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The Dartmouth
April 19, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

White shut outs Green, 27-0, in annual spring football game

Tailback Milan Williams '09 returns as the Big Green's top runner after rushing for 657 yards last season.
Tailback Milan Williams '09 returns as the Big Green's top runner after rushing for 657 yards last season.

Servis had 124 yards and one touchdown on nine catches and Galligan grabbed five balls for 125 yards and another touchdown.

"I never expected to catch so many passes, but that's our offense," Servis said. "The backs do a lot of releasing and we sometimes go unnoticed by the defense. The quarterbacks just did a great job of finding us."

The White team quarterbacks, Tim McManus '11 and Will Deevy '11, had admirable performances -- McManus was five for seven for 105 yards and Deevy had nine completions on 11 attempts for 107 yards.

On defense, the White team effectively denied the Green team's threats. Safety Tony Pastoors '10 stood out with four tackles behind the veteran leadership of linebackers Joe Battaglia '08 and captain Andrew Dete '09.

"The offense came up with a few big plays that really gave us the momentum and our defense took that and for the most part shut down [the Green team's] offense," defensive end Taylor Babcock '09 said.

The White team garnered its major plays from a balanced passing attack -- three different players threw touchdown passes to three different receivers.

Deevy connected with Kyle Battle '11 on a 31-yard touchdown completion. McManus had a fourth-quarter pass to Servis, who took his shallow crossing pattern to beat the defense to the sideline and then to the endzone 44 yards later. The White team's biggest play, however, was a 46-yard option pass from tailback Hudson Smythe '09 to Galligan, which fooled the Green defense.

Placekicker Donald Kephart '11 kicked 25-yard and 36-yard field goals to add to the White team's lead.

Several players had strong performances for the Green team as well, despite the lopsided final score.

Alex Jenny '10 played well at quarterback, while cornerback Pat Scorah '11 and defensive end Charles Bay '11 looked strong and will likely compete for playing time in the fall season.

"Spring practice has been overwhelmingly positive," Dete said. "The team has really responded well to losing a bunch of great seniors and has worked extremely hard. I feel as optimistic about the program as I have since being here. A strong spring has set us up well for the fall."

In particular, the offensive line has turned heads this spring -- the unit includes captain Alex Rapp '09, Eddie Tabasky '09, Elliott Dial '08, Alexander Toth '10, Alex Wodka '11 and Shane Peterlin '11.

"I have been very impressed by the way the offensive line has come together," Smythe said. "They are meshing well as a unit and we're all expecting big things out of them this fall."

The Big Green will now wait until preseason begins this August before resuming official practice. The team will look to improve last season's 3-7 record. Dartmouth finished tied for fourth in the Ivy League with a 3-4 conference record. Harvard won the Ivy title, ending a perfect conference season with a victory over arch rival Yale. The Big Green has not won an Ivy League championship since 1996.

"I think we really need to focus on replacing the leadership the [Class of 2008] provided," Dete said. "There are some great young players with tremendous potential and it is important that these guys develop and are ready to contribute when the season begins."

Servis echoed Dete, and highlighted the importance of self-improvement.

"I'm excited for the fall, but we need to continue building on the progress we made this spring," Servis said. "Guys need to keep training and get better over the summer."

"There is room for improvement everywhere," Pastoors said. "I think the biggest thing we need is more consistency. We have the potential to make plays; we just need to do it on a more consistent basis. I think we'll miss all of the '08s and we're now a fairly young and inexperienced team, but I feel like there are plenty of guys ready to step up."

Dartmouth opens its fall campaign against non-conference opponent Colgate on Sept. 20, in Hamilton, N.Y. Last season, the Big Green blew a 28-0 halftime lead, allowing the Raiders' 31-28 overtime victory in Hanover.

The Big Green begins Ivy League play against the University of Pennsylvania on Oct. 4 in Philadelphia, Pa. Last year, Dartmouth defeated the Quakers at home, 21-13, in the Big Green's first victory of the season.