History repeated itself for the
16th consecutive time on Saturday,
as Dartmouth football was once
again defeated by No. 7 University
of New Hampshire in the Granite
Bowl, 42-6, in Hanover.
The traditional early-season
rivalr y game, which has been
dominated by the Wildcats since
1992, serves as an early-season
tune-up for the Big Green (0-2, 0-0
Ivy), pitting Dartmouth against one
of the best teams in the Division I
football championship subdivision
(formerly D I-AA) before the team
heads into its Ivy schedule.
Not much went the home team's
way in the battle, but the game
was highlighted by some good
individual play. Co-captain Milan
Williams '09 ran for 73 yards on 16
carries, although one of his longest
runs ended in a fumble.
Quar terback Alex Jenny '10
faced unrelenting pressure all day,
but still managed to pass for 130
yards and a touchdown. He, too,
however, was plagued by turnovers,
throwing two interceptions
into the New Hampshire defense,
and completing 18 passes on 32
attempts.
Tim McManus '11 was a consistent
target, fi nding enough space
in the UNH secondary for seven
catches for 35 yards.
On the defensive side of the
ball, Shawn Abuhoff '12 had an
interception to complement his
two tackles, while Ian Wilson '08
had nine tackles, six of them unassisted.
Safety Pete Pidermann '10
contributed four tackles, while
consistently breaking through
the UNH special teams unit for 83
yards on kick returns.
However, as a team, Dartmouth
was vastly outplayed, managing
just 238 total yards of offense. UNH
(4-0, 1-0 CAA) put on an offensive
showcase, gaining 525 total yards
in a balanced and dominant air-andground
attack.
"We didn't play to our potential,"
Abuhoff said. "We played hard, we
tried our best, but we just weren't
fi nishing drives and making tackles
when we needed to."
Things started well for the Big
Green, as they forced a punt on New
Hampshire's fi rst possession in
the fi rst quarter. However, in what
would become a motif for the fi rst
half, the Wildcats dominated the
fi eld-positioning battle. Dartmouth
began its fi rst two drives at the
two-yard line and the eight-yard
line, while UNH started its fi rst
three drives, which led to two
touchdowns, at its own 48, the 50,
and at its own 46.
Pushed back against its own
end zone, the Dartmouth offense
couldn't get much going in the
fi rst quarter, as UNH opened up a
two-touchdown lead that eventually
grew to a 28-0 halftime margin.
"We were a little wide-eyed at
the beginning of the game," head
coach Buddy Teevens was quoted
as saying after the game. "The
guys did not trust their technique
and what they had practiced. But
once they realized that despite
New Hampshire being an excellent
football team, they are human as
well, we executed and competed
much better in the second half. As
the eternal optimist I am, I saw our
kids really mature in this game.
They are learning to trust their
talent and ability."
But the Big Green were unable
to move the ball effectively, barely
crossing the 50-yard line in the fi rst
two quarters.
"That's a really good team," Phil
McKeating '10 said. "We have to
execute better, we didn't do that
well. We had too many penalties,
and it looked like we were a little
intimidated at fi rst. We played a lot
better in the second half, but you
just can't play a team that good and
not have 100 percent execution."
McKeating, an ex-linebacker
who has switched sides to become
a short-yardage fullback, was the
only Dartmouth player to reach
the end zone on Saturday, catching
a three-yard pass from Jenny
in the corner of the end zone in
the third quarter. The point-after
try by kicker Foley Schmidt '12
was no good, and the touchdown
would be the fi rst and last points
that the Big Green would score on
the day.
Schmidt, last week's Ivy Rookie
of the Week for his two-fi eld-goal
performance in a road loss to
Colgate, missed his only fi eld-goal
opportunity against the Wildcats, a
45-yard strike that went wide left.
The Big Green offense neared the
kicker's range on a few other drives,
but lost possession on downs.
New Hampshire's offense was
spearheaded by quarterback R.J.
Toman, who passed for 208 yards
and a touchdown on 18 of 23 attempts,
and added 46 yards and a
touchdown on the ground. Backup
running back Rober t Simpson
rushed for 86 yards on 14 carries,
and also netted a touchdown.
Despite the Wildcats' big
numbers, UNH rarely sent the
ball deep, opting instead for short
screen passes, play-action passes,
options, and reverses, unleashing
an arsenal of weapons on the
overwhelmed Big Green defense
and consistently fi nding space for
big gains.
The defense played well inside
the tackles, stopping the inside
running game cold. However, the
tackling was again an issue, as
UNH players broke tackles and
gained good yardage after initial
contact.
The secondary also had its moments,
highlighted by the consistent
jarring hits of fi fth-year safety
Wilson. Freshman cornerback
Abuhoff created his own miniature
highlight reel in the fourth quarter,
making an open-fi eld tackle for no
gain, and then intercepting the
ball on the next play, giving the
Dartmouth offense one of its only
opportunities on the UNH side of
the fi eld.
"We played them pretty well,"
Abuhoff said. "We knew what they
were going to do, we just needed to
beat blocks and make tackles, and
we didn't when we needed to."
The special teams were a high
point, as Pidermann broke through
the UNH coverage unit twice for
huge gains off the kick return.
Pidermann's play in the second
half gave Dartmouth much better
position on the fi eld, allowing them
to score.
"Special teams are just as important
as offense and defense--it's
a three-part game," Pidermann
said. "It comes down to effort. A
lot of guys on the team really enjoy
being on special teams and really
take that as a personal pride thing.
To be out there, try your hardest,
and win the battle usually has a
big effect on the outcome of the
game."
Despite the loss, the players
remain upbeat and motivated as
they head into the Ivy schedule at
the University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia, Pa., next weekend.
"We'll defi nitely go back and
look at the fi lm, fi gure out our
mistakes, and probably tackle more
in practice, but mostly we're just
going to do the same old, and get
our mindset right to play the Ivy
schedule," Abuhoff said.
"Penn's a good team, but we see
them every year, it's not like there's
any surprise," Pidermann agreed.
"We both run a similar scheme on
offense. We want to be able to watch
fi lm and train ourselves enough so
we can play faster on defense. We
want to get to the point where we're
not thinking, just reacting, and the
whole defense will be able to play
faster."
The Ivy League season is shaping
up to be a good one -- perennial
favorites Harvard and Yale
both lost this weekend. Abuhoff
expects the season to be tightly
contested.
"This year it seems like it's up
in the air for whoever wants to take
it," he said. "Whoever shows up and
plays like they're supposed to will
come out with a win."
"It's conference play, and that's
the most important part of our season,"
McKeating said. "We need to
lock it in, focus on executing better,
and do the things we need to do.
Hopefully the rest of the season's
going to be a lot better than the
fi rst two games."
The Big Green kick off against
the Penn Quakers Saturday at noon
at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
