Volume LXVVIII, No. 3
September 30, 2017
YALE FOOTBALL NEWS Published by the Yale Football Association
Bulldogs Roll - Beat Fordham 41 - 10
Publication authored by Chip Malafronte
There was little concern Yale would be able to score points on Saturday night at Coffey Field in the Bronx. Fordham had allowed at least 45 points in its three losses, with a formidable challenge in the Bulldogs’ multi-faceted offense. The real interest was whether Yale’s defense could withstand Fordham’s own offensive weapons, which included two-time All-American tailback Chase Edmonds, heralded freshman Zach Davis and a veteran quarterback in Kevin Anderson. As it turned out, there was little reason for trepidation. Yale dominated both sides of the ball, racking up yardage and points at will while limiting Fordham to a field goal and a garbage time touchdown in a convincing 41-10 victory. “We gave up a touchdown late with our second string in and I think the defense put in a great effort all day, put great pressure on Fordham,” said Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno. “We did a much better job covering space and covering routes, their receivers had very good speed. I think our kids did a good job of staying with routes and making plays with the ball.” The Bulldogs (3-0) have avenged losses from last season three times in three games. Fordham (1-4) was 25-2 in its last 27 games at home, last losing to No. 2 Villanova in 2015. On Saturday, Yale eased off the gas pedal on offense after taking a 41-3 lead early in the second half, and did what few teams have accomplished defensively against the Rams – hold Edmonds, on the verge of becoming the Patriot League’s career rushing leader, to under 100 yards. Edmonds, who went for 121 yards in Fordham’s win over Yale last season, had missed the previous two games with an injury. Andrew Breiner, Fordham’s coach, kept mum about Edmonds leading into Saturday to keep Yale guessing, though Davis, an all-state high
Fordham, an FCS power under former coach Joe Moorhead, now the offensive coordinator at Penn State, is struggling badly on defense. Yale led 21-0 after one quarter. By the time the Bulldogs tacked on two touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half, it was 41-3 and time to call off the dogs. “The mentality of this team is just to come in and take it over and this week the focus was doing it from the start,” Rawlings said. “We were a little slow against Cornell and we knew we had a lot of stuff to work on. There’s still going to be a lot of stuff to work on but I think we did a better job coming out from the first play and taking it to them right away. Now I’m just hoping to keep all of us healthy and all come back next week.”
school back in Connecticut who led the country with 359 yards rushing per-game last fall, was a potent understudy. “Edmonds played, he’s a heck of a football player, really made us work on some plays,” said Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno. “For the most part, we did a good job as the game wore on, tackling him. He had some really good plays. He’s one heck of a back.” Yale’s defense notched four more sacks, raising the season total to 15 in three games, which is one less than it managed in 10 games last season. Edmonds (16 carries, 82 yards) and Davis (8-50, one touchdown) were taken away as primary options. As the Bulldogs piled on the points, Fordham became more reliant on the passing game, which never got started. “Everything was just moving on all cylinders,” said Yale defensive back and captain Spencer Rymiszewski. “When the offense is playing like they are, I think the energy just flows throughout the entire team. We were just able to capitalize on defense on third downs which was huge for us to just get off the field and get our offense the ball and have them keep rolling. So, it was a great day.” Yale’s offensive line continued to lay waste whatever the opposition throws on its defensive front, paving the way for another big day for Yale running backs DeShawn Salter and Zane Dudek. Salter needed only eight carries to roll off 118 yards and three touchdowns (his second three-touchdown performance in a row) while Dudek added 56 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. When sophomore quarterback Kurt Rawlings dropped back to pass, he picked apart Fordham’s secondary at will, completing his first 14 passes until as interception spoiled the perfect day. He finished by connecting on 18-of-20 passes, a Yale record for completion percentage, for 189 yards and a touchdown pass to Jaeden Graham.
“We gave up a touchdown late with our second string in and I think the defense put in a great effort all day, put great pressure on Fordham.” Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Football
YALE 41, FORDHAM 10
BULLDOG BITES
SCORING BY QUARTERS Yale 21-7-13-0-41 Fordham 0-3-0-7-10 1st QUARTER Y – Salter 38 run (Galland kick), 11:50 Y – Dudek 8 run (Galland kick), 5:11 Y – Graham 19 pass from Rawlings (Galland kick), 2:34 2nd QUARTER F – FG Melvis 31, 10:43 Y – Salter 27 run (Galland kick), 7:36
Running back Zane Dudek shines.
Hayden Carlson continues to be aggressive.
Hayden Carlson has always found a way to get into the action from his position at safety.
POWER LINE
At Glenbard West High in Glen Ellyn, Ill., he set school records for career and single-season tackles. In the state championship game as a senior he made 14 tackles, another record. A year earlier, he leveled the opposing quarterback, an openfield hit on fourth down with under 2 minutes left that preserved Glenbard West’s first state title in 29 years.
3rd QUARTER Y – Salter 1 run (Galland kick), 13:00 Y – Dudek 22 run (kick failed) 8:59 4th QUARTER F – Davis 20 run (Melvis kick) 5:43
At Yale, he’s continued to rack up tackles. He made 92 as a sophomore to lead the Ivy League. Last season he raised that total to 95, with 62 solo stops to lead the league. “Hayden’s like a little missile,” says Yale coach Tony Reno. “He just wants to come down hill and knock everything back.” Yet there’s been no recognition when the annual all-Ivy League teams are released. Not even an honorable mention, something that’s perplexed many around the football team. Carlson manages to keep talk of snubs in proper perspective.
GAME STATS YALE
FORDHAM
23
17
Rushes-Yards
34-283
40-160
Passing Yards
189
140
18-22-1
13-28-0
Total Offense
416
300
Fumbles/Lost
0-0
2-1
Penalties/Yards
3-30
6-41
Punts (Avg.)
3-35.0
6-36.0
Time of Possession
28:52
31:08
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs
Passes
2
“There’s a lot of different ways you can look at it,” Carlson said. “Our defense wasn’t at the level it is this season. In the past season we let up a lot of points. If your safety is making a lot of tackles it’s not always the sign of a very good defense. I’m not focusing on the number of tackles I’ve accumulated in my years here. I’d just like that to speak to the way I play.” Reno and his coaching staff preach aggressiveness and physicality on defense. That philosophy fits Carlson’s game to a tee. He prides himself on leaving a lasting impression on all he encounters on the field, hard hits that make opposing receivers remember and understand what’s in store when they charge through the Yale secondary. Two weeks ago against Cornell at the Yale Bowl, Carlson added another milestone – returning an interception for a touchdown for the first time in his college career. “It was pretty cool,” Carlson said. “That was my first pick-six since fifth grade. It’s been a while.”
Running backs Deshawn Salter and Zane Dudek along with quarterback Kurt Rawlings are garnering much of the attention as Yale’s offense continues its offensive assault on all comers. Remember the old saying ‘three yards and a cloud of dust?’ Hardly. When it comes to running the ball, Yale is dominating, averaging 7.6 yards per rush through three games. On Saturday at Fordham, Rawlings completed his first 14 passes and set a Yale record for completion percentage by hitting 18-of-20 passes. It’s the behind-the-scenes work of the offensive line that’s at the root of the Bulldogs’ success. Center Sterling Strother, guards Dieter Eiselen and Anders Huizenga and tackle Karl Marback started at Fordham, several others rotated in over the course of the game when Yale pulled away, and continued to perform. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have played a lot of games,” said Salter. “Last season, they got a lot of experience. They’re big, strong guys, and they really work well together. I think (associate head coach Joe Conlin) does a really great job with those guys. They know their responsibilities and they take care of business every week.”
EXTRA BITES • Yale managed 16 sacks in 10 games last season. With four against Fordham on Saturday, it now has 15 in three games. • Karl Marback, a senior left tackle, was named one of 181 semifinalists for the William F. Campbell Trophy, which honors the nation’s top scholar-athlete. On Nov. 1, 12-14 finalists will be announced, each receiving an $18,000 scholarship for postgraduate studies. The winner gets a $25,000 scholarship.
THE IVY LEAGUE REPORT
STANDINGS (Ivy/Overall) YALE HARVARD COLUMBIA DARTMOUTH
1-0 | 3-0 1-0 | 2 -1 1-0 | 3-0 1-0 | 3-0
PENN PRINCETON BROWN CORNELL
THIS WEEKEND 0-1 | 2-1 0-1 | 2 -1 0-1 | 2-1 0-1 | 0-3
Saturday Yale at Dartmouth, 1:30 p.m. Columbia at Marist, noon Brown at Stetson, 1 p.m. Georgetown at Princeton, 1 p.m. Penn at Central Connecticut State, 1 p.m. Harvard at Cornell, 1:30 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND... DARTMOUTH 16, PENN 13: Jared Gerbino scored a 1-yard touchdown on the final play of the game to lift Dartmouth to its victory. The Big Green could have kicked a field goal to tie, but went for the win and succeeded. Penn entered the game averaging nearly 54 points per game, but were held to a touchdown and two field goals. COLUMBIA 28, PRINCETON 24: Anders Hill found Ronald Smith for a 63-yard touchdown pass with 1:12 remaining as Columbia is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 1996. It was also Columbia’s first win over Princeton since 2010. Hill finished with 400 yards passing and two touchdowns; Smith caught 10 passes for 236 yards and two scores. COLGATE 21, CORNELL 7: Cornell quarterback Dalton Banks threw four interceptions as the Big Red remained winless on the season. HARVARD 41, GEORGETOWN 2: Justice Shelton-Mosely had a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, longest in Harvard history, while Jake Smith threw for two touchdowns and became the first freshman to start for the Crimson since Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2005. BROWN 24, RHODE ISLAND 21: The Bears scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to hold off intrastate rival URI. T.J. Linta threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns while Darius Daies ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
RENO’S RUNDOWN Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football ispum sit amet, condecteur “From theLoram start, thedolor guys brought the adright intensity. We talked about it all ipiscing edit. Aenean eros ut cursus cursus. week, weIntalked about coming into this game and having an opportunity to rhoncus, lacus id rutrum gravida, nibh play a team thatlectus, we felt has done really accumsan in rutrum massa urna val well in the past ten years and has tellus. talented Mauris in eros necand risus fermentum. a lot of really kids we had to bring it from the start, which our guys did.”in rutrum massa urna
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UP NEXT...
YALE (3-0, 1-0) at DARTMOUTH (3-0, 1-0)
THE SERIES Yale leads the all-time series with Dartmouth 54-40-6, taking the 100th meeting between the Ivy Rivals 21-13 last October in New Haven.
SAT, OCTOBER 7TH
RADIO: WELI-960
1:30 PM
TV:
TICKETS: 203-432-1400
ONLINE: IVY LEAGUE NETWORK, ESPN3
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT Dartmouth isn’t just winning close games, it’s winning them in spectacular fashion. Two weeks ago, Holy Cross scored what could have been the winning touchdown with 3 seconds left only to have the extra-point attempt blocked to force overtime. In OT, Dartmouth broke up Holy Cross’ attempt to win on a 2-point conversion pass. Last week, the Big Green stunned Penn on a touchdown run with no time remaining on the clock, eschewing a chance to send the game to overtime with a short field goal. Unlike Yale’s first three opponents, Dartmouth’s calling card is defense. Through three games the Big Green are allowing only 15 points per game. Penn entered last week’s game averaging nearly 54 points per game, and only managed 13. Yale, with perhaps the most dynamic offense in the league, will face by far its stiffest test.
BULLDOGS OF THE WEEK
Copache Tyler, Sr., Defensive tackle, 6-2, 300, Springfield, Ill.
On a day Yale quarterback Kurt Rawlings set a program record for completion percentage by successfully connecting on 18-of-20 passes, credit goes to the Bulldog offense line for limiting pressure and allowing Rawlings time in the pocket. Marback has been a bit of a chameleon the past three years, moving from defense to center to left tackle.
Tyler was crucial to Yale’s defensive effort, clogging the middle to limit Fordham’s ground game and two-time All-American tailback Chase Edmonds. Tyler also registered one of the Bulldogs four sacks. The first-team all-Ivy Leaguer is a welcome addition to the line after missing all of last season.
2017 SCHEDULE
Karl Marback, Sr., Left tackle, 6-5, 296, Birmingham, Mich.
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 1:30 PM 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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* Ivy League Game
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