Dartmouth Cruises to Second Shutout of Season, 42-0

Saturday, October 13

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-0

Sacred Heart

3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Sacred Heart

Dartmouth

Junior WR Hunter Hagdorn

Photo by: Mark Washburn

Dartmouth Cruises to Second Shutout of Season, 42-0

10/13/2018 9:05:00 PM | Football

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The Big Green built up a 35-0 lead by halftime to handle Sacred Heart

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — It had been three years since the last time the Dartmouth Big Green had a 35-0 lead at the half. On Saturday night at Memorial Field, Dartmouth pulled off the feat again — against the same team — as the Big Green (5-0) maintained their place as one of the last four undefeated FCS teams with a 42-0 shutout victory over visiting Sacred Heart (3-3).

Junior Jared Gerbino threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to lead Dartmouth to its eighth straight win dating back to last year. The Big Green racked up a season-high 531 yards of offense, featuring a balanced attack of 277 on the ground and 254 through the air, while limiting the Pioneers to 159.

Gerbino shared the quarterbacking duties with sophomore Derek Kyler, who completed 9-of-12 throws for 126 yards and a touchdown of his own. Normally a wildcat quarterback, Gerbino connected on all three of his passes (matching his career total) for 63 yards and the two TDs.

Dartmouth wasted little time in establishing its dominance, stopping Sacred Heart's opening drive in a mere three plays. The offense was nearly as efficient, traversing 61 yards in just four plays, the last a 27-yard completion from Gerbino to a wide-open Robbie Mangas who rumbled into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. It was both Gerbino's first career scoring strike as well as the freshman tight end's first career catch.

On the next Pioneer possession, the Big Green came up with a fourth-down stop at the Dartmouth 36, then turned right around and marched down the field in just six plays. The big moment was a 32-yard completion from Kyler to sophomore tight end J.J. Jones III, setting up Gerbino's first foray into the end zone on a one-yard burst untouched for a 14-0 lead with barely half of the first quarter gone.

Gerbino scored again before the end of the quarter, using a second-effort to break the plane of the goal line from a yard out on third down.

The Big Green continued to pile up the yards and the points in the second quarter, twice converting on fourth down to keep its fourth drive of the game alive. The first fourth-down play was a 24-yard run by junior linebacker Andrew Lemkuil on a fake punt, while the second was a Gerbino dive for two yards when needing a single yard. On the very next play, Kyler found junior Hunter Hagdorn, who made a leaping catch in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown catch and a 28-0 advantage.

The longest drive of the game made it a 35-0 contest as Dartmouth covered 81 yards in nine plays with Gerbino throwing for his second touchdown. Junior tight end Connor Rempel was on the receiving end on the five-yard score as the Big Green went into the locker room with the commanding lead.

The halftime numbers were not deceiving as the Big Green posted 340 yards of offense almost evenly distributed — 171 yards rushing, 169 passing — while holding Sacred Heart to 72 total yards. Hagdorn had all four of his catches for 80 yards, that ended up leading the team.

Dartmouth received the second-half kickoff with senior Rashaad Cooper returning it 29 yards to the Big Green 41, then quickly added to its lead. Three consecutive double-digit plays set up Cooper's 11-yard touchdown run, and freshman Connor Davis made it 6-for-6 on PATs for a 42-0 bulge.

The reserved came on at that point, adding another 132 yards of offense while maintaining the shutout. The Pioneers had an opportunity to put points on the board, but eschewed the field goal and chose to try to convert a 4th-and-10 at the Big Green 14, only to have sophomore cornerback Darren Stanley break up a pass to former Dartmouth receiver Charles Mack, playing for Sacred Heart as a graduate student.

Dartmouth also had an opportunity to extend its streak of scoring in every quarter this season when Davis attempted a 48-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. His kick had the distance, but it slid just to the left.

Senior Kyran McKinnney-Crudden and freshman John Pupel led the Dartmouth defense with six tackles apiece while junior Niko Lalos supplied the lone sack. Junior corner Isiah Swann, the national leader in passes defended, broke up a pair of passes as well.

Sacred Heart played without its starting quarterback Kevin Duke, turning to Grant Lowary who completed 17-of-32 passes for 104 yards in his first action of the year. Julius Chestnut topped the Pioneers with 48 rushing yards on 14 carries, giving Dartmouth 15 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, while Nathan Balthazard had four grabs for 20 yards.

Neither team turned the ball over, though Big Green safety Bun Straton did intercept a pass that was erased due to a roughing-the-passer penalty in the second quarter.

Dartmouth (2-0 Ivy) returns to Ivy League action next Saturday when it travels to Columbia (3-2, 0-2 Ivy) for the Lions' homecoming game at 1:30 p.m. Sacred Heart will begin NEC play at Central Connecticut State at 1 p.m.

Notes: The victory extended Dartmouth's win streak against teams outside the Ivy League to 13 games, its longest since the Ivy League formed in 1956 … eight players had at least 20 rushing yards for the Big Green … the last time Dartmouth scored in 19 consecutive quarters in one season came during the 1992 season … going back to last year, the Big Green had scored in 20 consecutive quarters, their longest in at least 69 years.