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Football
vs New Hampshire
Football Falls to Princeton
11/19/2004 7:00:00 PM | Football
Nov. 20, 2004
Final Stats | Photo Gallery
PRINCETON, N.J. - No good deed goes unpunished.
That's what the Dartmouth football team is thinking after a fluke play pushed Princeton to a 17-10 victory in the season-finale for both teams. With the game tied, 10-10, Princeton lined up a field goal with less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Dartmouth free safety Clayton Smith blocked the attempt, his fourth block on the season, but Princeton's Colin McDonough scooped up the loose ball and lateraled to James Williams.
Williams went 24 yards for the winning touchdown as the Tigers improved to 5-5 on the year, 3-4 in the Ivy League, and Dartmouth slipped to 1-9 and 1-6 in the Ancient Eight.
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"It was just one of those crazy plays," said Smith. "We had a good push up front, and it hit me in the right hand."
Said Dartmouth coach John Lyons, "We played good defense all year and played well enough to win. We just didn't put it together in enough other areas to win games."
Three failed field goal attempts proved painful, and Dartmouth had a chance with time running out with two strikes to the end zone on third and fourth down. Both were dropped.
After a scoreless first quarter, Dartmouth and Princeton traded field goals in the second period.
Late in the second, Princeton's hurry-up offense broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Tigers to the locker room with a 10-3 advantage. With six seconds on the clock, quarterback Matt Verbit completed a five-yard pass to Jay McCareins, and Derek Javarone kicked the PAT. The drive went 70 yards in 11 plays, taking 2:14 off the clock.
It was Verbit's seventh scoring pass of the season. All have been to different receivers.
The scoring started with Princeton getting on the board first. With 9:46 left in the second period, Javarone gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead with a 33-yard field goal. The drive was set up by Princeton's Tim Strickland, who intercepted his team-leading fourth pass of the season.
About seven minutes later, the Big Green countered when junior kicker Erik Hinterbichler booted a 31-yarder for a 3-3 tie. The Dartmouth offense started the drive at midfield after senior free safety Clayton Smith intercepted his fourth pass of the year, also a team-high.
The third quarter began with an exchange of fumbles. After Dartmouth bobbled away the opening half kickoff, Princeton returned the favor and the Big Green regained possession when Joe Gibalski recovered his first of the season.
Dartmouth went 69 yards in seven plays and tied the game when senior Andrew Hall grabbed a Charlie Rittgers' pass deep in the endzone.
Hinterbichler's PAT made it 10-10 with 3:44 gone in the third period. For the Big Green, freshman tailback Chad Gaudet had another strong outing, picking up 95 yards on 30 carries. Rittgers completed 13 of 26 passes for 171 yards, and four different receivers caught three passes each, including tight end Joe Killefer who had 63 yards.
Senior punter Grant Wagner booted six balls, averaging 38.2 yards. He broke Dartmouth's single season record with 79 this year, surpassing Wayne Schlobohm who had 74 in 1998.
Players Mentioned
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