The play clock wasn't working at Memorial Field Saturday, but few of the 15,150 loyal fans in attendance seemed to care. It was Homecoming after all, a time of traditional festivities and spirited gridiron action against this year's victim: Yale. The dysfunction of the play clock, however, did typify the Dartmouth offense's inability to tick for the first three quarters of the game.
But things came out as they should, almost Cinderella style, as the Big Green squeezed by with a thrilling 14-13 victory over the Bulldogs, who were 1-1 in the Ivy League and 3-1 overall prior to their loss this weekend.
No one thought it was going to be easy. After a victorious, yet sloppily played game against Lafayette last week which resulted in the loss of starting quarterback Ren Riley '96 to an injury, Dartmouth knew a gutsy performance would be necessary to overcome the solid Yale team.
Coach John Lyons was forced to throw Colorado State transfer QB John Singleton '96 into the fire, hoping he was ready to step in and come up big when the Big Green needed him most.
He did. When it came down to the wire, Singleton, behind a beat-up offense and a stingy defense, got the job done.
"Once he settled down and got comfortable with what he was doing," Lyons said, "he made the plays and threw the ball well."
After a 54-yard touchdown pass gave the Bulldogs a 13-6 lead with only 5 minutes to go, the Big Green knew they had to act quickly, and they did.
Singleton responded first with a 33-yard pass to a sprinting David Shearer '95 on the right side. The next play brought a rocket from Singleton to Andre Grant '95 that was just barely tipped away by Yale in the end zone.
Dartmouth regained its momentum with a hand-off to Zack Ellis '98, who was hit late out of bounds, a penalty that tacked fifteen yards onto his gain.
After Pete Oberle '96 slipped for a loss on the next down, Singleton connected to a wide-open Shearer who was 20 yards downfield and on the right side of the endzone, leaving the Big Green down by one with three minutes to go.
Dartmouth, in an obvious bind, called a time-out to discuss whether to go for the two-point conversion and the lead. As far as Singleton was concerned, "There was never a doubt. [Coach Lyons] wasn't going to walk out of there with a tie."
So, from the left hashmark, the Dartmouth offense handed off to the reliable Oberle, who wasn't about to disappoint the anxious crowd. Oberle broke a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, then powered in through a gaping hole opened by the right side of the offensive line, putting Dartmouth ahead at the final score of 14-13.
Finishing with 152 yards rushing, Oberle was instrumental in Dartmouth's victory. Singleton put it simply: "Pete is the best tailback in the league."
With this game being Dartmouth's third win in a row and Yale's second consecutive loss, both teams are now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Ivy League.
Defensively, the Big Green kept the highly ranked Bulldog offense -- which had previously been averaging 33 1/2 points a game -- in check all day. Yale QB Chris Hetherington, who was often forced to scramble from a collapsing pocket, showed great maneuverability, considering the Big Green managed only three sacks.
Lyons was also impressed with his team's defense against Yale's running attack, and overall was happy with his defensive team's performance.
"The kids came out and played really hard. It was a very physical game, and I thought we out-hit Yale throughout it," he said.
Singleton's first possession as starter for the Big Green offense was shaky at best. On the ninth play of the game, he was intercepted by a Yale defender, who was then face-masked to the ground for a 15-yard penalty, leaving Yale with the ball at Dartmouth's 40.
From there, Yale's offense managed to get into field goal territory, where they booted a 32-yarder which put them ahead early in the game.
The Bulldogs' next possession also ended in groans from Dartmouth fans. Yale cruised down the field until the Big Green's defense threw on the brakes at their own six yard line, forcing Yale to be satisfied with a 23-yard field goal, which put them ahead by 6.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth's offense struggled to find a groove throughout the first half. Despite 96 yards rushing from Oberle, Dartmouth couldn't manage to make a considerable dent into Yale territory.
Singleton attributed the offense's lack of production to himself. "It was my first game out," he said. "It really took me a while to get in the rhythm today." One-hundred and fifteen yards in penalties didn't help the cause either.
Dartmouth finally managed to establish its offense, scoring all of its points in the fourth quarter.
The first points came on the Big Green's first possession in the last stanza. After two quick first-downs, Singleton floated a pass from the Yale 27 that dropped perfectly into the well-covered Grant's hands at the right corner of the end zone.
Dartmouth had the chance to go ahead, but Ken Regula '98's extra point attempt was blocked, keeping the score deadlocked at six apiece.
Yale then scored again with a little more than five minutes to go, putting them up 13-6, which set up Dartmouth for its crowd-pleasing comeback.
Dartmouth is looking to continue their winning streak at the expense of Cornell next week. Singleton summed up Dartmouth's plans: "Our defense has been great all year; hopefully our offense can come out and score more points next time."
Dartmouth will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to challenge the Big Red in a 1:00 p.m. matchup.
