Rematch Goes to Dartmouth in 27-10 Win at Yankee Stadium

Saturday, November 9

Bronx, N.Y.

3:30 PM

Dartmouth College

8-0 , 5-0

Princeton

7-1 , 4-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Princeton

Dartmouth

The team sings the alma mater after its big win at Yankee Stadium.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Rematch Goes to Dartmouth in 27-10 Win at Yankee Stadium

11/9/2019 6:35:00 PM | Football

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Stout defense and strong ground game avenges last year's loss to Princeton

By: Rick Bender

BRONX, N.Y. — In the battle of the Ivy League undefeateds, Dartmouth got a stellar defensive effort coupled with a strong ground game to avenge last year's loss to Princeton in a 27-10 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Quarterback Jared Gerbino ran for two touchdowns and defensive end Niko Lalos returned an interception 22 yards for another as the Big Green (8-0, 5-0 Ivy) took the lead in the Ivy League standings while winning their 10th straight and 20th of their last 21.

The two teams matched up last year in the same scenario, but Princeton emerged victorious on its home field, 14-9, en route to a perfect 10-0 campaign while Dartmouth was forced to settle for second place in the Ivy League standings. The Big Green would not be denied the inside track on the conference crown for a second straight year.

Princeton (7-1, 4-1 Ivy), which had its 17-game win streak come to an end, entered the game ranked among the top 10 in the FCS in both scoring and total yards but was limited to just 10 points and barely half (246) of its average yardage output (470.1). Most of those yards came through the air as quarterback Kevin Davidson completed 26-of-43 throws for 210 yards and a touchdown but was picked off twice. The Dartmouth defense completely shut down the running game, giving up a mere 36 on 20 carries.

The Big Green offense, meanwhile, racked up 225 rushing yards and controlled the clock in the second half to grind out the victory. Gerbino, playing through a lingering injury suffered last week at Harvard, kept the snap 16 times for 97 of those yards, a season high, and senior Caylin Parker pounded out 63 on 17 carries.

Dartmouth took advantage of its two interceptions in the first half to put touchdowns on the board after each, starting with Lalos' pick-six little more than six minutes into the game. The Tigers threatened to answer, only to have safety Ryan Roegge strip the ball free from a receiver at the Big Green 6, claiming it for his own.

Early in the second quarter, cornerback Isiah Swann, a 2018 All-American, picked off his 15th career pass (extending his Dartmouth record) in the second quarter. Seven running plays later, Gerbino waltzed into the end zone from a yard out to cap the 31-yard drive for a 14-0 lead.

After Connor Davis booted a 33-yard field goal with 4:09 left in the half, the Green got another scoring opportunity when Darren Stanley broke up a pass — one of four on the day for the junior — on fourth down to give Dartmouth the ball at midfield with just under two minutes left. But a fumbled handoff gave the ball back to the Tigers, allowing them to find their way to the end zone with nine seconds showing on the clock. Davidson put the points on the board with a 3-yard strike to tight end Graham Adomitis, cutting its deficit to 10 at the break, 17-7.

Dartmouth did not let that score affect the momentum of the game thanks to another Davis field goal to start the second half, this time from 42 yards with just enough on it to sneak over the crossbar and inside the right upright.

The Tigers answered with a 28-yard Tavish Rice field goal, but Dartmouth boosted its lead back to 17 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Gerbino broke free from the line along the Big Green sideline and sprinted 21 yards to the end zone for the game's final score.

Three times in the fourth quarter Princeton eschewed the punt, electing to go for it on fourth down. The Tigers picked up the 7 yards they needed on the first attempt, but the next two were denied by the Dartmouth defense. Swann broke up a short pass on 4th-and-2 with 11:21 to play, and senior nose guard David Chalmers stuffed a runner on 4th-and-1 six minutes later. The Green twice converted on third down to allow them to run off the final 5:02 of the game with just seven runs.

Linebacker Jack Traynor led Dartmouth with 10 tackles while safety Niko Mermigas added nine more. The Big Green broke up nine Princeton passes on the day and sacked Davidson three times, two courtesy of linebacker Ross Andreasik for a total loss of 16 yards. The other sack went for a 9-yard loss by Lalos, who stuffed the stat sheet with that sack and another tackle, his pick-six, two quarterback hurries and two passes batted at the line.

Next Saturday, Dartmouth returns to Hanover for its final home game of the season when it hosts Cornell (2-6, 1-4 Ivy), who is coming off a 21-20 defeat at Penn today. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. with Tyler Murray and Matt Goldstein on the call, while a free audio broadcast will be available through DartmouthSports.com featuring Brett Franklin and Wayne Young '72 describing the action.

Notes: Dartmouth is 16-12-3 all-time when playing at a professional stadium, but this was its first game every at Yankee Stadium … this was the Big Green's second game at a baseball stadium in the last three years, beating Brown, 33-10, at Fenway Park in 2017 … it was also the 200th college football game played at all iterations of Yankee Stadium … the win was the 104th for Buddy Teevens, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, tying him with his position's namesake for the most ever with the Green … over the last 18 games, Princeton is 16-2 and Dartmouth 17-1 with their only losses coming against each other … Gerbino now has 1,494 career rushing yards, tying him with Dalyn Williams '16 for the most by a Big Green quarterback … he also has 21 rushing touchdowns in his career, tying him for fifth in Dartmouth lore … Traynor boosted his career tackle total to 254, the most for a Big Green defender in the last decade.