Football Hosts Yale on Saturday at Memorial Field

The Game: Dartmouth (2-1, 0-1) vs. Yale (2-1, 1-0)
Location: Memorial Field, Hanover, N.H.
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m.
Series Record: Yale leads, 51-36-6
Radio: WFRD 99.3 FM, SIRIUS (Channel 130)
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Complete Game Notes

Dartmouth plays host to the Bulldogs of Yale on Saturday for the Big Green's first of three Ivy League home games. Yale has proven to be a difficult foe of late, having beaten the Green in each of the last seven meetings including the last three by a combined total of 122-24.

At Penn last Saturday, Dartmouth nearly pulled off an upset of the defending Ivy champs before falling in overtime, 35-28. Junior Conner Kempe threw for three touchdowns — two going to junior tight end John Gallagher — but the Quakers held off a late Big Green drive, then scored a touchdown in the extra period before stopping Dartmouth to secure the game.

The Big Green have featured a balanced offensive attack with Kempe averaging just over 200 yards a game through the air, while junior Nick Schwieger and freshman Dominick Pierre have constituted most of the running game that collects over 160 yards on the ground on average.

Kempe has been able to post the third-best efficiency rating in the Ivy League thanks in large part to an improved offensive line, which has yielded just one sack in the first three games. With a staple of talented and experienced receivers, including junior Michael Reilly (team-high 11 receptions for 232 yards and 3 TDs) and senior Tim McManus (10-131), the Big Green have numerous offensive weapons from which to choose.

The defense has been an excellent second-half unit, allowing Dartmouth to outscore its opponent by a 62-14 margin after the intermission in the first three games combined. Senior strong safety/linebacker Pat Scorah leads the squad with 21 tackles while another safety, junior Joey Casey, has 18 stops. One of the most active defenders has been junior cornerback Shawn Abuhoff who has already broken up five passes, plus picked off another for a 56-yard touchdown at Bucknell.

On special teams, the Big Green are seventh nationally in net punting behind the right leg of freshman Daniel Barstein who averages nearly 40 yards every time he boots the ball. And don't let Dartmouth's kickoff return average of a modest 19.3 yards fool you — that kick return unit might be the most feared in the league. Teams have been kicking short to try and neutralize Abuhoff (28.9 average), which has skewed the team's average starting point.

Against Yale last year, the Bulldogs handed Dartmouth its worst loss of the year at 38-7. Brook Hart — relegated to a backup role this year — threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns while Big Green quarterback Alex Jenny suffered a season-ending elbow injury early in the second quarter. Dartmouth never recovered and managed just 127 yards of offense, compared to 520 for the host Bulldogs.

Dartmouth is teaming up with the United Way for the game, with two dollars of every adult ticket sold going to support the United Way. Dartmouth College has conducted a United Way campaign every year since 1971, raising more than $5,034,000 through contributions from staff, faculty and students.

Milestone Memo
Two Big Green players are on the verge of career milestones this weekend. Junior tailback Nick Schwieger needs just five rushing yards to become the 24th player in Dartmouth history to run for 1,000 in a career while senior wide receiver Tim McManus is two receptions shy of 100 for his career, a total achieved by just eight others.

Holding the Line
Through three weeks, the Dartmouth offensive line has yielded just one sack, the fewest allowed in the country. The front force has also created holes for the Big Green running backs, which have gained over 160 yards a game, a respectable 39th nationally.

Overtime for Ivy Opener
Playing at the reigning Ivy champion to begin its conference slate, Dartmouth went toe-to-toe with the Penn Quakers on Oct. 2, playing to a 28-28 stalemate at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, Penn escaped with the win over the Big Green by a touchdown, handing Dartmouth a loss for the fourth time in its last five overtime contests. Overall, the Big Green is 4-5 in nine games that have required more than 60 minutes, with seven of those nine taking place in the last five seasons.

Reilly Tops 100
Junior Michael Reilly became the third active player to record a 100-yard receiving game when he hauled in five passes for 134 yards at Penn. His longest catch went for 53 yards, the fourth time in his career he has had a reception of at least 40 yards. The longest one Reilly ever had came at Brown last year when he took a short pass and weaved his way 77 yards to the end zone. The 100-yard club includes senior Tim McManus (3 times) and senior Tanner Scott (twice), but his 134 yards are the most for a Big Green receiver since Philip Galligan went for 146 at Colgate in the 2008 season opener.

Pickin' Like Curtis Loew
Curtis Loew may be the finest picker to ever play the blues (for you Southern rock fans), but his pickin' has nothing on sophomore Chase Womack or senior Luke Hussey. Trailing 28-14 at Penn in the third quarter, Womack turned the tide by ripping a pass away from a receiver for his first career interception, leading to a Dartmouth touchdown. And in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 28, Hussey stepped in front of a receiver to record his first career pick as well, thwarting a Quaker drive in Big Green territory.

Trio of Touchdowns
At Penn, junior quarterback Conner Kempe connected on three touchdown passes for the second time in three games this year. He had never thrown more than two in any game entering this season and now has 15 for his career. Two of the scoring strikes went to junior tight end John Gallagher, giving him three on the season and four for his career.

Block Party
Junior Connor Phillips kept up what is becoming a Dartmouth tradition by blocking a crucial field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter at Penn to preserve the tie score. The Big Green have blocked a kick in each of the first three games and at least one kick (punt, FG, PAT) in seven of the past eight games dating back to last year. But to set an FCS record, Dartmouth will have to pick up the pace a little bit — the record for blocks in one season is 13, held by the 1999 Davidson Wildcats.

Schedules