Big Green Look to Continue Success in Non-Conference Games

Dartmouth (1-0) at Sacred Heart (1-2)
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 | 2 PM | NEC Front Row
Campus Field | Fairfield, Conn.

Twenty in a Row and Counting
You have to go back eight years for the last time Dartmouth suffered a defeat at the hands of a non-conference opponent. After knocking off Valparaiso in the 2022 season opener, 35-13, the Big Green have won 20 such games consecutively with Sacred Heart standing in the way of stretching the streak to 21, the longest in the FCS.

Last week's victory was also the 12th straight season-opening triumph for Dartmouth, with an average margin of victory of exactly 20 points. No other FCS team has a longer active win streak in season openers.

And how did the Big Green beat the Beacons? A strong running game and improving defense throughout the game. Dartmouth posted 308 yards on the ground — including a career-high 169 by RB Zack Bair on just 16 carries — and five rushing touchdowns. QB Nick Howard scored on a pair of 1-yard runs to start the scoring, RB Noah Roper scampered in from 8 yards out, Bair from 5 and TE/QB Jace Henry from the 1 in the final minute of action.

Howard, given the reins of the offense full-time this year, was behind center until the final two offensive plays. But he truly only dipped his toes into a larger passing role without taking the full plunge. The senior finished the afternoon 8-of-10 throwing the ball for a modest 85 yards, nearly half of which came on a 42-yard bomb to Henry.

Valparaiso did help the Big Green offense a number of times with quite a few penalties — 11 to be exact, seven of which gave Dartmouth a first down (a program record). And while the Big Green should not expect that kind of assistance going forward, Sacred Heart ranks dead last in the FCS in penalty yards per game (110.3), almost exactly the yards the Beacons gave up (113).

The defense, on the other hand, had quite a few new names filling the stat sheet, led by LB Macklin Ayers with 11 tackles after entering the game with six to his name. The lone sack recorded on the day belonged to one of the few experienced veterans on the field in DE Shane Cokes, while S Cam Maddox had a series for the ages with three tackles and a pass breakup on four consecutive plays inside the Big Green 10 early in the fourth quarter to preserve a 28-13 lead.

Overall, Dartmouth held Valparaiso to just 67 rushing yards and 263 on the day, leaving the defensive unit in the top 10 nationally against the run and in total defense, not to mention scoring defense Yes, there is a long way to go, but it's still a strong start for the group that lost eight starters from the 2021 squad.

The kicking game was under a bit of scrutiny with PK Ryan Bloch, who was brought back out of "retirement," handling the place kicking duties. The senior converted all five PAT attempts and gave different looks on his kickoffs, though one was returned into Dartmouth territory. P Davis Golick was called upon just twice and dropped one boot at the 20 and another at the 10 with no returns.

Last year, Dartmouth easily handled the Pioneers in Hanover, rudely sending them away with a 41-3 defeat. While the Big Green have trounced Sacred Heart in three of the last four meetings, all three of those came at Memorial Field. They have found navigating Campus Field a little more difficult in their two trips to Fairfield. The Pioneers won the first showdown on their home field back in 2011 by a field goal, 24-21, and Dartmouth returned the favor in 2017, 29-26. But it was thanks to two Emory Thompson touchdowns in the final 20 minutes to rally from a 12-point deficit.

Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart is coming off an NEC championship season, but the team is still getting its bearings. The Pioneers have scored just 23 points in their first three games, though they did manage to win its first league showdown against Central Connecticut State, 14-10.

The adrenaline will be flowing throughout the Sacred Heart roste for this is not only its first home game this season, but also homecoming for the Pioneers. And they would like nothing more than to get All-American Malik Grant on track. The running back is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry and 56.0 yards per game just one year after picking 5.6 yards per carry and 112.3 per game.

Quarterback Marquez McCray is back behind center once again this season and has completed 52-of-92 passes for 464 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Rob DiNota leads the receiving corps with 14 catches and 161 yards while Troy Holland has the lone scoring snag. Grant is an adept pass catcher out of the backfield as well with seven hauls for 52 yards.

While the offense has struggled thus far, the defense has been quite stingy, yielding a mere 13.3 points per game, ninth in the country and just behind the Big Green's 13.0 ppg.

No team in the FCS has been better against the pass as the Pioneers' opponents have thrown for fewer than 85 yards a game, the exact total Dartmouth amassed in its season opener. Linebacker Ernest Howard has been the most active with 24 tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Of the seven team sacks, two have been provided by DE Howard Powell, and five different players have an interception.

Andrew Ryczek is a solid punter, averaging 37.2 yards per punt, and Sam Renzi hasn't had much to do as a place kicker, going 3-for-3 on PATs and missing his lone field goal attempt. Be on the lookout for a mad dash on the punter; Sacred Heart has blocked two punts already this year.

Mark Nofri (Keene State '93) is in his 11th season as the Pioneers' head coach, sporting a 63-49 record. Three times he has guided Sacred Heart to the FCS playoffs, most recently this past spring after tying for the Northeast Conference title. That accomplishment garnered him the league's Coach of the Year award for the fourth time in his career.

Win Streak Remains Intact
Dartmouth continued to roll against teams outside the Ivy League, winning its 20th straight non-conference game by defeating visiting Valparaiso on Sept. 17, 35-13. The win streak dates back to the 2014 season, beginning with a 24-21 victory over Holy Cross. This is the longest such win streak for the Big Green during the Ivy League era that began in 1956 as well as the longest current one among FCS schools. You would have to go back to the 1922-28 seasons to find a longer win streak against teams that did not eventually form the Ivy league (26).

In addition, Dartmouth also won its 12th consecutive season opener, giving the team the longest current streak of success on opening day among FCS teams. But the Big Green have a ways to go to match the school record of 49 straight season-opening triumphs, dating between 1895 and 1943.

Bair Necessity
Fifth-year senior Zack Bair got off to a quick start to the 2022 season by rushing for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries to help Dartmouth defeat Valparaiso, 35-13. His 10.6-yard average per carry was just shy of the program record of 10.8 set in 1949 by Bill Roberts (minimum 15 carries). It was also just the second 100-yard game of Bair's career, the other coming last year against this week's opponent, Sacred Heart (103). And the 169 yards are the most by a Big Green player since … Nick Howard had 172 in the penultimate game of the 2021 campaign, so really not that long ago. And Bair's 169 all-purpose yards are a also a career-high.

Five Alive
All of Dartmouth's scoring in its 35-13 victory over Valparaiso came on the ground with five rushing touchdowns — two by Nick Howard, and one each by Noah Roper, Zack Bair and Jace Henry (the first of Henry's career). No Big Green team has had more than five touchdown runs in a game since six were scored against Columbia 40 years ago in a 56-41 victory. Since the start of the 1969 season, Dartmouth has had at least four TD rushes in a game 44 times and not lost once. If you go to three scoring scampers, the Green are 99-9 in those games. And in the last three games dating back to last season, Dartmouth has 14 touchdowns on the ground, its most in any three-game span (also since at least 1969).

Getting Defensive
Dartmouth has been one of the top defensive teams in the FCS over the past few seasons, ranking among the top three in fewest points allowed in the Big Green's last three campaigns. Even with graduating eight starters from last year's squad, Dartmouth picked up where it left off, yielding just 13 points in the victory over Valparaiso. Linebacker Macklin Ayers led the effort with a career-high 11 tackles (nearly double his career total entering the game), and DE Shane Cokes added the lone sack of the afternoon in limiting the Beacons to 263 total yards. Both the points and yards put the Green among the top 10 stingiest squads in the country once again.

Approaching 1,000
This week, both Zack Bair and Nick Howard have a chance of becoming the 30th Big Green player to rush for 1,000 career yards. Who will get there first? Bair shot past Howard last week with his 169 yards to boost his total to 895, while Howard collected 57 to end the day with 863. Last year, Bair ran for 103 yards against the Pioneers while Howard had 154, the last time Big Green teammates topped 100 in the same game.

That's Another First Down
The Valparaiso players let frustration get the better of themselves at times during Dartmouth's 35-13 win on Sept. 17. The Beacons were whistled for 11 penalties that gave the Green a first down seven times. Dartmouth had never had more than five first downs thanks to penalties previously.

No Blocking Bloch
Reserve kicker Ryan Bloch decided to leave the team after last season only to be beckoned back by Buddy Teevens with the team in need of some kickers. Good thing Bloch answered the call with Zach Drescher hurt and unavailable for the season opener. The senior booted all five PAT attempts and handled kickoff duties to help the Big Green win their season opener over Valparaiso, 35-13.

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