Big Green Regrouping Behind Sophomore Quarterback Kempe

Game notes

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth football team could feel sorry for itself. Following a 38-7 defeat at Yale and the loss of senior quarterback Alex Jenny to a dislocated elbow on his throwing arm, who could blame them? Big Green head coach Buddy Teevens will have none of that talk, however, as he prepares his squad to take on the potent offense of 24th-ranked Holy Cross Saturday at 1 p.m. on Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass.

“We were knocked for a bit of a loop when Alex went down last week, no doubt,” Teevens said. “It certainly deflated us, and it showed in the result. But after reviewing the film, there were some positives to be pulled from the game. [Sophomore quarterback Conner] Kempe came in cold and performed admirably under the circumstances. With more reps this week during practice, you can see the team rallying around him. He had a couple of big passing games for us last year, and if he can stay within himself and not feel like he has to make all the plays himself, he can move our offense up and down the field.”

Those big passing games to which Coach Teevens referred came against Cornell and Brown late in his rookie campaign. In his first career start, he threw for 256 yards at Cornell, completing 25-of-52 passes. The following week, he was even better, going 27-for-42 for 275 yards. Forcing plays was his Achilles' heel last year, though, as the five interceptions in the two games (and six overall) attest.

Besides the loss of Jenny, who is hoping to return to the field by the final game versus Princeton, the Big Green will also have to deal with playing on natural grass for the second time in as many weeks — their first games on grass in nearly two years. Dartmouth players seemed to have some apprehension with their footing at Yale, and sophomore running back Nick Schwieger was held to his lowest rushing average of the season (2.7 yards per carry), gaining just 48 yards on 18 rushes. Yet he remains third in the Ivy League in rushing at just over 70 yards per game.

The offense got a nice boost at Yale from sophomore tight end John Gallagher, who achieved career highs in receptions (4) and yardage (49) while catching his first career touchdown, a 17-yarder at the start of the third quarter. The wide receivers as a group, however, were limited to just three catches for a total of six yards. The coaching staff is hopeful that sophomore Michael Reilly, who had eight receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games, will be able to go this weekend as he recovers from an ankle injury. The Big Green won't have junior Will Deevy as a receiving target as he has been forced back to the quarterback position as the back-up. And junior wideout Tim McManus, last year's leading receiver, is still rehabbing from a broken leg he suffered the day before preseason practice began.

Still, Coach Teevens will not lament the injuries and illnesses that have struck his squad. “Everyone deals with injuries, bruises, illnesses and the like. We have players that can step up and produce, even if it's a little earlier than planned. But it can be done. We as a coaching staff have to prepare them to succeed.”

Coach Teevens will be looking for better play from his defensive front this week in an attempt to put more pressure on the quarterback. Holy Cross has one of the best in the country in Dominic Randolph, a fifth-year senior who leads the FCS in total offense and is 12th in passing efficiency. The Big Green secondary had too many tackles with senior co-captain and free safety Pete Pidermann leading the team with 11, while sophomore cornerbacks Shawn Abuhoff and J.B. Andreassi were next with seven apiece. Junior end Charles Bay did make five solo stops with a pair going for a loss, including his second sack of the season. But the rest of the line combined for a total of just six tackles.

The all-time series with Holy Cross is in a dead heat at 34-34-4 in the 72 previous meetings. Since 1942, these two schools have tangled every year save six. The Crusaders have held a decided advantage since 1978, winning 21 of the 27 games. But the last 13 contests have been split pretty evenly with Dartmouth taking six. The most recent win came six years ago at Fitton Field by a final of 24-20. Last year Holy Cross defeated the Big Green in Hanover, 44-26, the most points for the Big Green in 2008.

The game will be broadcast over the airwaves on WRFD 99.3 FM in Hanover and online via DartmouthSportsNetwork.com with Bob Lipman calling the plays and Wayne Young '72 breaking down the action. Holy Cross will provide a video stream of the game through its web site, GoHolyCross.com for a one-time fee of $6.95, as well as live stats for free.

Note for Big Green listeners: We apologize for the techinical issues of the audio streaming of the football broadcasts this year. The issues have been resolved and we do not anticipate any more problems with the DartmouthSportsNetwork.com audio stream. We thank you for your patience.

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