By Ryan Barry

Amidst the rain-soaked concrete of Harvard stadium the Dartmouth Big Green (6-1) took down the No. 21 Harvard Crimson (5-2) 20 – 17 on Saturday afternoon. In spite of the less-than-ideal conditions, fans were left entertained in another classic meeting between the two schools who met for a historic 124th time.

 

As predicted the weather played a factor the entire game. Even with the skies clearing a bit in the second half, the wet conditions made it difficult for both teams to get a grove going.

 

In spite of this it was Dartmouth who would make the most of their opportunities on the day, executing their two-quarterback system incredibly well. With a stout Harvard run defense and poor conditions to throw, the Big Green managed to move the ball effectively up and down the field.

 

Senior quarterback Derek Kyler (20/27, 230 YDs, 1 TD) gave a huge boost for the Big Green, coming up with big throw after big throw all afternoon.

 

Primarily used for his feet, junior quarterback Nick Howard (2/4, 46 YDs, 1 TD), who before today had only thrown 12 passes all season, showed his ability to sling the ball with a big second half strike. Howard didn’t carry as well as he usually does (9 CAR, 31 YDs) but offered the Big Green something you need in weather like this: versatility.

 

“He (Howard) is not a one-dimensional guy and certainly has the capability of throwing the ball,” said Dartmouth Head Coach Buddy Teevens. “It was good for his confidence, certainly made people think twice when they saw #17 (Howard) come into the game.”

 

The Dartmouth quarterbacks certainly shared the ball with eight different guys having at least one catch or more on the day. A particular surprise was junior wide receiver Dale Chesson (5 catches, 72 YDs) who before today had not caught a pass all season, just serving as another example of the gutsy Big Green win.

 “I really love playing with this group of guys,’’ added fifth year safety captain Niko Vermigas (3 total tackles). “The culture within this team is pretty unbelievable, winning with them is an unreal experience.”

 While the game was at Harvard Stadium, it was hard to think at the very least the game was at a neutral site as the Big Green faithful traveled well down to Cambridge despite the rain.

 “It was an incredible atmosphere, a huge shoutout to our fans, I think we (Dartmouth) might’ve had a better showing than they did,” joked senior kicker Connor Davis, whose perfect 2 for 2 afternoon was key towards a Big Green win.

 For a Crimson side hoping to stay in step for a chance at the Ivy League crown the offense picked a bad day to have another let down performance.

 Senior Jake Smith (11/21, 82 YDs, 1 TD, 1 INT) and junior Luke Emge (6/8, 73 YDs) did what they could in the rain and against a good Dartmouth secondary.

 On the ground they had a bit more success with Ivy League leading rusher Aaron Shampklin (17 CAR, 76 YDS, 1 REC TD). Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy praised the junior’s effort after the game. “Shamp really busted his butt and did a good job of trying to keep us to stay in the game by moving the chains and making some big plays.”

 The first quarter and a half left much to be desired offensively for both teams. It wasn’t until the eighth drive of the game did an 11 play, 81 yard drive from the Crimson result in an Aaron Shampklin nine yard touchdown catch from Jake Smith.

 The Big Green responded immediately with an eight play, 75-yard drive ending with a Derek Kyler touchdown pass in the red zone to senior tight end Robbie Mangas (2 catches, 19 YDs, 1 TD).

 On the next drive a Harvard three and out gave the ball right back to Dartmouth in good field position after a costly facemask on the punt team, setting up the Big Green on the Crimson 41.

 In what felt like a game of chess in the remaining 1:49 of the first half each team took four timeouts. Though it was Dartmouth who called checkmate, killing enough clock to set up a Connor Davis 34 yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

 Fireworks would fly right from the beginning of the second half, as junior returner DeMarkes Stradford took the kickoff 89 yards to the endzone to give the Crimson an early 14-10 lead.

 The two teams would trade punts for the next few series of the third quarter until a seven play, 80 yard drive from the Big Green would give them a 17-14 lead thanks to a Nick Howard 31 yard strike to freshman wideout Painter Richards-Baker (2 catches, 58 YDs, 1 TD).

 With Harvard needing an answer Jake Smith threw an interception to junior safety Nick Arello just before the end of the third quarter. That would be Smith’s last drive of the game as Harvard would turn to Luke Emge the rest of the game.

 Late in the fourth quarter Harvard would tie the game on a Jonah Lipel 31-yard field goal with 4:31 to go. Dartmouth would come back with a huge drive ending in Connor Davis’s second field goal of the afternoon to give the Big Green a 20-17.

 With 49 seconds to go the Crimson drove down the field to set up a 53-yard field goal attempt from Lipel as time expired, though kicking into the endzone with an unfavorable wind made the try miss solidifying a 20 – 17 Dartmouth win.

 “With a normal kicker we would’ve chucked it (for a hail mary) but this kid hits them from 60 in practice,” noted Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy. “I feel for Jonah, he’s been money this year, it was far enough to get in, just pushed the other way.”

 Dartmouth’s win sets them up with a huge game this Friday against Princeton in a bout that could decide the Ivy League. For Harvard, two back-to-back weeks of heartbreak will leave them wondering “what if”, needing a string of losses from others and a perfect end of the season to have a shot at the title with three weeks to go.