See Dylan run. See Dylan catch. See Dylan play decoy on winning touchdown pass. Junior tailback Dylan Karczewski '99 racked up 190 yards rushing and caught a key pass out of the backfield but it was the play that didn't go to him that raised the Big Green's unbeaten streak to 20 games and left Cornell players near tears after the game.
Pete Sellers's '98 22-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Zach Ellis '98 early in the fourth quarter gave Dartmouth a 24-20 come-from-behind victory in its home opener on Saturday afternoon.
With a first-and-ten at the Cornell 22 yard-line, the Dartmouth offense went to a three receiver set and called "verticals" in an attempt to get Karczewski the ball. But when the Cornell safety came up to cover the back, Ellis broke free to the middle of the field to make the game winning grab on a perfect strike from Sellers.
"I had seen on tape that their [Cornell] safeties had trouble covering that play," Sellers said. "We ran the play and their safety hesitated on who to cover and eventually picked up Dylan. Once he picked up Dylan, Zach [Ellis] came wide open and tried to throw the ball as hard as I could."
The catch was part of the 65-yard march after the Big Red had scored to go ahead 20-17. Karczewski had four runs for 24 yards on the drive, including a crucial third-down and five carry that kept the drive alive. Ken Bollens '98, the other standout on the afternoon, contributed a 15-yard completion as part of his seven catch, 123 yard effort. The drive answered many questions about whether or not this team could rally for victory.
"There was absolute focus in the huddle," Sellers said. "Everything was crisper on the drive and we got into a rhythm that we didn't have for most of the game."
"Going into the game I think there was a big question mark about whether we could come from behind to win games with our offense," Head Coach John Lyons said. "At halftime and in the fourth quarter, our guys felt that we were the better team. In that mindset the offense went out and won the game for us. Pete threw a great ball. We didn't play our best football but the thing that we did is we hung in there."
After a 75-yard punt with 2 minutes left in the game, Cornell couldn't hold the Big Green, as Karczewski gained four yards on a key third-and-three play with 1:30 remaining.
"That was Dylan's best run of the day because it allowed us to hold onto the football and I didn't want to end the game with the ball in their hands. Not with their attack," Lyons said.
After falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, Cornell unleashed their fast-break offense, running out of the shotgun on every play with four or five receivers in every pattern. The wrinkle in the offense allowed the Big Red to take over the game as Dartmouth had trouble with coverage mistakes. Big Red QB Mike Hood completed all four of his passes on a 38 yard-drive that was finished off by receiver Eric Krawczyk, his first of three touchdowns on the afternoon.
Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball in the second quarter as the ball changed hands three times. It was the last turnover, a fumble by Karczewski, that was the most costly as Cornell used it to set up another touchdown pass to Krawczyk, a stunning diving catch in the corner of the endzone. The Big Red missed the extra point but still led 13-10 at halftime.
Dartmouth wasted no time getting back into the contest in the second half. Cornerback Tom Reusser '00 picked off his second pass of the game on the fourth play from scrimmage and returned it 27 yards, thanks to an escort of blockers that cleared the path. It was the third time in three games this season that a defensive back had two interceptions in a game.
"The moment the ball left my hand I knew it was going to sail high on me," Cornell quarterback Scott Carroll said.
The teams traded punts for the rest of the period as both defenses stood their ground. The Big Red were moving the ball effectively into Big Green territory on one drive before defensive end Greg Dietrick '99 snuffed out a reverse play and tackled the ball-carrier for a 16 yard loss. That was followed by two sacks and a penalty. The 44 yards covered on the ensuing punt would not have been enough for the first down.
Still, the Big Red's wide-open attack wasn't finished just yet. Cornell took the lead for the last time just one minute into the final quarter on the third touchdown to Krawczyk to go ahead 20-17. Krawczyk finished with 12 catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
That was the only touchdown in the second half for Cornell as the defense settled down and most importantly begin to get pressure on Carroll. Held without a sack in the first half, Dartmouth recorded five in the second half and was able to get to Carroll on every play and hit him, wearing down the signal-caller to the point where he had to come out on a crucial third-down play.
"It's tough to get to the quarterback in their shotgun system," tri-captain Zach Walz '98, who was all over the field, said. "But we were able to get pressure and hit him and I think he started to feel it as the game wore on."
Even though his team gave up 302 yards in the air, Lyons was pleased with the way his defense played against Cornell, who put the ball in the air 51 times in the game.
"They play a fast-break basketball game," he said. "As a defense, you are going to give up a few big plays and get pass-interference calls, but I thought we had good coverage for the most part. Krawczyk was an amazing receiver who we threw everything we had at."
Dartmouth's offense, focused around Karczewski the whole afternoon, was physical all day and won the battle at the line of scrimmage. Dartmouth was extremely balanced on offense as the Big Green rushed for 218 yards and Sellers was not sacked on the day, as he threw for 223 yards in the air.
Karczewski received Ivy League offensive player of the week honors for his performance, the eighth best in Dartmouth history.
"We just wanted to be balanced on offense and I was just happy to be involved, but I can't feel my legs," Karczewski said. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."
Karczewski's touchdown in the first quarter on a 10-yard run opened up the scoring and was followed by a Dave Regula 19-yard field goal. That field goal gave Regula the Ivy League record for career field goals with 29.
