Volume LXVVIII, No. 1
September 16, 2017
YALE FOOTBALL NEWS Published by the Yale Football Association
Bulldogs Open with 56-28 Win When Lehigh came to New Haven a year ago, its starting quarterback injured and unable to play, it rolled up 63 points and 651 yards of total offense using a backup quarterbackThe Mountain Hawks went on to win the Patriot League and qualify for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. That Yale was able to completely turn the tables a year later on Lehigh’s home field gives a good indication of how far these Bulldogs have come and the great potential for success this fall. Kurt Rawlings threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns – three in the first half – to lead the Bulldogs to an impressive 56-28 victory at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa. Lehigh football coach Andy Coen stated the obvious in his postgame press conference.“They look like a whole different team,” Coen said. “A completely different team.” Yale’s defense allowed four touchdowns, but came through in the biggest spots. There were five quarterback sacks on the day, two by linebacker Matt Oplinger and two from defensive end Charles Callender. The Bulldogs forced two fumbles that resulted in touchdowns. The first came from captain Spencer Rymiszewski, playing his first game since 2015 after recovering from a shoulder injury last fall, which came with Yale leading 7-0 and resulted in another Bulldog score a few plays later. “Defending these potent offenses is not easy,” said Tony Reno, Yale’s Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach. “We all have a world of respect for these players, but I thought that our guys did a nice job as far as minimizing damage in big plays.”
Yale showed its offense could be a force to be reckoned with in the Ivy League. Rawlings, a sophomore who took over starting duties late last year, was brilliant in leading a balanced attack that saw Yale as dangerous on the ground as it was through the air. Six different receivers caught passes. Chris Williams-Lopez led all receivers with eight catches for 87 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown. Melvin Rouse II, a four-year allstate selection in North Carolina, added 84 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut. Yale’s offensive line paved the way to four rushing touchdowns from three different running backs. Freshmen Zane Dudek (nine carries, 131 yards, two touchdowns) and Andrew Grinde (4-45, touchdown) both averaged over 10 yards per carry. Senior Deshawn Salter also scored a touchdown for the Bulldogs.
Publication authored by Chip Malafonte Yale answered with a scoring drive of its own, Rawlings finding Rouse for a 31-yard touchdown, to extend the lead back to 14 points. Later, Dudek would score on runs of 69 and 21, doubling the Bulldogs’ advantage. “I was happy with the production we had today,” Reno said. “I think we have to be able to perform up to our standards every week. I think we had a lot to clean up, offensively, as well. We had some needless penalties that took some points off the board. I don’t think we ran the ball as much as I’d like to run the ball. We put a couple balls out there that were drop-picks, which were opportunities that Lehigh had that we didn’t make, so we still have a lot to work on.”
“It’s certainly awesome,” Rawlings said. “We have awesome guys on the offensive line, protecting me and allowing me to get the ball to those guys. I think just the chemistry we have as an offense is something that I’m super excited about. It’s fun having those opportunities.” Lehigh, which trailed 28-13 at halftime, kept things interesting early in the second half. Brad Mayes, the quarterback who stepped in for the injured started and tied a school record with six touchdown passes at the Bowl last year, connected with Gatlin Casey for a 66-yard touchdown just 50 seconds into the third quarter. Mayes’ two-point conversion pass closed the Yale lead to 28-21.
“Defending these potent offenses is not easy. We all have a world of respect for these players, but I thought that our guys did a nice job as far as minimizing damage in big plays.” Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Football
YALE 56, LEHIGH
BULLDOG BITES
SCORING BY QUARTERS Yale 14-14-14-14-56 Lehigh 7-6-8-7-28 1st QUARTER Y Rouse 37 pass from Rawlings. (Galland kick), 13:43 Y Williams-Lopez 43 pass from Rawlings (Galland kick), 9:58 Y Ayeh 4 run (Henning kick), 0:01 2nd QUARTER L Casey 11 pass from Mayes (kick blocked), 9:25 Y Salter 1 run (Galland kick), 4:13 Y Shohfi 11 pass from Rawlings (Galland kick) 0:21 3rd QUARTER L Casey 66 pass from Mayes (Kelsey pass), 14:04 Y Rouse 31 pass from Rawlings (rush failed) 12:31 Y Dudek 69 run (Williams-Lopez pass from Rawlings) 6:16 4th QUARTER Y Dudek 29 run (Galland kick) 8:55 L Portorreal 53 pass from Mayes (Henning kick) 6:07 Y Grinde 2 run (Galland kick) 3:40
GAME STATS YALE
LEHIGH
23
20
Rushes-Yards
36-258
35-52
Passing Yards
308
323
20-26-0
20-33-0
Total Offense
566
375
Fumbles/Lost
2-1
2-2
Penalties/Yards
10-100
5-52
Punts (Avg.)
2-46.5
4-39.0
Time of Possession
29:08
30:52
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs
Passes
2
#17 Spencer Rymiszewski, Sr., DB
#91 Nicholas Crowle, Sr., DL
Spencer Rymiszewski has played countless football games in his life, from his Pop Warner beginnings to days as an all-state high school cornerback in Pennsylvania to three productive seasons in Yale’s secondary.
Zane Dudek made his collegiate debut in his home state of Pennsylvania, although the drive from New Haven to Lehigh is actually two hours shorter than it is from Dudek’s hometown of Kittanning.
But he cherished the opportunity to run onto the field at Lehigh. It’s been close to two years since Rymiszewski last played a meaningful game. He endured operations to repair torn labrum muscles in both shoulders that kept him out of action last season.
Nevertheless, it was a homecoming of sorts for Dudek, a well-known high school athlete who made first-team all-state in Pennsylvania last fall, when he set single-season conference records for rushing (2,955 yards) and points (254) for Armstrong High.
“It was awesome,” Rymiszewski said afterward. “It was a feeling that was pretty surreal, stepping back onto the field for the first time in a couple years. Obviously, there’s some things we need to clean up from an offensive standpoint, but it was nice being able to play again.”
The freshman running back – who averaged over 10 yards per carry in his high school career – made a smooth transition to college. He led Yale’s ground game with 131 yards rushing and two touchdowns on nine carries (an average of 14 yards-per carry) to helped put Lehigh away.
His performance was everything Yale could have hoped. Rymiszewski was an All-Ivy League cornerback as a junior in 2015. His services in the secondary were missed last fall. To have an experienced player with the ability and leadership skills back in the fold is a major boost for the Bulldogs. Rymiszewski didn’t disappoint, recording seven tackles and forcing a key first-quarter fumble that was recovered by Yale and turned into a touchdown.
“I actually didn’t feel a ton of nerves; it’s just football to me,” Dudek said. “This is my 13th year of football. It’s just another game to me. We’re having so much fun out here right now that nerves are the last thing on my mind, actually. We’re just having fun, going out there and playing ball with our brothers.”
“He understands values and he was raised that way,” Reno said. “Everything is about team. Everything he does is selfless. He’s been a great leader, but he’s a great person for the team to look to and say how should I be carrying myself? He doesn’t talk a lot, but when he says something, he owns the room. I can’t say enough what he’s done as a captain. I’ve been blessed to have some great captains here, but none better than him. I’m just excited to let him loose on the field.”
EXTRA BITES >> Rymiszewski wasn’t the only first-team allIvy League senior back after a year away from football. Copache Tyler, a defensive end from Springfield, Ill., missed last season for personal reasons. He had two tackles, including a sack, against Lehigh. >> Sophomore running back Alan Lamar, a second-team All-Ivy performer as a freshman, will miss the season after a non-contact injury suffered in the preseason. >> Yale is now 123-19-2 all-time in season openers. >> The 56 points scored against Lehigh was the most for Yale since beating Towson 62-35 in 2003. >> All told, first-year players accounted for five Yale touchdowns on Saturday.
THE IVY LEAGUE REPORT STANDINGS (Ivy/Overall) BROWN COLUMBIA DARTMOUTH PENN
0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 1-0
PRINCETON YALE HARVARD CORNELL
THIS WEEKEND 0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 1-0 0-0 | 0-1
CORNELL at YALE, 1pm BROWN at HARVARD, 12pm PENN at LEHIGH, 12:30pm GEORGETOWN at COLUMBIA, 1pm PRINCETON at LAFAYETTE, 6pm HOLY CROSS at DARTMOUTH, 7pm
LAST WEEKEND... Princeton 27, San Diego 17
Chad Kanoff threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, all to Stephen Carlson (six receptions, 94 yards) in a solid win for the Tigers.
Brown 28, Bryant 23
Quarterback Nick Duncan, in his Brown debut, threw for 152 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 73 yards and two more touchdowns as the Bears defeated their Rhode Island rivals. Dewey Jarvis had four sacks to lead Brown’s defense, which sealed the win when Isaiah Thompkins intercepted a pass as time expired.
Columbia 17, Wagner 14
Oren Milstein’s 19-yard field goal with no time on the clock delivered the Lions to victory on their home field. Anders Hill threw for 199 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 89 yards and another score for Columbia.
Rhode Island 17, Harvard 10
A 17-point outburst in the second quarter was all Rhode Island needed on offense to post its first-ever victory over Harvard. Charlie Booker led the Crimson with 139 yards rushing.
Penn 42, Ohio Dominican 24
Karekin Brooks ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries as the Quakers disposed of a Division II opponent in Philadelphia.
Delaware 41, Cornell 14
Delaware, a traditional FCS power, scored the game’s first 34 points and held the Big Red to 46 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Dartmouth 38, Stetson 7
Rashaad Cooper (97 yards) and Ryder Stone (96 yards) paced a strong Big Green running attack in Deland, Fla.
RENO’S RUNDOWN Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football dolor sit amet, condecteur “It was a Loram greatispum example, for me, of our culture. We have a team with great adipiscing edit. Aenean eros ut cursus chemistry, we have a team the gravability to play together, the ability to cursus. In rhoncus, lacus with id rutrum play withida, thenibh guyaccumsan to the right and left of him, the ability to play one play at a lectus, in rutrum massa urna val tellus. Mauris in eros nec risus time and win each play and continue to focus on winning plays, not winning fermentum. in rutrum massa urna a game. I was very proud of how the guys played that.”
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UP NEXT...
CORNELL (0-1) at YALE (1-0) SAT, SEPTEMBER 23
THE SERIES
RADIO: ESPN 1300
1:00 PM
TV: ELEVEN SPORTS
TICKETS: 203-432-1400
ONLINE: IVY LEAGUE NETWORK
Yale leads the all-time series with Cornell 47-30-2, which dates back to 1889. The Bulldogs have won 11 of the past 16 meetings, which includes a 27-13 loss last September in Ithaca.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT Cornell was overmatched in its opener, a 41-14 loss at perennial FCS power Delaware. The Big Red were fairly efficient through the air, as quarterback Dalton Banks completed 23-of-35 passes for 247 yards. But few teams will win football game by turning the ball over five times – four interceptions and a fumble. Cornell’s defense had little success, allowing Delaware 427 yards of total offense. It certainly bodes well for Yale, which decimated Lehigh on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Kurt Rawlings has been brilliant in his past two starts, dating back to last season’s upset win at Harvard, with weapons at running back and receiver.
BULLDOGS OF THE WEEK
#22 Matthew Oplinger, Sr., LB || 6-3, 242 lbs. || Summit, NJ
Rawlings threw for 308 yards and four touchdown passes to lead Yale past Lehigh. Three of those scoring passes came in the first half, as the Bulldogs raced to a 28-13 lead and never looked back. Last season, he passed for five touchdowns in seven appearances, though his first start didn’t come until week eight at Brown.
Oplinger helped set the defensive tone against Lehigh with four tackles, two of which were quarterback sacks. Last season he recorded one sack in 10 games. Oplinger, whose older brother, Justin ‘09, was also a linebacker for the Bulldogs, has appeared in all 31 games in his Yale career.
2017 SCHEDULE
#6 Kurt Rawlings, So., QB || 6-2, 210 lbs. || Bel Aire, MD
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 1:00 PM 6:00 PM 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
MILFORD ACADEMY BROWN HARVARD
1:00 PM 1:00 PM 1:00 PM
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