Football Jumps Into Ivy Play at Penn on Saturday

Saturday, September 30

Philadelphia, Pa. / Franklin Field

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Penn

Danny Cronin interception against Lehigh, Sept. 23, 2023

Danny Cronin intercepts a Lehigh pass last week, part of a stifling Dartmouth defensive effort.

Photo by: Lisa Schlager Photography

Football Jumps Into Ivy Play at Penn on Saturday

9/28/2023 3:00:00 PM | Football

Saturday Sept. 30 NBC Sports Philadelphia ESPN+ Broadcast International Stream Audio Broadcast Live Stats @DartmouthFTBL Series History Dartmouth Notes

The quest for a 21st Ivy League title begins in Philadelphia

By: Rick Bender

Dartmouth (1-1, 0-0) at Penn (2-0, 0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 | 1 PM
Franklin Field | Philadelphia, Pa.
ESPN+/NBC Sports Philadelphia — Joe Tordy play-by-play, Joe Valerio analyst
Audio — Brett Franklin play-by-play, Matt Corsetti analyst

Conference Play Kicks Off
The battle for a record 21st Ivy League title begins this Saturday as Dartmouth takes on Penn in its first conference test. The Quakers outlasted the Big Green in double overtime in Hanover last year, 23-17, snapping Dartmouth's four-game win streak in the series.

Penn was on the brink of losing the game in regulation, but a 35-yard field goal as time expired knotted the game at 10. After both teams reached the end zone in the first overtime period, the Quakers blocked a Big Green field goal attempt, then clinched the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by Trey Flowers.

Last week, the Big Green picked up a non-conference victory in their home opener, sending Lehigh home with a 34-17 defeat. Dartmouth dominated the ball, holding onto the ball for more than 38 minutes of action. If not for a pair of fumbles, the score would have better reflected how thoroughly the Green dictated play on the field.

Q Jones and Nick Howard provided a good chunk of the ground game, racking up 169 of the team's 216 yards (99 and 70, respectively) as well as a trio of touchdowns. For Howard, it was his 11th career game with at least two touchdowns, second all-time at Dartmouth.

Howard wasn't the only Big Green QB having a good day; Dylan Cadwallader completed 16-of-19 passes for 130 yards and the go-ahead score in the final minute of the half on a perfect 7-yard fade to Paxton Scott in the corner of the end zone. His completion percentage (84.2) is the fifth-best for any Dartmouth quarterback over the past 25 years.

Scott is the team's leading receiver with 13 catches and 164 yards in the first two games and needs just seven more grabs to become the 15th player in program history with 100 receptions in a career. Against Lehigh, nine differenct receivers caught a pass, while Isaac Boston led the squad with 45 yards on his four catches.

The defense was stellar, stifling the Mountain Hawks to just 167 yards of offense on a mere 48 plays. Dartmouth leads the FCS in pass defense and ranks third in total defense, and shut down the Lehigh running game (52 yards on 18 carries).
Strong safety Sean Williams headed up the effort with seven tackles and forced a fumble. Also jarring a ball loose was CB Leonard St. Gourdin, and at just the right time, giving the ball to Dartmouth at the Lehigh 16 that set up a touchdown to extend the lead to 14 in the third quarter. Linebacker Macklin Ayers leads the team with 14 stops, pitching in five to the winning effort last Saturday.

As for special teams, rookie PK Owen Zalc was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for providing 10 points on his first two field goals and 4-of-4 PATs. But the biggest play came from Sam Koscho, who blocked a punt late in the third quarter, leading to a Big Green TD just two plays later for a 31-10 advantage.

Scouting the Quakers
After finishing just a game back in the Ivy League standings a year ago, Penn certianly looks like a team that will challenge for the title in 2023 with wins over Colgate (20-6) and Bucknell (37-21) to start the season.

The offense, averaging nearly 400 yards per game, is led by QB Aidan Sayin. The junior is completing nearly two-thirds of his passes (61-of-92) for 520 yards with five touchdowns but three interceptions as well. He doesn't run often but is averaging about four yards on his seven carries while getting sacked just once.

Jared Richardson has been the league's top receiver through two weeks with 19 catches and three touchdowns, amassing 201 yards along the way. Alex Haight is the second option with nine grabs for 100 yards and a score, and RB Jonathan Mulatu is adept at catching passes out of the backfield.

Speaking of Mulatu, his 17 rushing attempts lead the team, going for 81 yards and a touchdown, while Jacob Cisneros has been even more effective with a 6.5-yard average on 15 carries. As a team, the Quakers rank seventh in the league in rushing yards per game (135.5), relying more heavily on their air attack.

Aside from giving up some late points to Bucknell, the Penn defense has been quite stout, yielding under 250 yards per game and an FCS-best 34.0 per game on the ground. A pair of DL in Joey Slackman and Paul Jennings have anchored the line, combining for 7.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Linebacker Jack Fairman leads the squad with 11 stops, and Shiloh Means and Jaden Key each have a pick.

Punt coverage has been a bit of an issue, ranking last in the league with a 30.7-yard net, though Albert Jang has a long of 52 among his six boots. Graham Gotlieb has a solid leg for place kicking, going 3-of-4 on field goal attempts with a long of 42 and 6-of-7 on PATs.

Ray Priore (Albany '85), in his ninth year (eighth season) as the George A. Munger Head Coach with a record of 44-28, led the Quakers to a share of the conference crown each of his first two seasons. This is his 37th year on the Penn staff, helping secure 10 Ivy titles in 28 seasons as an assistant with his last 16 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach.

McCorkle's First Win
Interim head coach Sammy McCorkle earned his first victory guiding the Big Green with the 34-17 triumph over Lehigh on Sept. 23. It was also the ninth consecutive win in a Big Green home opener, a streak that began with a 35-25 win over Central Connecticut State in 2014.

First Win Over Lehigh in 24 Years
True, the two teams hadn't played since 1999, but Dartmouth's win over the visiting Mountain Hawks was the first in the series for the Big Green since they topped Lehigh, 21-14, during the 10-0 perfect season of 1996. Dartmouth is now 3-5 in the series that began in 1950.

Ivy League Rookie of the Week
Freshman Owen Zalc was recognized by the Ivy League for his performance against Lehigh as the place kicker provided 10 points to the 34-17 victory. He gave Dartmouth a brief 10-7 lead in the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal — the first of his career — and added another three-pointer to cap the Big Green scoring from 25 yards out. Add those to his perfect 4-of-4 on PATs and that adds up to Dartmouth's first Rookie of the Week honor in 11 months (Sean Williams).

Two Touchdowns for Howard
When Nick Howard reaches the end zone in a game, it's a pretty safe bet he will find his way there a second time before the final horn sounds. The fifth-year QB is currently tied for third (with Al Marsters '30 and Nick Schwieger '12) in program history with 26 rushing touchdowns, and 11 times he has had at least two in a game. As a matter of fact, only once has he scored a solitary TD in a game. Only legendary Myles Lane '28 has had more multi-TD games (14) at Dartmouth.

Demoralizing Defense
Dartmouth has made a name for itself over the past decade plus with a stifling defense, and this year seems to be no different. Through two games, the Big Green lead all FCS teams in passing yards allowed per game (91.0 yards per game) and passing efficiency defense (87.90) while also sitting first in the Ivy League and third in the nation in total defense (220.5 yards per game).

99 Rushing Yards on the Wall
Junior Q Jones came up a yard shy of recording his second career 100-yard game on the ground with 99 on 17 carries in the 34-17 win over Lehigh. He is just the third player in the last 38 years to fall just a yard shy of 100 rushing yards in a game. But he does lead the team and rank fifth in the league with 161 yards to his credit.

Fumble Blessed by St. Gourdin
Holding a 17-10 lead in the third quarter, the defense came up with perhaps the most important play of the game as CB Leonard St. Gourdin stripped the ball from a Lehigh ball carrier, allowing DL Ejike Adele to recover it deep in Mountain Hawk territory. From there, the Big Green needed five plays to reach the end zone and double its lead en route to the 34-17 victory.

Dishin' Dylan
Senior QB Dylan Cadwallader had the most efficient game of his career throwing the ball, completing 16-of-19 passes for 130 yards and the season's first touchdown pass, a picture-perfect 7-yard fade to Paxton Scott in the back corner of the end zone. His completion percentage (84.2) is the fifth-best by a Dartmouth QB over the last 25 years.

Koscho and Effect
That's a pretty bad pun, I realize, but I'm running with it. Following the fumble recovery and touchdown in the third quarter, Sam Koscho made sure Lehigh got the message as to which side controlled the game by blocking a punt, giving the Green the ball at the Mountain Hawk 32. Two runs by Q Jones later and Dartmouth suddenly had a commanding 31-10 advantage in the final minute of the third quarter. The block was the first of a punt by a Big Green player since Robert Crockett III rejected a boot in the end zone at Columbia last year in the 27-24 triumph.