Volume LXVVIII, No. 4
October 7, 2017
YALE FOOTBALL NEWS Published by the Yale Football Association
Bulldogs Come Up Short 28-27
Publication authored by Chip Malafronte
For the first 30 minutes on Saturday at Dartmouth, Yale had little trouble solving the Ivy League’s best defense. But the Big Green tightened things up in the second half, limiting the Bulldogs to a field goal while putting together two fourth-quarter scoring drives in a 28-27 victory at Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H. Dartmouth (4-0, 2-0) has shown an uncanny ability to come from behind and win games late. The Big Green’s two previous games were won on the game’s final play. Against Yale, the winning touchdown came with 34 seconds remaining, as Dartmouth came all the way back from a 21-point deficit. “I’ve been in this league for quite some time, and when you get to this level of football, against the upper tier teams, you have to be ready to win until the last play and that’s what I told them all week,” said Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno. “You look at the Ivy League, the parity through all eight teams, you have to be ready to win on the last play. Dartmouth made the play in the end. I give them a lot of credit for making that play.” The Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1), one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams, scored the game’s first three touchdowns and led 24-7 at halftime. Dartmouth’s comeback began on its first offensive series of the second half, which ended when quarterback Jack Heneghan found Drew Hunnicutt for a 30-yard scoring strike to make the score 24-14. Yale responded with a long drive, moving the ball to the Big Green 2, but settled for a 20yard field goal by Alex Galland. The 13-point lead remained intact until late in the fourth quarter, when Dartmouth scored touchdowns on its final two drives. Penalties kept the first drive alive, most notably a roughing the passer call on an incompletion on 4th-and-5 from the Big Green 15. Given new life, Dartmouth went 70 yards
remaining in the half that was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by Dartmouth’s Isiah Swan, a crucial play that resulted in the lone points of the half for the Big Green. “Huge play in the game,” Reno said. “That was a swing of points and momentum. At that point in time it was a 21-0 game and we were moving really well.” Yale’s offense stalled after the third quarter field goal, obtaining only one first down in the four offensive series before Dartmouth took the lead. The Bulldog defense, stuck on the field for extended periods, struggled to contain Heneghan. “We didn’t sustain drives and I would venture to guess that something knocked us off time and we didn’t run the ball as well,” Reno said. “We want to run the football and we want to throw the ball in that game. In the first half, we were efficient, in the second half we were not.”
on the next two plays, a 40-yard completion from Heneghan to Ryder Stone and a 30-yard touchdown pass from Heneghan to Dylan Mellor that made the score 27-21. Yale went three-and-out on its next possession, punting back to Dartmouth, which proceeded to march 69 yards on 13 plays for the decisive touchdown. Twice the Big Green converted fourth down plays, including on 4th-and-5 from the Yale 15 for Hunnicitt’s winning score. “I think that Dartmouth did a nice job executing,” Reno said. “We didn’t get many first downs in the second half. We were on the field the whole second half. Dartmouth did a good job extending drives. We couldn’t make plays on our offensive side of the ball and kept ourselves on the field to give our defense some rest. At the end of the day, it comes down to execution. They executed some plays and we didn’t.” Entering the game, Dartmouth’s defense was the best in the Ivy League, allowing only 15 points per game to the opposition. Yale had 21 by the second quarter, effectively mixing running backs Deshawn Salter and Zane Dudek with timely throws from quarterback Kurt Rawlings, who threw three touchdowns in the half. The first was a 46-yard first-quarter strike to Chris Williams-Lopez, the senior wide receiver who caught a season-high 10 passes for 146 yards. In the second quarter Rawlings hit freshman receiver Melvin Rouse for a 4-yard score to make the score 14-0. Later in the half, Dudek snuck downfield and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass that extended the Bulldogs lead to 21 points. Dartmouth had no answers for Yale’s swarming defense in the first half, garnering little success on the ground or through the air as the Bulldogs were ready for everything thrown their way. But Rawlings threw an interception with 2:23
“You look at the Ivy League, the parity through all eight teams, you have to be ready to win on the last play.” Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Football
Dartmouth 28, Yale 27
BULLDOG BITES
SCORING BY QUARTERS Yale 7-17-3-0-27 Dartmouth 0-7-7-14-28 1st QUARTER Y – Williams-Lopez 46 pass from Rawlings (Galland kick), 14:14 2nd QUARTER Y – Rouse 4 pass from Rawlings (Galland kick), 5:11 Y – Dudek 22 pass Rawlings (Galland kick), 7:39 Y – FG Galland 29, 0:00 3rd QUARTER D – Hunnicutt 30 pass from Heneghan (Smith kick), 12:18 Y – FG Galland 20, 6:07 4th QUARTER D – Mellor 40 pass from Heneghan (Smith kick), 6:10 D – Hunnicutt 15 pass from Heneghan (Smith kick), 0:34
YALE
DARTMOUTH
25
17
Rushes-Yards
34-150
23-70
Passing Yards
283
310
24-39-2
25-44-1
Total Offense
433
380
Fumbles/Lost
1-0
0-0
5-60
7-74
Punts (Avg.)
6-38.2
7-37.9
Time of Possession
33:05
26:33
First Downs
Passes
Penalties/Yards
2
Junior kicker Alex Galland makes the Ivy League honor roll this week.
Tony Reno doesn’t really need to concern himself with reasons why other colleges failed to take notice of Zane Dudek, the Bulldogs talented freshman running back. He’s at Yale now, and excelling. If Penn State and Pitt and West Virginia, all a short drive from Dudek’s hometown of Kittanning, Penn., missed something in their scouting report, it’s their loss.
Dudek’s transition to college football has been so seamless that he’s actually averaging more yards per carry at Yale than he did as one of the top high school runners in the country.
“I know what I saw,” Reno says. Dudek is well on his way to becoming one of the Ivy League’s elite runners. Four games into his college career, he’s aligned with senior Deshawn Salter to form the league’s most lethal running back tandem. The pair are both averaging around 100 yards per game, with 13 total touchdowns. There’s an old football saying about how the key to a consistent run game is three yards and a cloud of dust. At Yale, through four games, each run is essentially a first down. Dudek is averaging a whopping 9.0 yards per carry; Salter isn’t far behind at 7.7. Since each boasts a different running style, they’ve been difficult to stop. Both have aboveaverage speed. Salter, at 5-foot-10, 215 pounds, fits the mold of a power back. Dudek, at 5-9 and 190, can jump-cut tacklers out of their shoes.
GAME STATS TEAM STATISTICS
Talented freshman running back Zane Dudek continues to excell at Yale.
The added threat of a passing quarterback in sophomore Kurt Rawlings – he set a Yale record for completion percentage in last weekend’s win at Fordham by completing 18-of-20 passes – keeps defenses honest.“My job has been pretty easy with the offensive line we have, and the quarterback we have, and the receivers we have,” Dudek said. “The holes the offensive line makes for me and Deshawn are awesome. Kurt makes the right reads. The receivers are out there blocking their tails off for us. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them. It’s a great system for us.” Dudek was expected to be Yale’s third running back this fall, behind Salter and sophomore Alan Lamar, a second-team All-Ivy selection. Lamar was lost for the season after a non-contact practice injury, but Dudek had already made an impression on the coaching staff. “We couldn’t tackle him all preseason,” Reno said. “He had five touchdowns in two preseason scrimmages. I don’t think we put him on the ground. We couldn’t tackle him. Brown couldn’t tackle him. So we thought maybe he’s ready.”
So Reno isn’t concerned with why larger programs with big money and national TV exposure might have overlooked a hidden gem. It’s their loss and Yale’s gain. “You can either run the ball or you can’t,” Reno said. And Dudek can run. REFFING PRACTICE An excess of penalties in the first three games led to a new Wednesday practice ritual at Yale – referees policing the action. Last week, Reno brought in a group of college officials to enforce any and all infractions during live action. The result has been positive. The Bulldogs took only three penalties in a win at Fordham, and five on Saturday at Dartmouth. Reno and his coaches preach aggressiveness, especially on defense, but there’s a fine line between smart aggression and a penalty. “If we’re going to achieve the level of play we want to play,” said Reno, “I think any small piece that can help us five percent, three percent, two percent — make us that much better as a team — it’s worth it. So, we were fortunate to be able to do that.”
EXTRA BITES • Yale and Holy Cross begin a 12-year series for non-league games on Saturday at the Yale Bowl. The programs will meet every season, alternating home sites, through 2028. • Yale is averaging 244 yards of rushing per game, which ranks 14th in the nation. • Alex Galland, the Bulldogs’ junior kicker, made the Ivy League honor roll this week after converting all five kick attempts, two field goals and three point-after tries.
THE IVY LEAGUE REPORT
STANDINGS (Ivy/Overall) DARTMOUTH COLUMBIA YALE HARVARD
2-0 | 4-0 1-0 | 4-0 1-1 | 3-1 1-1 | 2-2
THIS WEEKEND
CORNELL PENN PRINCETON BROWN
1-1 | 1-3 0-1 | 2-2 0-1 | 3-1 0-1 | 2-2
Saturday Holy Cross at Yale, 1 p.m. Princeton at Brown, 1 p.m. Harvard at Lafayette, noon Dartmouth at Sacred Heart, 1 p.m. Penn at Columbia, 1:30 p.m. Bucknell at Cornell, 1:30 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND... Columbia 41, Marist 17:
Anders Hill threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns as Columbia, 4-0 for the first time since 1996, won its fifth straight game dating back to last season.
Stetson 17, Brown 13:
Darius Daies rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough for the Bears in their road loss against previously winless Stetson.
Cornell 17, Harvard 14:
Zach Mays kicked a 27-yard field goal to break a 14-14 tie with 9:58 remaining in the game for the Big Red, who came back from a 14-0 second quarter deficit to defeat Harvard for the first time in 11 years. Jake Jatis rushed for two touchdowns to lead Cornell. The Crimson were held to 223 yards of total offense for the game.
Central Connecticut State 42, Penn 24:
Penn fell behind 21-0 and never recovered, despite three touchdown passes from Nick Robinson. The Quakers also tossed three interceptions and allowed 294 yards of rushing to Central.
Princeton 50, Georgetown 30:
Chad Kanoff threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tigers. Jesper Horsted caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown for Princeton, which led 50-10 in the third quarter.
RENO’S RUNDOWN Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Loram ispum dolor sit amet, condecteur ad-
ipiscing edit. Aenean ut cursus cursus.in the second half the way we need“We didn’t execute. We eros didn’t execute In rhoncus, lacus id rutrum gravida, nibh ed. The bottom line is we didn’t close them out. We had an opportunity to accumsan lectus, in rutrum massa urna val close them out on two ornec three occasions and we didn’t get it done.” tellus. Mauris in eros risus fermentum. in rutrum massa urna
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UP NEXT...
HOLY CROSS (2-4) at YALE (3-1)
THE SERIES
SAT, OCTOBER 14TH
RADIO: WELI-960 or ESPN 1300 (TBD)
1:00 PM
TV: None
TICKETS: 203-432-1400
ONLINE: IVY LEAGUE NETWORK
Yale leads the all-time series 27-4. The schools last met on Oct. 4, 2008, with the Bulldogs posting a 31-28 double-overtime victory at the Yale Bowl.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT Holy Cross, which opened the season by nearly upsetting UConn, has struggled since a convincing win over then-No. 9 New Hampshire on Sept. 16. That victory that briefly vaulted the Crusaders into the national rankings at 25th. Narrow losses to Dartmouth in overtime and Lafayette preceded an ugly 48-36 loss to Monmouth last weekend. Holy Cross’ offense has been feast or famine, but its passing game will test Yale’s secondary. Quarterback Peter Pujals is averaging 304 yards passing per game, with 12 touchdowns to only four interceptions. Blaise Bell is his favorite target, with 34 receptions and five touchdowns. The Crusaders defense had been stout through five games before Monmouth burned them both through the air and on the ground last Saturday.
BULLDOGS OF THE WEEK
Hayden Carlson, Sr., Safety, 6-0, 210, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Williams-Lopez had his most productive game of the season in the loss at Dartmouth, catching 10 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. His 25 receptions and 348 yards receiving this season are more than double anyone else on the roster.
Carlson, the Bulldogs hard-hitting safety, made a team-high 13 tackles at Dartmouth. Since his arrival at Yale, he’s been consistent both with his presence in the secondary and his nose for finding the football. He’s on pace to lead the team in tackles once again this season.
2017 SCHEDULE
Christopher Williams-Lopez, Sr., Wide receiver, 6-0, 200, Duluth, Ga.
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 1:00 PM 1:00 PM 1:00 PM 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 1:00 PM 1:00 PM
Jack Warhola, Stephen Fritzer, Ron Waite’s Photosportacular
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http://www.cvent.com/d/n5qb1n
* Ivy League Game
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