For the Dartmouth football team this weekend, there could be few more excruciating ways to let a win slip through one's fingers.
The Big Green (1-2) fell to Cornell (2-1) 24-19 in a hard-fought, heart-wrenching home opener, as 8,030 exasperated fans at Memorial Field arduously watched on.
"It's very disappointing because I thought our team played very hard," Dartmouth's Coach John Lyons said after the grudge match.
"We had a chance to win the ball game, and we just couldn't capitalize. We had our chances. We gave our offense good field position, and we just couldn't get it done."
On three consecutive possessions late in the second half with Dartmouth down 24-19, the Big Green had the ball inside Cornell's 10 yard line. And on three consecutive possessions, Dartmouth left empty-handed.
Dartmouth set up the first of the three opportunities on a swift eight play drive from its own 27 yard line to the Cornell 10, highlighted by a 26-yard pass from quarterback Jon Aljancic '97 to tight end Darren Gaffney '97.
The Big Green managed only three yards on three plays from the ten, so Lyons sent in the kicking game for the 24 yard field goal attempt. Kicker Ken Regula '98 then had his boot rejected by the right goal post.
On the Big Green's following series, Dartmouth running back Greg Smith '97 broke a 37-yard run, and Aljancic completed a 12-yard sideline pass to Will Bergman '97 to put the Big Green at the Cornell one yard line.
Again Dartmouth couldn't punch it in. On three plays, Cornell pushed Dartmouth back to the nine, and then on fourth down Aljancic was intercepted in the end zone.
Then, on Dartmouth's next possession, after another strong drive deep into Cornell territory, one of those things happened on the football field that afterwards becomes hard to believe actually took place at all.
On a crucial fourth down and four from the Cornell nine with four minutes left to play, Aljancic took the snap and got flushed from the pocket and ran toward the far right side of the field. Aljancic, seeing open air in front of him, took off toward the right corner of the end zone, and then at the five yard line, just as he passed the first down marker and four yards past the line of scrimmage, he shovel-passed forward to Bergman in the end zone.
That illegal pass over the line of scrimmage, a fluke mental error by Aljancic, sucked the life from Dartmouth's game and ended their last serious drive.
"I didn't think I was as close to the first down as I was," Aljancic said. "I probably could have and should have ran it, and I just didn't."
Cornell's defender Mike Bombard, who was chasing Aljancic on the play said, "He was coming pretty hard, and I think he misjudged our speed."
Despite Dartmouth's late game inability to add the finishing touches to this stomach-turner, the team made serious strides in its offensive game and special teams play.
On offense, Dartmouth's medley of rushers tacked on 308 net yards on the ground, including 112 by Aljancic himself. Dartmouth did not have a single series in which it failed to convert at least one first down, and Dartmouth's offensive line did not permit a single sack on the day.
Greg Smith '97, who had a key 39-yard run in the third quarter, emerged as Dartmouth's go-to man out of the medley of backs Lyons had been using this year.
Smith attributed his 89 yards on 16 carries day to the work of Dartmouth's offensive line. "I thought they played their hearts out today, he said. "They definitely made the holes."
Dartmouth's first touchdown was set up by a play action pass deep to Bergman, who caught the ball ahead of his Big Red defender but was chased down at the 12 for a 55-yard gain. On second down, Aljancic then kept the ball on an option to the left side and sliced through a few Cornell tackles for the score.
The Big Green's next conversion with a minute left in the first half was nothing short of gorgeous. On third and six from the Cornell 14, Aljancic took the snap, rolled out left, and shovel-passed in front of him to a streaking Zach Ellis '98. Ellis got up to speed and raced in for the touchdown, putting Dartmouth at a mere 13-17 deficit at the half.
Dartmouth took a brief lead on its first possession of the second half. The drive, highlighted by an Aljancic to Ken Bollens '98 17-yard connection which got Dartmouth out of a third down and 16 hole, ended in a touchdown for the Big Green.
At third and two from the Big Red 39, Aljancic rolled right, then faked an option lateral to Ellis and cut in. Aljancic then made like a running back, eluding a few tacklers and then sprinting in open air for a 39-yard touchdown run. That score, vaulting Dartmouth ahead, 19-17, was the last lead Dartmouth would see on the day.
Dartmouth worked from excellent field position most of the day thanks to kick returner Jamie Whitticomb '96, who very nearly broke out for two touchdown runs, and finished with 109 yards on four returns.
But there remain serious problems with the Dartmouth's overall game according to a concerned Lyons afterwards.
"We still haven't put a game together as an entire team," he said.
On defense, the Big Green were picked apart by Cornell's many-weaponed offensive artillery for most of the day. A combination of well -executed play actions, perfect passes and an overpowering rusher by the name of Chad Levitt did the majority of the damage against Dartmouth's defense.
"There were times when we had five or six guys bounce off of him," Lyons said about Cornell's go-to man.
And just as Dartmouth did find the secret to stopping Levitt in the fourth quarter, the Big Green offense started having their own problems, allowing Cornell to hang on to the victory.
Dartmouth, who had 10 sacks in the previous two games, also did not record a sack against Cornell Saturday.
Linebacker Zack Walz '98 said Cornell's quarterback did create problems for the Big Green.
"It's hard to get there when you get rid of it that quick," he said. "But that did hurt us."
Dartmouth's kicking game still remains a concern as well. Regula, who for the second week in a row looked shaky, had another extra point try blocked and missed field goals from both 38 and 24 yards.
When asked why Dartmouth elected to go for a first down rather than settle for a field goal attempt twice on fourth down plays deep in Cornell territory late in the game, Coach Lyons responded, "Did you see the way we were kicking the ball?"
Dartmouth looks to rebound from the loss and begin preparation this week for its home game next Saturday against Lafayette.
"This is a bitter pill to swallow," Aljancic said. And can they come back from a game like this and turn the disappointing loss into a win next week?
Aljancic responded simply, "It's not an option."
