Jayvees Fall to Middlebury Varsity and Jayvees, 16-14

9/13/2014 6:35:00 PM | Football

By: Dartmouth

Courtesy Big Green Alert

HANOVER, N.H. — One quarterback lived up to his reputation as an efficient passer, one quarterback with a reputation as a passer showed he's pretty good with his feet, and a linebacker with a reputation as a two-way player showed that while he's playing on the defensive side he still can be dangerous with the ball in his hands Saturday as the Dartmouth junior varsity played its first official game.

The combined Middlebury varsity and jayvees came away with a 16-14 win, but after a listless first half, the Big Green made things interesting on a chilly and damp day at Memorial Field (a.k.a. The Woods).

With his team in a 13-0 hole to start the third quarter, freshman quarterback Jack Heneghan completed all six of his throws for 66 yards as he marched Dartmouth 78 yards in 12 plays for its first points of the afternoon.

Porter Ontko's one-yard run behind Jack Anderson culminated the march and made it 13-7 with David Smith's PAT.

Heneghan, who passed for 2,974 yards and 37 touchdowns at Menlo School in Atherton, Calif., before missing his final game with an injury, completed 22-of-30 throws for 184 yards and one interception against the Panthers.

After Middlebury answered the Big Green's drive with a 24-yard field goal by senior Michael Dola to take a 16-7 lead, it was Jonathan DiBiaso's turn at the helm. The sophomore who made a name for himself setting Massachusetts career records for touchdown passes (103) and yards through the air (7,052) did his damage this day on the ground.

DiBiaso had consecutive read-option carries of 19, 22 and 13 yards as he drove Dartmouth 75 yards in 11 plays. After starting the march with a four-yard completion to Joseph Cook and an incompletion, the ball stayed on the ground the rest of the way with Forrest Town getting the points on a one-yard run. Smith's PAT drew Dartmouth within 16-4 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Now back in the game, the Big Green defense took over.

A Rocco Di Leo sack on third down forced a Midd three-and-out on the visitors' first series after the Town scoring run.

When the Big Green failed to get a first down, the defense stepped up again and forced a second-consecutive three-and-out.

DiBiaso found Charles Mack for a 26-yard gain on a critical third-down play and Dartmouth held the ball for 10 plays on the ensuing drive, only to turn it over on downs when a 4th-and-8 pass from the Midd 35 fell incomplete with 4:36 remaining.

The Panthers proceeded to march to the Dartmouth 30 before safety Kyran McKinney-Crudden helped sack the Middlebury quarterback and Panthers coach Bob Ritter sent his kicker in to try a 50-yard field goal.

Justin Porter fielded the kick in the end zone and came flying out but any chance of the kind of return that lifted Auburn over Alabama a year ago was lost to a block-in-the-back penalty.

Taking over at the Big Green six with 2:05 remaining, Heneghan gave the Big Green hope when he connected with Cook for 19 yards on the first play. He then found the lanky sophomore receiver for completions of seven and five yards before hitting a tight end for seven yards to advance the ball to the 44 with 1:16 left.

But an interception at the Middlebury 33 by Kevin Hopsicker ended Dartmouth's final drive, if not the drama.

Taking a chance he would never take in the regular season, Middlebury coach Ritter called a pass play on the Panthers' final possession and McKinney-Crudden very nearly picked it off. With that, the NESCAC school wearing the blue-and-white Michigan-styled helmets finally ran out the clock to send the chilled and soggy fans scurrying to their cars.

Mack and Cook each had six receptions to lead Dartmouth with Mack's catches going for 63 yards and Cook's for 55. Emory Thompson added four grabs for 45 yards.

Porter Ontko had 11 carries for 28 yards and five catches for 36 yards for the Big Green.

Leading the defense was freshman linebacker Ian Hanselman, who had eight tackles and showed the running skill that helped him gain 1,193 yards as a high schooler last year when he returned a second-quarter interception 39 yards.

McKinney-Crudden, Michael Warren and Brock Bacon each had six tackles with Eric Meile registering four with a sack and a pass breakup.

The Dartmouth jayvees return to action Oct. 5 against Williams. Middlebury, which shared the NESCAC championship last year with a 7-1 record, opens play Saturday at home against Wesleyan.

NOTES
Safety Cody Patch and Moran served as Dartmouth co-captains ... the Big Green defeated Middlebury last year, 20-7 ... many of the Dartmouth varsity players sat in the stands cheering on hard hits and big plays ... the varsity had a two-hour practice in the morning in cool but dry conditions ... the Big Green jayvees played one quarter against Harvard and will have a passing scrimmage against Norwich to end their season, meaning Middlebury and Williams are the only two full games ... the game was conducted with 12-minute quarters instead of the usual 15 ... surprisingly, the Dartmouth quarterbacks were “live” ... while Dartmouth tried to block Middlebury kicks the Midd defense simply stood up when Dartmouth was kicking ... the weather was cold and breezy with a chilly drizzle picking up as the game went on ... although DiBiaso had to leave the field after a big hit, he seemed fine on the sidelines and there were no apparent injuries ... statistics that follow are as complete as possible, but are subject to correction.

Unofficial Statistics