Dartmouth Football Falls to Harvard, 13-12, in Homecoming Heartbreaker

Oct. 30, 2004

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HANOVER, N.H. -- Freshman tailback Chad Gaudet rushed for a career-high 102 yards and one touchdown, but it wasn't enough as the Dartmouth football team lost a heartbreaking, 13-12, decision to undefeated Harvard on Saturday.

The Big Green defense was outstanding on the day, giving up only one touchdown to Harvard, holding the Crimson offense to a pair of field goals and blocking another Harvard field goal attempt midway through the fourth quarter.

Dartmouth coach John Lyons said, "It was a great effort by our guys against a really good team. It's a tough, tough loss for us. But I'm really proud of the way our guys played and we really went after them."

Senior cornerback Steve Jensen paced the Dartmouth defensive unit with 12 tackles, two for a loss and a pass breakup. Senior free safety Clayton Smith had 10 tackles and was credited with the block, his third of the year. On top of that, Smith recovered a critical third quarter fumble.

The Crimson, 7-0 on the year and now 4-0 in the Ivy League, came into the game ranked 20th in the national 1-AA polls. After a scoreless first period, Harvard built a 10-0 lead at halftime on a 38-yard field goal by Matt Schindel and a 20 yard pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to wide receiver Brian Edwards.

Midway through the third quarter, junior linebacker Josh Dooley forced Harvard's Edwards into a fumble, and Smith pounced on the loose ball. Two plays later, Gaudet broke a couple of tackles at the line of scrimmage and rumbled 60 yards for a touchdown. The kick attempt failed as Dartmouth got within four points, 10-6, with 7:10 on the clock.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Dartmouth's defense again held Harvard, as Schindel booted a 39-yarder with 1:39 gone for a 13-6 lead.

Dartmouth's Grant Wagner booted his 10th punt of the game, Schindel attempted to cap an eight-play, 28-yard drive with a 34-yard field goal. It missed wide left.

With junior quarterback Dan Shula directing the offense in his first varsity start, the Big Green put together an 80-yard march, taking 17 plays and 6:41 off the clock. Dartmouth got within one, 13-12, when Shula found senior wide receiver Bob Murphy in the endzone from 12 yards out.

With Dartmouth's kicking game struggling throughout the season, the Big Green went for two, but Shula's attempt to Murphy was just off the mark.

After another Harvard drive was thwarted, Dartmouth had one more chance with 1:02 left on the clock. But the Big Green couldn't get deeper than the Crimson 35 yard line.

Shula completed 19 of 37 passes for 162 yards, including a long of 33 yards to senior wide receiver Andrew Hall. Senior tailback Chris Little caught five passes out of the backfield, leading the receiving corps.

Dartmouth's defense held Harvard running back Clifton Dawson to 69 yards. He came into the game averaging 145.2 yards and was fourth in the nation. It was also the first time this season that he failed to score a touchdown.

Now 0-7 on the year and 0-4 in the Ivy League, Dartmouth travels to Cornell for a 1 p.m. kickoff next Saturday.

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