Dartmouth Dominates in 30-7 Win Over Brown

Saturday, November 19

Hanover, N.H.

1:30 PM

Dartmouth College

3-7 , 2-5

Brown

3-7 , 1-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Brown

Dartmouth

Nick Howard powers through to the end zone for one of his two touchdowns.

Photo by: Doug Austin

11/19/2022 4:43:00 PM | Football

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The Big Green ran for 296 yards and three touchdowns to end the season on a high note

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — On the strength of a strong ground game and a suffocating defense, the Dartmouth Big Green concluded the 2022 season with a convincing 30-7 victory over visiting Brown on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Field. Quarterback Nick Howard ran for two touchdowns and running back Noah Roper another for Dartmouth (3-7, 2-5 Ivy) while Brown (3-7, 1-6 Ivy) was limited to fewer than 200 total yards and turned the ball over twice on interceptions and another time on downs.

The Big Green amassed nearly 300 rushing yards with Roper leading the way thanks to a season-high 91 on 23 carries. Howard powered his way for a modest 56 yards plus threw for 101 more on 6-of-8 passing. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Proctor, who split time behind center with Howard, added a 64-yard run while running back Q Jones pitched in 44 yards on nine carries, including a 26-yard burst.

On the other side of the ball, linebacker Braden Mullen had three tackles for a loss with a pair of sacks, and cornerback Robert Crockett III and safety Sean Williams each picked off a pass to highlight the smothering effort.

After honoring 37 seniors and fifth-years prior to the game, the team did its best to honor them by taking control right out of the gate. Crockett, a fifth-year senior, plucked a Brown pass out of the air on the third play from scrimmage, giving the Green the ball at the Bears' 38. Although Brown denied Dartmouth when Josh Ofili intercepted a pass in the end zone, it was merely a temporary setback.

Proctor was given the reins of the offense on Dartmouth's second drive and surprised the Bears with a designed run, galloping 64 yards before being corraled at the Brown 16. Four plays later, Howard returned behind center and ran two yards untouched into the end zone for the first points of the day late in the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Roper got around the right edge and ran 9 yards for a touchdown, only to have it called back due to a holding penalty. Dartmouth eventually settled for a 25-yard field goal courtesy of Ryan Bloch, his first of a career-high three on the day.

When Brown went three-and-out, the Big Green covered 72 yards in 14 plays, 13 on the ground and none longer than 10 yards. The one pass was a 24-yard connection from Howard to Jonny Barrett, and three times Dartmouth converted on 3rd-and-short before Howard bulled his way into the end zone on another two yard run for a 17-0 lead.

Not content with that advantage, Bloch successfully pulled off a short kickoff that backed up when it hit the ground, allowing Tyler Green to recover the kick at the Brown 36, bringing the Big Green offense back onto the field. Dartmouth had another touchdown negated by a holding penalty, this time a 9-yard pass from Proctor to tight end Jace Henry, and again Bloch ended up providing a field goal, this time from 31 yards out with 12 seconds before the half. Brown ran one more play before the intermission, just its fourth of the quarter as the Green held the ball for nearly 13 minutes in the period.

The third quarter was more of the same with the Dartmouth offense on the field for more than 10 minutes, though neither team scored. Brown did reach the red zone thanks in large part to a pair of 15-yard penalties, but on 4th-and-2 at the 13, Shane Cokes and Joe Heffernan stuffed the Bear rusher for a 3-yard loss.

Dartmouth took advantage of its second interception, a 31-yard return by freshman safety Sean Williams, and summoned Bloch one more time to provide three points on a 27-yard field goal. And with just under five minutes to play, a 27-yard catch by tight end Joe Kramer set up a Roper 15-yard touchdown run to make it a 30-0 lead.

Brown denied the shutout, however, taking three minutes to cover 75 yards by completing seven passes mixed in with four runs, the last a 2-yard run by Allen Smith for a touchdown.

"It certainly is good to end the season with a win, especially one in which we could give opportunities to so many players to contribute," said Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth's Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach. "We did a much better job of controlling the line on both sides of the ball, and even though we left some points out there because of penalties, our execution overall was much better today."

The Big Green finished the game with 425 total yards, their most since the second game of the season, with 296 on the ground and 129 through the air. On the flip side, the Dartmouth defense yielded just 86 rushing yards and a season-low 99 via the pass for a total of 185. Smith led the Bears with 49 yards on 10 carries, and Michael Walsh was the most successful of three quarterbacks, going 7-of-9 for 57 yards on the final drive.

Notes: Dartmouth ended up with nine penalties for 100 yards, easily season highs for a team that entered the day ninth in the FCS for fewest penalty yards per game … the Big Green have won eight of the last nine meetings with Brown and are 63-32-4 all-time in the 99 games of the series.