Non-Conference Win Streak Comes to an End in Overtime

Saturday, September 24

Fairfield, Conn. / Campus Field

2:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-1 , 0-0

Sacred Heart

2-2 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Dartmouth

Sacred Heart

Nick Howard piled up a career-high 186 rushing yards at Sacred Heart.

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Non-Conference Win Streak Comes to an End in Overtime

9/24/2022 6:03:00 PM | Football

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Big rushing day goes for naught in 38-31 defeat at Sacred Heart

By: Rick Bender

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Dartmouth quarterback Nick Howard ran for a career-high 186 yards and topped 1,000 for his career, but Sacred Heart rallied from an 18-point deficit to thrill its homecoming crowd of 6,293 at Campus Field with a 38-31 victory in overtime over the Big Green on Saturday afternoon. Malik Grant ran for the game-winning touchdown in the extra period and Ernest Howard intercepted a fourth-down pass from the 5 to snap Dartmouth's 20-game winning streak in non-conference games.

After falling behind 21-3 in the first quarter, Sacred Heart (2-2) tied the game with 2:07 remaining in regulation when Grant burrowed his way through the line for a 1-yard touchdown. That was enough time for Dartmouth (1-1), armed with all three of its timeouts, to navigate its way downfield, but the Pioneers' Howard dropped a ball carrier for a 4-yard loss on third-and-3 near midfield, forcing the Big Green to punt and take the game into overtime.

In the extra period, SHU got the ball first and reached the end zone in six plays as Grant, who finished with 103 yards on 20 carries, scored from two yards out for his third touchdown of the game. Dartmouth called up Nick Howard's number on six straight runs, taking the Green down to the 5-yard line facing a 4th-and-2. The play-action pass was swarmed by the Pioneer defense, and Howard attempted an off-balance throw that his namesake on the other side snared and went to the turf to end the game.

"We got off to a great start and had chances to put them away, but we simply could not get them off the field," said Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth's Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach. "We did not tackle well today and that proved to be very costly. Credit to Sacred Heart for its execution, but we let too many opportunities slip away today."

Sophomore Q Jones joined Howard with a big day on the ground, topping 100 yards for the first time in his young career with 158 on 12 carries as the Big Green piled up 393 rushing yards on the day. The duo are the first Dartmouth teammates to top 150 yards in the same game, and their 344 yards are the most by two Big Green teammates as well.

Dartmouth looked like it might run away with the game — literally — in the first quarter as it opened up that 18-point lead. After a third-down sack by linebackers Joe Heffernan and Trevon Erickson (the first of four on the day) forced the Pioneers to punt on the first possession of the game, Jones took the handoff on the Big Green's fourth play, swung around the right end and sprinted 68 yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown.

After junior cornerback Tyron Herring picked off a Sacred Heart pass on the first play of the ensuing drive, it took Dartmouth just three more plays to double its advantage on a 30-yard run by Howard.

The Pioneers parlayed a 47-yard punt return into three points thanks to Sam Renzi's 35-yard field goal, his first of the season. The Big Green response was swift, however, as Jones came around the left side for a 40-yard gain and Howard followed by dropping a beautiful pass to wide receiver Jonny Barrett near the goal line. The senior fell into the end zone as he secured the throw for the 35-yard score with 1:20 still remaining in the opening quarter.

But Sacred Heart was not going to simply lay down with its raucous homecoming crowd on hand. Quarterback Marquez McCray, who completed 31-of-36 throws for 274 yards, guided the Pioneer offense 71 yards in seven plays, finishing off the drive on a 3-yard keeper into the end zone. And with a bit more than a minute remaining in the half, SHU covered 72 yards, culminating with a 4-yard pass to Rob DiNota, closing the gap to 21-17. The Pioneers even had one more shot at putting points on the board before the intermission, but McCray's 45-yard heave to the end zone fell incomplete as the half ended.

Dartmouth received the kickoff to start the second half, and again it appeared to take control, quickly traversing 75 yards in a mere six plays. Howard completed a 19-yard pass to tight end Joe Kramer, then ripped off runs of 18 and 20 yards, the latter taking him across the goal line for his second touchdown. Following a 21-yard punt return by senior Jamal Cooney into SHU territory, the Green got as far as the 4-yard line before settling for senior Ryan Bloch's first career field goal as he split the uprights from 25 yards out.

The last 5:34 of the third quarter elapsed with Sacred Heart methodically marching 69 yards over a dozen plays, the longest two of which went for 10 yards. The second of those pickups was a Grant scamper up the middle for his first score, whittling the Pioneer deficit to seven at 31-24.

Howard was intercepted early in the fourth quarter when his third-down pass was tipped into the air and snagged by John Wood. But the Dartmouth defense was up to the task thanks to consecutive sacks by Erickson and sophomore Braden Mullen, and Renzi misfired on a 37-yard field goal attempt. A holding penalty sabotaged the next Big Green possession, but sophomore Davis Golick sent SHU back with a 43-yard punt that was downed at the 12.

But the Pioneers were up to the task, gobbling up 65 yards on a pair of passes to advance to the Dartmouth 5. Three plays later, Grant found his way into the end zone to set up the game's fateful finish.

Dartmouth amassed 513 total yards as Howard was 8-of-16 passing for 120 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Jones was the Big Green's leading receiver, hauling in three throws for 31 yards.

Junior linebacker Macklin Ayers and senior safety Quinten Arello led the Dartmouth defense with career highs of 12 and 10 tackles, respectively.

Dartmouth returns home next week to host Penn (2-0) on Friday, Sept. 30 in the Ivy League opener for both teams. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU at 7 p.m., and Big Green fans can also tune into the audio broadcast featuring Brett Franklin and Wayne Young '72 through either the official website of Dartmouth Athletics, DartmouthSports.com, or the Dartmouth Sports app.

Notes: Howard finished the day with 1,049 rushing yards in his career, becoming the 30th player in program history to reach the milestone … fifth-year senior Zack Bair isn't far behind Howard, needing just 51 more yards to join the illustrious group … the 393 rushing yards are the most for Dartmouth in 31 years and fourth most over the last 53 years … this was just the Big Green's third loss since 1969 when running for at least 250 yards in a game (74-3) … Dartmouth is now 6-7 in overtime games … Jones' 13.2-yard average per carry is the second-highest in program history (minimum 10 rushes) barely behind Howard's 13.2 against Cornell last year (13 carries, 172 yards) … Howard has run for 10 touchdowns in his last four games dating back to last season, the most for any Big Green player in a four-game stretch … the Big Green had not lost when scoring at least 30 points since a four-overtime, 37-31 defeat at Penn in 2013.