.”
Although Penn finished with two more first downs than Dartmouth and outgained the Big Green, 383-325, the home team's defense held the Quakers to 39 net yards rushing and forced the mistakes that played a large part in the final result.
“I like their front four,” said Bagnoli. “I think they are pretty stout. It allows those second- and third-level guys to really get involved in the pass game. Their down kids are good. They are deep. They are physical kids. They do a nice job of playing run defense. They are a talented group.”
Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens was understandably pleased by his team’s performance although he would have breathed a little easier if the offense had tacked on another score or two in the second half.
“One of the things we talked about at the half was, just playing hard football,” he said. “Don’t worry about the score. Just learn to finish.… You kind of learn stuff like that. You are in a position to do it, now do it. Don’t get giddy that hey, we are ahead and we might win. Go finish the game.
“We didn’t do what we needed to do. The first two (drives of the second half) were three-and-out, three-and-out with the offense, and we allowed the ball to be driven the length of the field. You can’t do that. But we bowed up and ended up doing some nice things from that point forward.”
