Big Green Take Ivy Leader Down to the Wire in 17-14 Defeat

Saturday, November 5

Princeton, N.J. / Princeton Stadium

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-6 , 1-4

Princeton

8-0 , 5-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Dartmouth

Princeton

Jace Henry finds the hole on his touchdown run

Photo by: Bob Koch

Big Green Take Ivy Leader Down to the Wire in 17-14 Defeat

11/5/2022 3:52:00 PM | Football

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Dartmouth just missed recovering an onside kick in the final seconds

By: Rick Bender

PRINCETON, N.J. — Back-up quarterback Jackson Proctor guided Dartmouth 78 yards for a touchdown in the final minutes, but the ensuing onside kick was covered up by host Princeton as the No. 17 Tigers (8-0, 5-0 Ivy) survived a 17-14 contest with the Big Green (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) on Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium.

Proctor was called upon after Dylan Cadwallader was sacked on third-down during Dartmouth's penultimate drive, and the sophomore demonstrated his athleticism and creativity in running the two-minute offense. On two of his first three plays, he scrambled for a total of 25 yards for a pair of first downs, then connected on a third-down throw to Jarmone Sutherland while on the run to move the chains. On two other occasions, he escaped pressure and completed shovel passes, and he also threw a strike to running back Noah Roper on a 4th-and-2 play to keep the drive alive.

What a drive with Jackson Proctor guiding the offense, finishes it off with this touchdown pass to Paxton Scott! Time for an onside kick, Big Green down just 3, watch on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/llbB6MEmwH pic.twitter.com/C5RbH6IJKc
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) November 5, 2022

On Proctor's final play, he threw an 8-yard touchdown toss to Paxton Scott to close the Dartmouth deficit to 17-14 with just 17 seconds remaining. Ryan Bloch's onside kick was a good one straight ahead, but Zack Bair was just beaten to the ball at midfield by Dawson De Iuliis, and Princeton was able to kneel down to let the clock expire with its 10th straight victory dating back to last season.

Both of the Tigers' touchdowns came on their first two possessions of the game as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead. A 17-yard sack on the Big Green's opening drive led to Princeton starting with a short field, and four plays later Ja'Derris Carr scored on a four-yard run. Another three-and-out was followed by a more methodical Tiger drive, traversing 63 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 6-yard keeper by quarterback Blake Stenstrom for a 14-0 lead barely 10 minutes into the contest.

It took a 20-yard run by Bair on Dartmouth's next play to jump-start the offense, and after a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Jonny Barrett and a 25-yard toss to tight end Jace Henry, the Green were knocking on the door of the Princeton end zone. Without the services of quarterback and leading rusher Nick Howard, the 6-4, 250-pound Henry took the snap and rumbled 6 yards across the goal line for his second rushing touchdown of the season. Ryan Bloch provided the PAT to make it a 14-7 deficit with 1:14 still to go in the opening quarter.

After the teams traded punts, Princeton threatened to extend its lead, driving down to the Big Green 12. But on 1st-and-10 play, Ryan Butler fumbled a pitch and linebacker Joe Heffernan, who finished the game with a career-high 15 tackles, covered up the ball to keep Dartmouth within a touchdown.

The Tigers did manage to add points on the scoreboard before the half ended, however, driving down to the Big Green 6 this time. But nickelback Seth Verilus (career-high 11 tackles) and safety Quinten Arello each broke up a pass, forcing Princeton to settle for a 23-yard field goal shortly before the intermission.

Yep, that's @k1ngj05 lining up at QB and rumbling into the end zone from 6 yards out! First quarter closing, watch the game on @ESPNPlus: https://t.co/llbB6MEmwH pic.twitter.com/cYfOcI2YrT
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) November 5, 2022

Princeton received the kick to start the second half and marched down into the red zone, only to be stopped on 4th-and-5 at the Dartmouth 13 thanks to Leonard St. Gourdin's tackle of receiver Andrei Iosivas a yard shy of the marker. The Big Green then had their own scoring opportunity, thanks in part to a pair of 15-yard penalties on the Tiger defense. But a 32-yard field goal attempt slipped wide of the right upright with 4:35 left in the third quarter, and the score remained 17-7.

The Dartmouth defense continued to frustrate its host, forcing a punt from the Tiger 37, only to have the line-drive kick be covered up at the Big Green 9. Cadwallader, who was a solid 14-of-20 throwing the ball for 144 yards, pushed the offense into enemy territory before a 14-yard sack led to a Dartmouth punt that settled at the Tiger 20.

While the defense denied Princeton once more, the Tigers were able to keep the ball for almost nine full minutes. On 4th-and-17, Princeton pulled a fake field goal that was sniffed out and gave the Green the ball at their own 22 with 2:46 to play, giving Proctor his opportunity.

Dartmouth posted 256 yards of offense, 190 through the air, as Proctor added 46 yards on 7-of-10 throws to Cadwallader's total. Scott was the leading receiver with five grabs for 34 yards and his second touchdown catch of the year, while Henry caught two tosses for 51 yards.

Stenstrom finished the game completing 31-of-40 passes for 264 yards but nary a touchdown, while Dylan Classi caught eight of those heaves for 107 yards. Butler was the Tigers' leading rusher with 62 yards on 20 carries and the lone turnover of the game as Princeton posted 376 total yards and held the ball for more than 36 minutes.

Dartmouth travels to upstate New York next Saturday, Nov. 12 to take on Cornell (4-4, 1-4 Ivy) 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: Three of Dartmouth's four Ivy losses this season have been by one score, including two that went into overtime … Princeton entered the game leading the FCS in turnover margin and did not force a single Big Green miscue … the last Tiger loss was against the Big Green in Hanover last year by a 31-7 score … Dartmouth still owns the lead in the all-time series with Princeton at 51-46-4.