HANOVER, N.H.--Vampires, fairy princesses and Monica Lewinskys aside, the award for best Halloween costume goes to the Big Green, which showed up for its meeting with Harvard dressed as a football team. HARVARD 20 DARTMOUTH 7
The Crimson (4-3, 3-1 lvy) bounced Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3 lvy) from the League title race, limiting the Big Green's anemic offense to 225 yards, just 50 of those on the ground. The defense collected seven sacks and three takeaways to pace a 20-7 rout Saturday afternoon at Dartmouth's Memorial Stadium.
Junior running back Chris Menick posted his fourth 100-yard effort in six starts, gaining 104 yards on 31 carries, and scored both Crimson touchdowns as Harvard (4-3, 3-1 lvy) won its fourth straight and remained tied atop the lvy standings with Penn and Princeton.
"We can't relax," said Harvard Coach Tim Murphy. "We're becoming a very, very solid football team. Last year, by comparison though, at times we were a dominant football team. We play very hard and we don't ever have the luxury of relaxing."
Junior quarterback Rich Linden continued to improve, completing 13-of-24 passes for 181 yards, and has not thrown an interception since the 21-17 loss to Lehigh in Week Three.
Linden eschewed the big-play pass but distributed a number of short- and mid-range routes among six different receivers, with wideouts Josh Wilske (six catches, 53 yards) and Jake Heller (three catches, 52 yards) leading the way.
But the real story on this overcast, blustery New Hampshire afternoon was the imposing play of the Crimson defense, in particular the front seven.
Junior tackle Chris Nowinski was in the Dartmouth backfield all afternoon, collecting a career-high four sacks and six tackles, while captain Brendan Bibro added six tackles and a sack of his own.
"They handled us up front," said Dartmouth Coach John Lyons. "Very similar to last year, the defensive line just whipped us up front."
Harvard opened the scoring with a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive on the game's first series.
Sophomore running back Chuck Nwokocha handled the opening kickoff at the Harvard 5-yard line, turned and faked a reverse handoff, then burned it up the right sideline for a 36-yard pickup.
The reverse handoff was the same trick play freshman cornerback Willie Alford took for a 58-yard kickoff return last week against Princeton.
Linden and Menick then authored a surgically precise drive that culminated in Menick's two-yard touchdown Menick carried six times for 31 yards on thedrive, including a 12-yard gain on third-and-onefrom the Dartmouth 37 off an option-pitch right. Linden completed passes of nine yards tosophomore fullback Chris Stakich and 11 yards toWilske to move the drive. "It's pretty much the same thing, we get in ahole early," Lyons said. "They took the firstdrive and went right down the field on us, theywent up on us." Murphy gave backup quarterback Brad Wilford oneseries at the end of the first quarter, apparentlyto keep him fresh after the junior had sat theentire game against Princeton. Wilford displayed his usual zip, slingingfastballs for 12 yards to Wilske and 13 yards toMenick to go 2-for-4 before the drive stalled. The 7-0 lead held for most of the first half,as the Crimson defense stifled any chances at aDartmouth rally. The Big Green, which averagedonly 2.0 yards per rush entering Saturday's game,netted a pitiful 24 yards on 22 rushing playsthrough two quarters. Tailback Reggie Belhomme, who averaged 3.0yards-per-carry coming in, carried eight times for23 yards and never succeeded in establishing alegitimate rushing threat. "The key to today was stopping the run firstand foremost," Nowinski said. "Once they starteddropping back to pass, we wanted to get pressureon the quarterback, and fortunately we were ableto do that." The offensive woes even prompted Lyons toswitch quarterbacks, giving freshman blue-chipperBrian Mann two series in relief of senior MikeCoffey. Neither was effective in the first half,as Coffey was 8-of-10 for just 59 yards and Mann0-for-3. Harvard upped its lead to 10-0 on a bizarresequence that came at the end of the half andbegan when the Big Green sinned on special teams. Punting on fourth-and-11 from the Dartmouth45-yard line, junior Wayne Schlobohm handled a lowsnap on one bounce but felt he did not have enoughtime to get off a kick. Schlobohm rolled to his left and ran five yardsupfield, but before junior defensive back MikeMadden could close for the tackle, the ball poppedfree from Schlobohm's hands, and junior linebackerJeff Svicarovich recovered at the Dartmouth32-yard line with 41 seconds left in the half. After a penalty pushed the Crimson into afirst-and-24 at the Dartmouth 46, Linden connectedwith Wilske on a 21-yard post pattern and withMenick for nine yards on a screen pass right. With three seconds remaining, juniorplacekicker Mike Giampaolo punched through a34-yard field goal that gasped and wheezed as itcleared the crossbar. "It was kind of back and forth until we bobbleda punt there, gave them an opportunity, and theykicked a field goal right before the half," Lyonssaid. More Halloween spookiness allowed the Crimsonto post a backbreaking touchdown with 9:10remaining in the third quarter when junior flankerTerence Patterson's miraculous 32-yard receptionset up Menick's second touch down of theafternoon. On a second-and-three from the Dartmouth 37,Patterson ran a long post down the middle of thefield, but Linden overthrew him at the Dartmouth10. Sophomore safety Brad Eissler corralled theinterception across his body, but lost control ashe landed. The ball popped up in midair where Patterson,still on top of the play, grabbed it and rolledforward to the Dartmouth five-yard-line. "We actually had scripted the hard post allweek," Patterson said. "Initially I was thinkingdive for the ball, then I saw the pick and I juststayed with it, I was still on the run but Imanaged to stay with it, and I made a great play. "I think the guy actually intercepted the ball,but it may have bounced off his chest, and then itwas right into my hands. I was just in the rightplace at the right time." Menick pounded a sweep right into the end zoneon the next play, and Harvard opened its advantageto 17-0. Giampaolo kicked a 43-yard field goal, whichequaled his career high, on the ensuing possessionto post a 20-0 lead with 4:09 remaining in thethird. The Crimson shifted to a prevent scheme for theremainder of the game, allowing the Big Green tomove the football with far greater effectivenessthan it had all game. Despite letting up 130 yards in the fourth(after holding Dartmouth to 12 yards on 15 playsin the third), Harvard's defense was able togenerate two interceptions to maintain itscomfortable lead. Junior safety Aron Natale picked off Coffeywith 10:38 remaining in the game in a first-and-10situation at the Harvard 33-yard line. Coffeyrolled right and tossed a ball intended for seniorwideout Forest Wester, but Natale stepped in frontat the 16-yard line to stop the drive. With Mann back in at quarterback, the Big Greenwas able to post its first touchdown againstHarvard since 1995, a six-yard lob to fullback BobBunn in the right corner of the end zone with 8:01remaining. But senior safety Derek Yankoff squelchedMann's last attempt at scoring intercepting abadly underthrown ball for wideout Damon Ferrarain the end zone with 0:48 remaining. Yankoff holdsthe team lead in interceptions with three. Notes Wins by Princeton and Penn (both 3-1 in theIvy) make the last three weeks of the seasoncrucial ones. Harvard will host Brown thisSaturday at The Stadium before traveling to Pennin what is being billed a potential championshipshowdown. Menick's 100-yard game was his tenth in hislast 15 starts and earned him a spot on the IvyLeague Honor Roll. With 13 completions, Linden passed Tom Yohe '89for the all-time school record with 329. First QuarterHar--Menick, 2 run (Glampaolo kick), 10:45 Second QuarterHar--Giampaolo, 34 kick, 0:00. Third QuarterHar--Menick, 5 run (Giampaolo kick), 9:10.Har--Giampaolo, 43 kick, 4:09. Fourth QuarterDar--Bunn, 7 pass (Csizinszky kick), 8:10.
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