Freshman QB Kempe Selected Ivy Rookie of the Week

Monday, November 10, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. ? Freshman quarterback Conner Kempe (Tequesta, Fla.) was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his performance in Dartmouth's 37-14 loss at Cornell this past Saturday. He is the third Big Green football player to be named Rookie of the Week this year, joining freshman place kicker Foley Schmidt (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) on Sept. 22 and freshman cornerback Shawn Abuhoff (Hialeah, Fla.) just last week.

The 6-4, 200-pound product of The Benjamin School completed 25-of-52 passes in the game for 256 yards, the second most by a Big Green quarterback this season and most since the season opener. He completed his first five passes of the game, and led Dartmouth inside the Big Red 20-yard line on each of the first two drives, only to see field goal attempts blocked on each one. Kempe did guide two drives into the end zone, the second of which he kept himself from a yard out for his first career touchdown. He did not get sacked once, and with his nine rushing yards on three carries, Kemped finished the day with 265 yards of total offense.

Coming into the game, Kempe had completed just 10 passes for 104 yards and one touchdown in two games of mop-up work.

In addition, two Dartmouth players were named to the weekly Honor Roll for their work at Cornell. Senior linebacker Andrew Dete (Marietta, Ga.) posted a season-high 11 tackles in the game, one for a loss, while sophomore Tim McManus (St. Paul, Minn.) set a career high with 10 receptions, good for 122 yards and his third career 100-yard game.

The Big Green (0-8, 0-5 Ivy) will attempt to snap their 10-game skid at home on Memorial Field at 12:30 p.m. against Ivy co-leader Brown (5-3, 4-1 Ivy). The Bears are coming off a tough 13-3 loss to Yale, and another defeat could keep them from a share of the Ivy title with either Harvard or Penn, both of which are 4-1 in the league but play each other this weekend.

Schedules