Dartmouth Stymied in Second Half in 28-13 Loss to Harvard

Saturday, October 29

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

2-5 , 1-3

Harvard

5-2 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Harvard

Dartmouth

Dylan Cadwallader threw for 212 yards for the Big Green.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Dartmouth Stymied in Second Half in 28-13 Loss to Harvard

10/29/2022 6:11:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score Highlights Postgame Press Conference Wearers of the Green

After playing the Crimson to almost a dead heat in the first half, Dartmouth succumbed to its homecoming opponent

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — After a very even first half of football, Dartmouth could not keep up with visiting Harvard during the Big Green's homecoming game at Memorial Field in front of 8,735 fans as the Crimson (5-2, 3-1 Ivy) pulled away for a 28-13 victory. Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) suffered its first loss to Harvard since 2017 and its first homecoming defeat since 2016.

At the half, the Crimson had the slimmest of edges both on the scoreboard (14-13) and in total yardage (201-197). But Harvard took control after the intermission, piling up 251 more yards while limiting its host to 107, including a mere 10 in the third quarter.

Big Green quarterback Dylan Cadwallader threw for 212 yards on 19-of-32 passes, including six throws to Paxton Scott for 77 yards to lead the receiving corps. The rushing game was limited to 90 yards on 25 carries, however, led by quarterback Nick Howard who picked up 46 yards on eight rushes with a touchdown, while running back Zack Bair ran for the team's other score.

"We had a great crowd and great weather, and although we competed all afternoon, we simply didn't make enough plays against a good Harvard team," said Buddy Teevens, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach at Dartmouth. "We were right with them throughout the first half, but we had difficulty getting them off the field in the second half, and that proved to be the difference."

Harvard running back Aidan Borguet was the star of the game, taking the handoff 26 times to pile up 179 of the Crimson's 257 yards on the ground while scoring two touchdowns. Reserved quarterback Luke Emge provided a solid performance, connecting on 11-of-17 throws for 195 yards and the game's first touchdown, a 34-yard scoring strike to Kym Wimberly midway through the first quarter, his first of two scores on the day.

In the second quarter, Dartmouth knotted the score on an eight-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run by Howard, his seventh touchdown of the year and 22nd of his career. The drive began on a 44-yard bomb to wideout Jamal Cooney, and Howard picked up a tough first down on 3rd-and-12 with a run to the 1 before punching it in. Ryan Bloch tied the game at seven with his PAT.

The Crimson essentially copied that drive in response, starting with a 41-yard connection from Emge to Ledger Hatch. A pass interference penalty came into play, but after Borguet converted a 4th-and-1 with a 2-yard gain to the Big Green 9, Wimberly took an end around in for the go-ahead touchdown.

Again Dartmouth responded, utilizing its two-quarterback system by shuttling Cadwallader and Howard in and out during a drive that lasted over six minutes. Howard ran for 15 yards on a 3rd-and-3 play, Cadwallader threw for 13 on a 3rd-and-12, and eventually Bair burrowed four yards to culminate the methodical drive for his second touchdown of the season with 3:34 remaining in the half. But instead of tying the score at 14, Dartmouth remained a point behind when Truman Jones blocked the extra-point attempt.

A pair of three-and-outs for Dartmouth in the third quarter allowed Harvard to build upon its lead when Borguet ran across the goal line from 12 yards out. He also had a 22-yard gallop earlier in the possession and the drive was kept alive by a 23-yard pass to Tyler Neville on a third-down play.

The next time the Crimson had the ball, they had a decision to make facing 4th-and-4 at the Big Green 34, and that decision was to go for it. But safety Quinten Arello read the pass and intercepted it with just under a minute left in the third quarter, shifting momentum Dartmouth's way. Although the Green picked up their first down of the second half without the aid of a penalty on the first play of the fourth quarter, that was all the offense could muster before Davis Golick punted for the sixth time on the afternoon.

Harvard covered 86 yards on a 6-yard pass followed by eight rushes against a seemingly worn out Dartmouth defense. For his final run of the day, Borguet weaved his way 21 yards to the end zone with 8:37 to play for a 28-13 lead.

Needing two touchdowns and a two-point conversion, Dartmouth could not settle for a field goal. Cadwallader drove the Big Green down to the Crimson 30 before his fourth-down pass slipped through the hands of his receiver with 4:39 to play, essentially ending any hopes of a comeback. Dartmouth did get one last chance to add to its total, but a Hail Mary on the game's final play was intercepted in the end zone by Victor Tademy.

Linebacker Joe Heffernan led the Dartmouth defense with 12 tackles while nickelback Seth Verilus and lineman Shane Cokes each had a sack. The Big Green offensive line did well in protecting their quarterbacks as well by not yielding one sack against a defense tied for the league lead in that category.

Dartmouth will tackle the difficult task of taking on undefeated and 22nd-ranked Princeton (7-0, 4-0 Ivy) on the road next Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and a free audio broadcast featuring Brett Franklin and Matt Corsetti on the call will be available on the official Dartmouth Sports website and app.

Notes: Dartmouth dropped to 48-72-5 against Harvard in their all-time series … this was the first game in the series since 2014 that wasn't decided by seven points or fewer … Big Green wide receiver Jackson Gerard caught his first career pass late in the game, an 11-yard gain.