The football team rebounded nicely after last week’s sloppy loss to Bucknell University, running all over a hapless Columbia University team that could only manage 95 total yards on offense for a 56-0 shellacking and Dartmouth’s (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) first shutout in two years.
Head coach Buddy Teevens defeated Columbia (0-6, 0-3 Ivy) for the 13th time in 14 attempts, extending Dartmouth’s current win streak against Columbia to five and increasing the 84-game series, which dates back to 1899, lead to 66-17-1.
“It was a nice win,” Teevens said. “It was a complete game for us.”
Saturday’s game looked nothing like last year’s, when Columbia took Dartmouth to the wire before losing 21-16 to the Big Green.
The 56-point margin of victory shares the spot for second largest in school history, tying a 56-0 victory over University of Vermont and trailing a 58-0 victory over Norwich University, both in 1936.
“This game was big as far as mojo, the energy in the room,” Dalyn Williams ’16 said. “The team’s going to have a high level of confidence. We’re going to go in big and we control our own destiny.”
Early on, Columbia tried riding senior Marcorus Garrett and freshman Alan Watson to success but Dartmouth’s defense contained both backs all day. Garrett and Watson combined for just 31 yards on 13 carries, forcing freshman quarterback Kelly Hilinski to throw the ball, but Columbia mounted only four drives that lasted longer than three plays on the afternoon.
On Dartmouth’s second play of the game, Williams cut back on the option-read, running across the field for a 13-yard gain. Dominick Pierre ’14 kept the drive alive, converting a critical third-and-short.
On the next play, Williams hit Jon Marc Carrier ’17 over the middle deep in the red zone after the defense bit on the play-action. Two plays later, Carrier scored the first touchdown of his Dartmouth career with a three-yard run off a double reverse.
Thanks to a defensive pass interference penalty, Columbia earned its first set of new downs on the afternoon. Columbia drove into Dartmouth territory after Hilinski hit sophomore Scooter Hollis wide open over the middle, but stalled.
After another Columbia three-and-out, Williams hit Pierre for a 22-yard completion. Three plays later, Williams rolled right off the play-action and found Carrier for a 17-yard touchdown just a minute and a half into the second quarter.
On the next Dartmouth drive, Pierre converted a third-and-short for Dartmouth. Williams then hit Pierre on the short screen to the right, which Pierre took for 21 yards, helped by an excellent downfield block by Cohle Fowler ’14.
Pierre became Dartmouth’s second all-time leading rusher after a five-yard run, passing Al Rosier ’91 and trailing just Nick Schwieger ’12’s record of 3,150. Pierre came another 37 yards closer to breaking the record, exploiting a massive hole in the middle of the defense and putting Dartmouth up 21-0 with 6:38 left in the first half.
“There was great energy,” Teevens said. “We talked at length about playing a complete game. I thought we executed cleanly on offense, on defense, on special teams. It shows that we can put a complete game together.”
Dartmouth extended its lead to 28 after Will McNamara ’16 picked off Hilinski’s pass over the middle and returned it 24 yards for his first career interception return for a touchdown and Dartmouth’s first in three years.
On its first drive of the second half, Columbia looked like it would earn its first set of new downs since early in the first quarter, before Hilinski was stripped trying to escape the pocket.
Dartmouth capitalized on the turnover when Williams scored from three yards out. On fourth and short, Williams converted the attempt by scrambling right until being upended by Columbia but not before crossing the marker. On the next play, Williams hit Dean Bakes ’14 for a big 23-yard completion to the Columbia six. Three plays later, Williams kept the ball on the read-option and powered up the middle for the three-yard score, putting Dartmouth up by 35.
On Columbia’s ensuing drive, Hilinski hit sophomore Andrew Dobitsch on third-down for Columbia’s first set of new downs in two quarters of action, but was forced to punt when Hilinski’s pass for senior Hamilton Garner sailed through Garner’s hands on third and long.
With a safe 35-point lead, Teevens substituted Alex Park ’14 in for Williams, ending the sophomore’s day. Park led Dartmouth on a five-play, 82-yard scoring drive, which culminated in a short checkdown to Kyle Bramble ’16, who took down the left sideline for the 44-yard touchdown. Park also hit Cole Marcoux ’14 for 27 yards earlier in the drive.
Columbia’s attempt to respond went three-and-out as Hilinski’s pass on third down bounced off the chest of a Dartmouth defender.
On third-and-seven, Brian Grove ’16 extended Dartmouth’s drive with a 12-yard run off-tackle. Grove picked up another first after Park hit Dana Barbaro ’14 for eight yards. Park then hit Bakes for an 18-yard completion on the right hash, crossing into the red zone. On the last play of the third quarter, Grove ran 13 yards before being stopping at the Columbia five. Four plays later, on fourth down, Grove broke the plane from inside the one, putting Dartmouth up 49-0.
Columbia responded with a drive that earned Columbia its fourth first down of the game. McNamara then picked off Hilinski after David Caldwell ’16 knocked the ball loose. McNamara raced down the sideline 50 yards for his second pick-six of the game.
“I got some good blocks on the second [interception] and I was able to run it in,” McNamara said.
Even with reserve players replacing most of the starters on Dartmouth’s defense, Columbia still couldn’t move the ball.
With Dartmouth up 56-0, Ernest Evans II ’16 saw his first action all season, relieving Park. Working out of the read-option with reserve players, Evans conducted a clock-killing drive that erased the final nine minutes.
Dartmouth dominated in every statistical category, including a 575-95 advantage in offensive yards and 31-5 in first downs.
“I think we did awesome,” McNamara said. “We really hit on all cylinders on defense. Everyone was on the same page.”
Dartmouth’s 575 yards are the most gained in 22 years and the 95 yards allowed are the fewest in 21 years.
“Obviously a disappointing performance on all fronts,” Columbia head coach Pete Mangurian said. “Dartmouth played well offensively and defensively. We did not handle the physical style of play like we wanted to.”
Recording his best performance in three weeks, Williams finished 11 of 18 for 149 yards and a touchdown, and 10 carries for another 22 yards and a score. Park completed five of six for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Pierre finished his day with over 200 yards of scrimmage, 160 of which came on 26 carries. Grove, in relief of Pierre, went 47 yards on 11 carries.
Next week, the Big Green travels to Cambridge, Mass. to face Harvard University at 1:30 p.m. Princeton University upset the Crimson 51-48 in triple overtime for its first loss of the season. Both teams are tied for third in the Ancient Eight, just one game behind the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University.
