Football Looking to Play the Role of Spoiler Versus Brown

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

HANOVER, N.H. ? Ivy League co-leader Brown invades Memorial Field this Saturday, giving Dartmouth the opportunity to put a severe damper on the Bears' hopes of earning at least a share of the conference title. It would not be far-fetched for the Big Green (0-8, 0-5 Ivy) to knock off Brown (5-3, 4-1 Ivy), despite the disparity in the two teams' records. The Bears are reeling a bit after suffering its first Ivy loss last week at home to Yale, 13-3.

In the not-so-distant past, a relatively similar scenario played out. Dartmouth lost its first eight games of 2004 before hosting a 5-3 Brown squad. The Big Green managed to win their first and only game of the year, beating the Bears by a 20-7 final.

One big difference between the Dartmouth squads of 2004 and today is the margin of defeat. Four of the 2004 squad's losses were by no more than a touchdown and a total of 13 points. This year, only one of the Big Green's defeats have been by single digits ? a 21-13 loss at Columbia on Oct. 25.

Dartmouth is also trying to avoid setting an ignominious school record for consecutive losses. The current streak is 10 games dating back to last year, equaling the mark set by the 1998-99 squads.

The Big Green showed some signs last week that they very well could pull off the upset. Coach Buddy Teevens inserted freshman Conner Kempe (Tequesta, Fla.) at quarterback last week against Cornell, and he responded by throwing for 256 yards ? the second most by a Dartmouth player this year ? to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. He did, however, throw three interceptions as well, but Kempe did not let the adversity phase him. After the first two pilfers, he led Dartmouth on a touchdown drive, then another after the final pick in the 37-14 loss to the Big Red.

Certainly more discouraging were the two blocked field goals on the first two Big Green possessions, taking some of the life out of the squad. Down 7-0 early in the game, Kempe guided the offense down to the Cornell 14 before stalling. But instead of a 31-yard field goal and a 7-3 deficit, the kick was batted back, then scooped up and taken the other way for a touchdown for a 10-point swing. The next trip down the field ended with a field goal attempt deflected enough to keep the Big Green off the board.

Dartmouth never recovered, trailing by as many as 30 before scoring its two touchdowns on the ground ? the Big Green had reached the end zone via the rush three times in the first seven games. The running game has been mostly absent this year, averaging just 55 yards per game.

But the passing attack seems to have been rejuvenated with the switch to the rookie Kempe. Since the season opener when junior Alex Jenny (Wayland, Mass.) threw for 343 yards at Colgate ? the 11th most in Dartmouth history ? the air assault has been inconsistent, including just 204 yards in the previous two games combined.

When it comes to receivers, the Green look to Tim McManus (St. Paul, Minn.) first and foremost. The sophomore leads the squad with 45 catches for 478 yards, and he already ranks among the top 20 receivers in school history, measured by both receptions and yardage.

The defense is anchored by senior strong safety Ian Wilson (Burbank, Calif.), who is second in the conference in tackles and ranks 10th on Dartmouth's all-time chart with 292 tackles. When it comes to defending a pass, freshman Shawn Abuhoff (Hialeah, Fla.) has proven to be the squad's best cover man with a team-high three interceptions and another five passes broken up. Senior linebacker Andrew Dete (Marietta, Ga.) is second to Wilson in tackles with 58, plus tops the team with 6.5 tackles for a loss.

Brown suffered its first home loss of the season as it was held to a measly three points by the Yale Bulldogs. Quarterback Michael Dougherty had very similar numbers as Kempe last week, completing 28-of-54 passes for 275 yards with a pair of picks. The Bears could get inside the red zone only twice all game and were denied both times. Part of the problem for Brown was field position as it got the ball past its own 25 just twice all game.

Dougherty has a very select few he likes to throw to, most notably wide receivers Bobby Sewall (58 catches for 789 yards) and Buddy Farnham (53 for 671). Tight end Colin Cloherty is the third option with 37 catches for 375 yards, while the rest of the team has 38 receptions.

The running game has not been much better than Dartmouth's this year, averaging 84.5 yards per game with Derrick Knight carrying most of the load with 431 yards on 113 carries. With Dougherty throwing more than 40 passes a game, the Big Green know where to center their focus.

This is the 86th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron, with Dartmouth holding a 54-27-4 lead in the series. The Big Green has won the past two meetings in Hanover, but has lost the eight other contests over the past decade. Last year Brown won a 56-35 slugfest. Six of the eight Bear touchdowns came on the ground despite Dougherty throwing for over 400 yards. The Big Green was no slouch on offense in the game either, passing for 312 yards and running for 169 more.

The game will be broadcast live on the Dartmouth Sports Network on 99.3 FM WFRD and on Sirius Satelltie Radio with Bob Lipman and Wayne Young '72 calling the action, plus Andy Sloan on the sidelines. To listen over the internet, log on to www.DartmouthSportsNetwork.com, or keep up with the live stats and video streaming on the official Dartmouth web site, www.DartmouthSports.com.

Schedules