Volume LXVVIII, No. 7
October 28, 2017
YALE FOOTBALL NEWS Published by the Yale Football Association by Chip Malafronte
Bulldogs’ 23-6 Win Over Columbia - Program’s 900th Yale accomplished quite a bit over the course of a perfect late October Saturday afternoon. It secured a milestone victory for the program, vaulted itself back into Ivy League championship contention and threw a bit of shade over one of the nation’s most compelling success stories. It’s merely the spoils of another impressive victory. Yale’s 23-6 win over Columbia at the Yale Bowl was the 900th in program history, third most in college football history. Only Michigan, with 941, and Notre Dame, at 903, has won more games. Back in 2000, Yale was the first program to reach 800 wins. In the days leading into the Columbia game, Tony Reno, the Joel E. Smilow Head Coach of Football, spoke with the team about the program’s rich history and Team 145’s place in it. “We talked about leaving a mark on Yale football that people will talk about the rest of their lives,” Reno said. The achievement certainly fits that bill. “I didn’t even know about it until we sat downstairs and talked about it,” said running back Zane Dudek, who tied his career high with 173 rushing yards on 25 carries. “You think about it, and it’s crazy. Only three programs in history have 900 wins, us, Michigan and Notre Dame. I’m proud to say I was a part of the team that did that.” In knocking off previously undefeated Columbia, the victory also positions Yale (6-1, 3-1) as one of the teams atop the Ivy League standings with three games remaining. The upstart Lions and Cornell also have only one league loss. Yale owns wins over both this season. On Saturday, Yale won with defense and a running attack that broke Columbia’s will. Dudek, the brilliant freshman who entered the game averaging 9 yards per carry, spent most of the game side-stepping Columbia tacklers with vicious jump cuts. In the game’s key offensive series, he ran five times for 63
yards. It set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kurt Rawlings to Michael Siragusa that gave the Bulldogs a 23-6 lead, all but sealing the win with 8:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. There were also several hard-charging runs where he hammered through the line to help run out the clock. He was removed from the game after a first-down run with a little over 2 minutes left, and received a standing ovation from the fans. “When you look at Zane, what he’s done is a much better job of trusting the offensive line,” Reno said. “The runs you look at are the flashy ones; the ones I look at are the 3-yarders because he follows the path of the offensive line.” On defense, Yale once again made running the ball a near-impossible task while making things equally difficult for Columbia quarterback Anders Hill. The Lions finished with 31 rushing yards on 24 carries. Hill was intercepted twice, by Hayden Carlson in the first half and Deonte Henson in the second half. Henson’s pick came after he’d been called for pass interference two plays earlier, with Columbia down only 10 points and still very much in the game. Among Yale’s other triumphs on Saturday? Polishing some of the luster off one of the best reclamation projects in college football. Al Bagnoli, the East Haven native who retired from Penn three years ago only to resurface months later at Columbia, has turned a perennial doormat into a contender. The Lions only Ivy League championship came 57 years ago; they hadn’t won their first six games since 1996. Ever the realist, Bagnoli noted the national hype Columbia’s received might be a bit premature. “I’ve been trying to tell everybody to keep things in context,” Bagnoli said. “We hadn’t played 50 percent of our Ivy League games before today. And I think people have a tendency to put the end product before this week. We
knew we’d have our hands full. I think everybody’s got to be careful.” Yale did most of its offensive damage in the opening quarter. Lining up for a 37-yard field goal early in the game, holder Andrew Johnson, quarterbacking a preset unbalanced line, called for the snap and lobbed a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaeden Graham. Later, capitalizing on Carlson’s interception, Rawlings snuck in from 1-yard out to give Yale a 13-0 lead. Columbia struggled with its kicking game, missing two short field goals, and trailed 16-0 before finally scoring a touchdown to pull within 10 points late in the third quarter. Wilder’s interception, and the ensuing touchdown drive, quelled any chance of a Lion comeback. Afterward, Reno spoke of the significance of the win. “Some teams could play another 20 years and not get to 900 wins,” Reno said. “We’ve done a nice job so far. But our story isn’t finished yet.”
“We talked about leaving a mark on Yale football that people will talk about the rest of their lives,” Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Football
Yale 23, Columbia 6
BULLDOG BITES
SCORING BY QUARTERS Columbia 0-0-6-0-6 Yale 13-0-3-7-23 1st QUARTER Y – Graham 10 pass from Johnson (Galland kick), 8:18 Y – Rawlings 1 run (kick blocked), 2:48 3rd QUARTER Y – FG Galland 37, 5:36 C – Hill 1 run (pass failed), 1:18 4th QUARTER Y – Siragusa 9 pass from Rawlings, 8:29
Matthew Oplinger (22), senior OLB, in on another great stop.
Chris Williams-Lopez, senior wide receiver for Yale, turns things around.
Not long after his freshman season ended without him taking a single snap, Yale wide receiver Chris Williams-Lopez sought advice from one of the team’s most respected senior leaders.
him apart.
Grant Wallace had recently concluded his career ranked fourth on Yale’s all-time receptions and receiving yardage lists. Williams-Lopez, understandably, wanted to emulate Wallace. “How did you do it?” Williams-Lopez asked. “What’s your secret?” Wallace was brutally honest. He told WilliamsLopez he wasn’t working hard enough, but that it wasn’t too late to turn things around. Williams-Lopez was slightly taken aback, but took the words to heart. “I thought I had been working hard, but at the same time I knew there was more I could give,” Williams-Lopez said. “Grant’s like an older brother to me, and a lot of my success I credit to him. It was good to hear that from someone who’s had that kind of success in this league.”
GAME STATS COLUMBIA
YALE
16
22
Rushes-Yards
24-31
45-251
Passing Yards
175
137
15-35-2
11-28-1
Total Offense
206
388
Fumbles/Lost
0-0
0-0
Penalties/Yards
4-44
6-56
Punts (Avg.)
6-36.5
5-36.8
Time of Possession
26:23
33:37
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs
Passes
D-BACKS DON’T FOLD It became apparent early on Saturday that Columbia would have little success running the football against Yale’s defensive front. By the second half, still without a point and the fourth quarter approaching, the Lions decided the quickest way back into the game was to throw long. “We knew they would take shots deep with their skill position players,” Reno said.
In the three years since, Williams-Lopez transformed himself into a top receiver at Yale and in the Ivy League.
The Lions, trailing 16-6 with a chance to get back in the game early in the fourth quarter, took advantage of successive pass interference penalties. On the next play quarterback Anders Hill went for a third straight long pass. Freshman cornerback Deonte Henson, who’d been called for the same penalty earlier in the half, intercepted the pass. It was a momentum killer, as Yale scored on the ensuing possession to put the game away.
Despite having played only 17 career games, he is ninth on Yale’s career receptions list with 112. He’s been the main weapon in the passing attack this fall, leading the Bulldogs with 40 receptions, 465 receiving yards and three touchdown catches.
“It starts with the older guys, who told me to brush it off (the earlier penalty) and not let it bother me,” Henson said. “The motto we have is one-play warrior. Take it one play at a time. I made a good play on the ball but it all starts up front. All respect and credit to the d-line.”
“Every day in practice, he goes 100 mph,” Yale coach Tony Reno said. “You watched guys like Grant and Deon Randall in practice, they were like machines. I think he’s taken that from those guys.” At Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross, Georgia, Williams-Lopez was a top receiver on a team that finished as state runner-up. Several college programs were interested, but the choice came down to Yale and Princeton. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come here or go to Princeton,” Williams-Lopez said. “My mom, after visiting here, said ‘You can go anywhere you want — as long as it’s Yale.” Reno, upon hearing the comment, cracked a smile. “She’s a great lady,” he said. Williams-Lopez, healthy and in peak form, has caught at least five passes in five of six games. His best outing was a 10-catch, 146-yard game in a losing effort at Dartmouth. He ranks fifth in the Ivy League in receptions and receiving yards even though Yale has the league’s most successful run game. Reno says a combination of technique and athleticism sets
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“He has the ability to not slow down, whether in a break-point or catching the football,” Reno said. “When the ball’s in the air, he has an extra gear to go get it. And he’s very smart. He understands space and where to position himself.”
EXTRA BITES
• Yale senior linebacker Matt Oplinger has 9.5 sacks in seven games, tops in the Ivy League. • Freshman running back Zane Dudek, the Ivy League Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, is averaging 8.42 yards-per carry, second in the FCS. His 103 yards-per game is ninth in the country.
THE IVY LEAGUE REPORT
STANDINGS (Ivy/Overall) YALE COLUMBIA CORNELL DARTMOUTH
3-1 | 6-1 3-1 | 6-1 3-1 | 3-4 2-2 | 5-2
PRINCETON HARVARD PENN BROWN
THIS WEEKEND 2-2 | 5-2 2-2 | 4-3 1-3 | 3-4 0-4 | 2-5
Friday Brown at Yale, 8 p.m. Saturday Harvard at Columbia, 1 p.m. Princeton at Penn, 1 p.m. Cornell at Dartmouth, 1:30 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND...
Harvard 25, Dartmouth 22:
Jake Smith threw three touchdown passes as Harvard kepts itself alive in the Ivy League race by posting its 14th successive victory over the Big Green. Dartmouth quarterback Jack Heneghan threw for 215 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice.
Penn 17, Brown 7:
Justin Watson caught touchdown passes of 80 and 20 yards to lead the Quakers to victory in a game where the scoring was completed by halftime. Watson finished with eight receptions for 132 yards.
Cornell 29, Princeton 28:
The Big Red scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun the Tigers. Nickolas Null kicked a 43-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining for the winning margin, one of three field goals on the day for Null. Chad Kanoff led Princeton with 370 yards passing and two touchdowns, with Jesper Horsted catching 10 for 133 yards.
RENO’S RUNDOWN Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football
“I sat with thisispum team onsitthe first day we Loram dolor amet, condecteur ad-came in. We talked about legacy and traipiscing edit.about Aeneanthe eros 144 ut cursus cursus. dition. We talked teams that played here before these guys and we In rhoncus, lacus id rutrum gravida, nibh talked about opportunity and we also talked about their legacy and how they’re accumsan lectus, in rutrum massa urna val going to build on their legacy but also leave a mark that people will talk about for tellus. Mauris in eros nec risus fermentum. the rest of their lives. They’ve done a nice job so far. Our story’s not finished yet. in rutrum massa urna I’m very, very proud of this team.”
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UP NEXT...
THE SERIES
BROWN (2-5, 0-4) at YALE (6-1, 3-1) FRI., NOVEMBER 3rd
RADIO: WELI-960
8:00 PM
TV: NBC Sports Network
TICKETS: 203-432-1400
ONLINE: NBC Sports Extra
Yale leads the series 81-355, but the Bears have won 10 of the last 18, including a 27-22 decision last season in Providence. Yale owns a 61-24-2 advantage in games played in New Haven.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT After scoring 28 points in each of its first two games, and 24 in the third, Brown’s offense has taken a nose dive. The Bears have failed to score more than 13 points in a game over their past four, and have scored a grand total of 14 points in their last three Ivy League games. Yale, its defense thriving, should be in for another stifling performance. Brown’s only chance lies in its own defense, which hasn’t been terribly consistent all season but did hold Penn to just 17 points last week. Yale’s offensive line and soul-sucking ground attack may be too much for Brown to handle.
BULLDOGS OF THE WEEK
Deonte Henson, Fr., Defensive back, 5-9, 165, Beaumont, Texas
Dudek has already emerged as a force and teams with senior Deshawn Salter to form the Ivy League’s top backfield. On Saturday he matched a career-best with 173 yards on 25 carries, an average of 6.9 per carry, to spearhead a potent running attack. He’s run for 724 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
Henson, an all-district defensive back in high school, made a career-best four tackles in the win over Columbia including the game’s most crucial defensive play. His fourth-quarter interception came with 11:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. Columbia trailed by only 10 points at the time and was driving into Yale territory. The Bulldogs scored immediately after the interception to put the game away.
2017 SCHEDULE
Zane Dudek, Fr., Running back, 5-9, 190, Kittanning, Pa.
SEPT. 16 SEPT. 23 SEPT. 30 OCT. 7 OCT. 14 OCT. 21 OCT. 28 NOV. 3 NOV. 11 NOV. 18
LEHIGH CORNELL* FORDHAM DARTMOUTH* HOLY CROSS PENN* COLUMBIA* BROWN* PRINCETON* HARVARD*
W 56-28 W 49-24 W 41-10 L 28-27 W 32-0 W 24-19 W, 23-6 8:00 PM 1:00 PM 12:30 PM
JUNIOR VARSITY SCHEDULE SEPT. 24 OCT. 15 NOV. 17
PHOTO CREDITS
MILFORD ACADEMY BROWN HARVARD
L 35-24 CANCELED 1:00 PM
Jack Warhola, Stephen Fritzer, Ron Waite’s Photosportacular
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