Dartmouth Welcomes Hoyas to Hanover for First Time

Saturday, September 15

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Georgetown

Tickets

Jack Traynor fires up the team.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Dartmouth Welcomes Hoyas to Hanover for First Time

9/13/2018 2:27:00 PM | Football

Saturday, Sept. 15, 1:30 PM Memorial Field Tickets ESPN+ Broadcast 94 ESPN Radio Live Stats @DartFootball Dartmouth Game Notes Georgetown Game Notes

The Big Green open the 2018 football season by hosting Georgetown on Sept. 15.

By: Rick Bender

DARTMOUTH (0-0) vs.
GEORGETOWN (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 | 1:30 PM
Memorial Field | Hanover, N.H.

Dartmouth begins the 2018 campaign by hosting Georgetown for just the third game between the two schools on the gridiron and first in Hanover. The last meeting was the 2015 season opener with the Big Green earning a convincing 31-10 victory at Georgetown.

Dartmouth has a couple of streaks on the line in this contest, having won its last eight season openers and last 10 games outside of the Ivy League. The only other time the Big Green won 10 straight non-conference games (since the Ancient Eight first started formal play in 1956) occurred from 1994-97. And the last time Dartmouth lost a home opener was in 2013 to another Patriot League team — Holy Cross.

This year's team, led by Robert L. Blackman Head Coach Buddy Teevens in his 19th season in Hanover, has several question marks that need to be answered, including who will be behind center. Junior Jared Gerbino, last year's sensational Wildcat quarterback, won the job in the preseason as a more conventional QB, but sophomore Derek Kyler could see action against the Hoyas as well without having taken a varsity snap entering the season.

Dartmouth has to replace its starting running back from a year ago as well, but has a few more experienced players from which to choose. Seniors Rashaad Cooper and Miles Smith will likely share the load after the two posted similar numbers a year ago. But Smith has a longer history of success, earning All-Ivy League honorable mention as a sophomore before suffering through some injuries last year.

While the quarterbacks on the roster have combined to throw just nine collegiate passes, the receivers at their disposal will be seasoned veterans. Junior Hunter Hagdorn leads the group having already snared 100 throws for 1,247 yards in his first two seasons. Add in seniors Drew Hunnicutt and Dylan Mellor, along with junior Drew Estrada with more than 100 grabs between them, and Dartmouth has plenty of targets to throw to. The tight ends, on the other hand, are the most inexperienced group on the roster with nary a player with even one catch to his credit.

The offensive line may be the most known commodity with five seniors slated to start, led by preseason All-American Matt Kaskey. The 6-7, 325-pound left tackle can absolutely smother his counterpart and will get some looks from NFL scouts. He will be joined by the Kilcommons twins (John and Patrick), along with first-year starters Zach Sammartino and Phil Berton.

The defense is anchored by a strong candidate for the Bushnell Cup in senior LB Jack Traynor, the nation's fourth-leading returning tackler in the FCS. And with senior Jake Moen and junior Nigel Alexander on the field, Dartmouth has the makings of a very formidable linebacking corps.

The front line is potentially very strong as well with All-Ivy honorable mention Rocco Di Leo back for a fifth year and senior Jackson Perry primed for a monster season. Teevens likes to shuttle in a number of linemen to keep them fresh late in ball games, so expect to see quite a bit of seniors David Chalmers and Niko Lalos, as well as junior T.J. Simpson.

The secondary features nickelback Kyran McKinney-Crudden and cornerback Isiah Swann, both of whom earned All-Ivy honorable mention a year ago, not to mention senior safety Bun Straton.

While junior Davis Brief will handle the punting duties once again after a solid sophomore season, the Big Green are handing the place-kicking duties to a freshman from Florida in Connor Davis. His father was a kicker at Florida, and the younger Davis is a chip off the old block earning all-state honors from the Associated Press and USA Today as a high school senior.

Scouting the Hoyas
Georgetown began the season with a convincing 39-14 victory on the road at Marist, but stumbled last week in a 13-8 home loss against Campbell. It was the Camels' first win over a non-conference Division I program since football was reinstated in 2008 at the school in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

Quarterback Gunther Johnson, a transfer from the University of Arizona last year, lit up the Red Fox defense in the opener for 369 passing yards and four touchdowns while completing 26-of-37 throws. Marist did a better job of containing Johnson, however, as he connected on half of his 34 passes for 201 yards, but without a touchdown or an interception.

While Johnson has kept the Hoyas moving through the air, the running game has been a bit less effective, averaging 61 yards a game. Jay Tolliver has 28 of the team's 66 carries but just 45 yards, a 1.6-yard average, though Jackson Saffold leads the Hoyas with 49 yards on just seven attempts, all against Campbell.

Michael Dereus and Winston Jackson Jr. have been Johnson's favorite targets with eight and six catches, respectively, while averaging over 20 yards per grab. But Johnson likes to spread the wealth with four other players owning five receptions apiece.

The defense has performed well with the opposition averaging just under 260 yards a game, 15th-best among FCS schools in the first two weeks of the season. Linebacker Wesley Bowers has been all over the field, leading the squad with 22 tackles, 3.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks, not to mention one of the team's four interceptions. Safety Blaise Brown has two of the other three picks and matches linebacker Xavier Reddick with 13 tackles, trailing only Bowers.

Brad Hurst handles all of the kicking duties, booming three of his 10 punts at least 50 yards with a long of 65, and five of his nine kickoffs have ended as touchbacks. He has converted all four of his PATs (plus thrown a two-point conversion) as well as three of his five field goal attempts with a long of 45.

Rob Sgarlata, a 1994 graduate of Georgetown, is in his 23rd season at his alma mater and fifth as the head coach, sporting a record of 12-34. He is just the fourth alum to serve as the Hoyas' head coach and has mentored 24 All-Patriot League selections over his first four campaigns. A four-year letter winner at Georgetown, Sgarlata is among the program's all-time leading rushers and was an Academic All-American as a senior.

ESPN+
Last spring, the Ivy League announced it had signed a 10-year agreement with ESPN to have the schools of the Ancient Eight stream live athletics events through the network's new subscription streaming service, ESPN+. For just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year), fans can get all of the content they received for the previous five years on the Ivy League Network plus events from numerous other conferences and professional leagues. Eight of the 10 football games this fall will be available on ESPN+, and the game at Yale on Oct. 5 will be televised on ESPNU. Go to watch.espnplus.com to subscribe to the service and sign up for the package you prefer.

Official Replay
The Ivy League joins the official replay fray this year. A replay official in the press box will review every play throughout the game and can contact the referees on the field to alter certain plays. Each team will have a challenge at their disposal, but must have a timeout available in order to do so.

10 Straight Non-League Wins
Dartmouth enters the season opener having won its last 10 non-conference games dating back to the 2014 season, beginning with a 24-21 victory over Holy Cross. Only once previously have the Big Green had a longer such stretch of success since Ivy League play began in 1956 — a 10-game streak that began with a victory over Fordham in 1994 and ended with a loss to Lehigh in 1997.

1,200th Game
The first game of the 137th season of Dartmouth football will be the 1,200th for the program. Over the first 1,199 contests, the Big Green posted a record of 697-456-46, a winning percentage of .601. With three victories this season, Dartmouth will join an exclusive group of five other FCS teams with 700 wins, four of which are Ivy League squads — Yale (902), Harvard (869), Penn (850), Princeton (822) and North Dakota State (710). Other teams closing in on 700 are Lehigh (692) and Delaware (690).

Preseason Poll
The Ivy League Preseason Media Poll was revealed last month, and the Dartmouth faithful were understandably a bit surprised that a team that was 8-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play, tying for second and just a game out of first, was picked to finish sixth in 2018. Then again, being underestimated has to be expected when it comes to the Big Green. In eight of the past nine years, Dartmouth was pegged to finish lower in the standings than where it ended up when the season concluded. Last year, the Big Green were tabbed for fifth yet nearly shared the crown.

This year, Yale was picked to repeat as the champion with 11 of the 17 first-place votes, while Princeton finished second with three tabbing the Tigers to triumph. On a positive note, over the past 21 years, the media has correctly picked the champion just three times — Penn in 2003, and Harvard in 2008 and 2015. The complete poll can be found on page seven of the notes.

The Experience Factor
Dartmouth has half of its total starters on offense and defense returning to the field in 2018 with five on offense and six on defense. Despite the graduation of Ryder Stone, nearly half of the rushing yards are back on the roster this year (884 of 1800, 49.1 percent). It is true only 40 of the 2,176 passing yards return with the departure of Jack Heneghan, but most of the receivers are back in the fold, representing nearly two-thirds (1,439) of those 2,176 yards (66.1 percent). On defense, three of the top five tacklers moved on, but the Big Green still have just about half (366) of last year's 755 stops (48.5 percent) on this year's active roster, including LB Jack Traynor who is the fourth-leading returning tackler in the FCS.

Tri-Captains
For the eighth time in the past nine seasons, Dartmouth will feature three captains leading the squad — seniors Matt Kaskey, Kyran McKinney-Crudden and Jack Traynor.

Returning All-Ivy Performers
Last year, the Big Green claimed a total of 16 players who earned All-Ivy honors, two of which made the first team. The two first-teamers are back in senior OL Matt Kaskey and senior LB Jack Traynor (both of whom also were named All-New England for Division I), while three of the six second-teamers return as well — senior C Patrick Kilcommons, junior WR Hunter Hagdorn and senior CB Isiah Swann. All eight honorable mentions were seniors last year, though DL Rocco Di Leo and NB Kyran McKinney-Crudden are back as fifth years.

Kaskey Preseason All-American
Phil Steele's College Football announced its preseason All-America teams for the FCS with senior OL Matt Kaskey earning a spot on the fourth team. He was one of just five Ivy League players to be named to one of the four teams, joining Yale RB Zane Dudek (1st), Harvard PR Justice Shelton-Mosley (1st), Princeton WR Jepser Horsted (2nd) and Harvard OL Larry Allen III (4th).

Nine Garner Preseason All-Ivy Honors
Phil Steele also released its preseason All-Ivy League teams with nine Big Green players listed on the three teams, led by OL Matt Kaskey, LB Jack Traynor and CB Isiah Swann on the first team. The second team was graced by WR Hunter Hagdorn and C Patrick Kilcommons, while NB Kyran McKinney-Crudden, DL Rocco Di Leo, LB Jake Moen and LS Grant Jaffe made the third team.

Still All-Time Ivy Champs
Since the Ivy League began play in 1956, no other school in the conference has won more football titles than Dartmouth with 18. The last time an Ancient Eight squad had more crowns than the Big Green was in 1961 when Yale had the grand total of two. The next season, Dartmouth equaled that total and has never looked up at another team since. But Penn picked up its 18th championship last year to match the Green, putting the 55-year streak in jeopardy should Penn win the race for a third straight year.

One of the Last to Kick Off
The Ivy League football schedule always starts a couple of weeks after the rest of Division I. But after being the absolute last team to kick off the season in five of the last six years, Dartmouth gets a few hours head start on four other Ivy teams this year, with Penn, Cornell, Columbia and Princeton all starting their games between 3 and 6 p.m.

Hagdorn Looking to Climb Charts
Junior wide receiver Hunter Hagdorn enters the 2018 campaign with exactly 100 receptions and 1,247 receiving yards, placing him among Dartmouth's top 16 all-time in both categories. He is on pace to become just the second Big Green player to catch 200 passes in a career (record is 216 held by Jay Barnard '04) and rack up nearly 2,500 yards, which would also rank second only to Craig Morton '89 (2,605). To move into the top 10 in each category, Hagdorn would need just 12 grabs and 254 yards.

2017 Recap
I imagine most people remember quite a bit from last year, but if you are like me, you still need a little refresher on how things shook out:
•   Dartmouth finished the season 8-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play to finish tied for second with a surprising Columbia squad.
•   The Big Green were the only team to defeat league champion Yale, 28-27, despite trailing 21-0 in the first half. It was the largest deficit overcome in a victory in program history.
•   Both losses came in heartbreaking fashion and by a combined total of eight points against Columbia (22-17) and Harvard (25-22). Dartmouth drove down to the Lion 7 before time expired, while the Crimson overcame an early 14-0 deficit, then needed an interception in the final 1:20 to secure their 14th consecutive win in the series.
•   Dartmouth had its share of nail-biting victories as well, defeating No. 25 Holy Cross in overtime, 27-26, by stopping a 2-point conversion; scoring a touchdown on the game's final play at Penn in a 16-13 triumph; the aforementioned Yale win by capping the comeback with just 34 seconds to play on a touchdown; and interceptions on the final two possessions at Sacred Heart to preserve a 29-26 victory.
•   The wildest game of the year came in the season finale, a 54-44 win in a scoring extravaganza against Princeton. The Green put up 34 points in the fourth quarter — their second-largest total in one period ever — and scored two touchdowns over the game's final second. The first gave Dartmouth the lead, and the second came on a recovered fumble on the ensuing kickoff as time expired.
•   The 44 points for Princeton were the most for a Dartmouth opponent in a Big Green victory.
•   The Green also extended their personal winning streak against Cornell to nine with a 10-0 triumph.

Pro Action
Dartmouth had two former players at NFL preseason camps this year in Charlie Miller '17 and Jack Heneghan '18. Miller, a defensive back, was a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad last year, but was waived on August 11. Heneghan made it through all four preseason games with the San Francisco 49ers before being waived following an 8-for-9 passing performance for 58 yards in the final exhibition contest.
The Big Green boast a pair of players in the CFL, however, in DL Folarin Orimolade '17 and RB Ryder Stone '18. Orimolade has played in six games for the Calgary Stampeders, recording 10 tackles with a pair of sacks and two forced fumbles. Stone has appeared in 11 contests for the Montreal Alouettes, rushing 21 times for 100 yards with a touchdown and catching three passes for 24 more yards. He has also returned 10 kickoffs for 199 yards with a long of 32 (stats through Sept. 12).

High-Profile Hires
Buddy Teevens brought in a few new faces to his staff since last season, including former Harvard receiver Seitu Smith (director of player personnel) and Vaughn Johnson (defensive quality control). But with apologies to those two, there are two others that made bigger splashes.

Last April, the Big Green brought former NFL head coach and Dartmouth wide receiver Dave Shula back into the coaching realm to serve as the wide receivers coach. Shula spent five seasons at the helm of the Cincinnati Bengals, and was the youngest head coach in the league when he was hired at the age of 32 in 1992. He held the program record for receptions (133) when he graduated in 1981, setting single-season marks as a sophomore and again as a senior. After a season in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts primarily as a punt returner, Shula began his coaching career as a member of the Miami Dolphins' staff under his father, Don Shula.

The week prior to the season opener, Teevens announced the hiring of Callie Brownson as the offensive quality control coach, making her the first full-time female coach at the Division I level. Brownson was a running back and free safety for the D.C. Divas in the Women's Football Alliance from 2010-17, serving as a team captain five times and helping the team win national titles in 2015 and '16. She also won gold medals with Team USA Women's Football in Finland in 2013 and Vancouver in 2017. Her coaching experience includes three falls at Mount Vernon High (where she went to school), plus she was a college/professional personnel scouting intern with the New York Jets in the summer of 2017.