Williams' Three TDs leads Big Green to 31-13 Win in Ivy Opener

Saturday, October 4

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

2-1 , 1-0

Penn

0-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Penn

Dartmouth

Williams' Three TDs leads Big Green to 31-13 Win in Ivy Opener

10/5/2014 9:12:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — The weather was not very hospitable at Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon, and neither was host Dartmouth as the Big Green handed Penn a 31-13 defeat in the Ivy League opener for both teams. Junior quarterback Dalyn Williams ran for three touchdowns to lead Dartmouth (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) to its first victory over the Quakers since 2007. Penn (0-3, 0-1 Ivy) dropped its seventh straight contest dating back to last season despite the first 300-yard passing game by a Quaker QB since 2009.

With a rainstorm that increased in intensity as the afternoon progressed, Dartmouth utilized a strong ground game to end a Quaker hex that included Penn victories in 15 of the previous 16 meetings. Junior running back Kyle Bramble posted his second career 100-yard game by taking the handoff 22 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. But it was Williams that proved to be even more difficult for the Quaker defense to contain as the native of Corinth, Texas, was not fazed by the raindrops in scoring three touchdowns for the first time in his career.

Although Penn was able to post 350 yards through the air, the Dartmouth defense completely stymied the run game, holding the Quakers to a mere 33 yards on 27 carries. Both Hernandez and junior linebacker Will McNamara secured 11 tackles for the Big Green. Senior end Evan Chrustic and sophomore Folarin Orimolade each contributed 1.5 sacks among the six tackles for a loss.

Dartmouth 31, Penn 13
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014
Memorial Field • Hanover, N.H.
Attendance: 3,288 • Weather: 58, Rainy

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Penn	7	3	3	0	13
Dartmouth	14	14	0	3	31

Scoring Summary
1st/7:04	P	Torgersen 54-yd pass to Schwartz (Gammill kick)	0-7
1st/2:08	D	Bramble 2-yd run (Gakenheimer kick)	7-7
1st/0:00	D	D. Williams 9-yd run (Gakenheimer kick)	14-7
2nd/9:34	D	D. Williams 24-yd run (Gakenheimer kick)	21-7
2nd/3:33	D	D. Williams 11-yd run (Gakenheimer kick)	28-7
2nd/0:03	P	Gammill 28-yd FG	28-10
3rd/10:15	P	Gammill 37-yd FG	28-13
4th/14:15	D	Gakenheimer 35-yd FG	31-13

PASSING		C/A/I	Yards	TD
D	D. Williams	13-23-0	107	0
P	Torgersen	40-58-2	350	1
LEADING RUSHERS		#/Yds	Avg	TD
D	Bramble	22-104	4.7	1
D	D. Williams	14-53	3.8	3
D	Grove	7-59	8.4	0
P	Wilcox	12-36	3.0	0
LEADING RECEIVERS		#-Yds	Avg	TD
D	R. McManus	5-48	9.6	0
D	Patterson	3-28	9.3	0
P	Kulcsar	15-125	8.3	0
P	Schwartz	5-92	18.4	1

Statistical Comparison	P	D
1st Downs	21	19
Rushing Yards (Net)	33	107
Passing Yards (Net)	350	218
Total Offense	383	325
Penalties/Yards	8-66	7-72
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Conversion	7/18	6/14
Time of Possession	27:29	32:31

Dartmouth's 218 rushing yards negated the 350 amassed by Penn quarterback Alek Torgersen, who completed 40-of-58 passes with the lone Quaker touchdown. But he was also picked off twice and fumbled the ball away another time, setting up two touchdowns for the Big Green.

After Penn jumped out to a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a Torgersen 54-yard scoring strike down the middle of the field to Matt Schwartz, Dartmouth put four touchdowns on the board to take a 28-7 lead. Bramble provided the game-tying touchdown with a two-yard plunge into the end zone to cap a 79-yard, 11-play drive that spanned nearly five minutes.

Two plays later, senior strong safety Troy Donahue plucked a Torgersen pass out of the air just inside the Dartmouth sideline at the Quaker 39 for the first Big Green interception of the season and second of his career. Williams picked up one first down with a 16-yard keeper, then scored from nine yards out by bouncing to the left and sneaking into the end zone just inside the pylon on the final play of the first quarter. Sophomore kicker Alex Gakenheimer provided the PAT for a 14-7 lead.

In the second quarter, Torgersen fumbled the snap in the shotgun formation, and junior nickelback Frankie Hernandez pounced on the loose ball at the Quaker 42. A roughing-the-passer penalty on the first play put the Green on the 27, and on 3rd-and-7, Williams found a gaping hole up the middle and evaded defenders until he crossed the goal line for a 24-yard score and a 21-7 advantage.

Junior Kyle Bramble recorded his second career 100-yard game with 104 on 22 carries, including the first Big Green touchdown on the afternoon.

When the defense quickly forced Penn to punt, Williams went right back to work in guiding his teammates 70 yards with his legs and his arm. Three of the first four plays were pass completions for a total of 36 yards, and after Bramble had four consecutive rushes for 25 yards, junior Brian Grove had a one-yard touchdown burst negated by a holding penalty. That merely allowed Williams to score for the third time, this time from 11 yards out on 3rd-and-goal. With the extra point, Dartmouth enjoyed a 28-7 lead with 3:33 remaining in the half.

Penn tried to swing momentum its way before the intermission, marching all the way down to the Big Green one-yard line before an illegal block forced the Quakers to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Jimmy Gammill, cutting the deficit to 18 points.

In the second half, Penn added another Gammill field goal on its first possession, this time from 37 yards, to make it a 28-13 game. Neither side could sustain a drive during the remainder of the third quarter, but when senior Ryan McManus returned a Quaker punt 37 yards to the Penn 36, the Big Green were able to get one of those field goals back thanks to Gakenheimer's accurate boot from 35 yards.

Only once more did either team seriously threaten to score on the rain-soaked field. Torgersen led Penn down to the Dartmouth six when his pass to Spencer Kulcsar — who caught 15 passes for 125 yards — at the goal line was batted away into the arms of sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Cooper for his first career pick. The Quakers had two more offensive opportunities on the afternoon but turned the ball over on downs both times.

Sophomore Folarin Orimolade swallows up Penn quarterback Alek Torgersen on this fourth-quarter sack.

Williams added 107 yards to his ledger throwing the ball, completing 13-of-23 passes. McManus was his favorite target as the wide receiver hauled in five tosses for 48 yards, while senior Bo Patterson and junior Victor Williams each had three receptions.

The Quakers finished the day with more total offense (383-325), and Corey Power led the Penn defense with 11 stops.

Dartmouth travels to undefeated Yale (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) next Saturday for a game that kicks off at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs have lost two straight to the Big Green, but are coming off a 51-13 trouncing of Cornell after its upset win in overtime at Army last week. Penn will have its hands full at nationally ranked Fordham (5-1, 2-0) as it tries to avoid its eighth straight defeat.

Notes: Williams ran for 75 yards in the first half, which temporarily made him Dartmouth's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks and just the second Big Green QB to run for 1,000 yards in a career. But he lost 22 yards in the second half to fall below both marks … the last Big Green player to run for three touchdowns in a game was Dominick Pierre '14 last year in the season opener at Butler … McManus is just 32 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards in his career … Dartmouth is 33-47-2 against Penn since the series began in 1896.