HANOVER, N.H. - Under a constant downpour, Dartmouth got 242
yards rushing from sophomore Nick Schwieger to end the Big Green's 17-game losing
streak and defeat Columbia 28-6 in Hanover.
Dartmouth (1-5, 1-2 Ivy) forced three turnovers and never
trailed in the game, scoring on the game's first possession. Columbia dropped
its third straight game to fall to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the league.
The Big Green scored on its first drive, despite committing
three penalties that cost the team 25 yards. Schwieger carried the ball
seven times for 45 yards, and sophomore quarterback Conner Kempe completed all
four of his passes, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior Niles Murphy.
After the Dartmouth defense held Columbia to just one first
down on its first drive, the Lions were forced to punt. But the snap went over
punter Greg Guttas' head, and when he recovered, junior Luke Hussey was able to
get a piece of the kick, which went just two yards past the line of scrimmage
to the Lion 36. Seven plays later, Kempe found sophomore Michael Reilly in the
corner of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead in the first
quarter.
The rain continued to pour as neither team could dent the
scoreboard during the second or third quarters, although Columbia twice attempted
field goals. The first came from 37 yards out, but went wide to the left. The
second try came on the first drive of the second half, but Dartmouth player
tipped it and sent it barreling off to the right.
Dartmouth got more breathing room, however, when Abuhoff hit
receiver Austin Knowlin right after a catch, jarring the ball loose.
Dartmouth's Charles Bay scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 39 yards for the
touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 10:35 to play.
An excessive celebration play forced Dartmouth to kick off
from its own 15, and a personal foul penalty on the return put the Lions on the
Big Green 34, leading to the lone Columbia score of the game.
Olawale was sacked on the first play of the drive for a loss
of seven. On third and 17, Olawale
dumped off a pass to Zack Kourouma, who picked up a hard-fought 15 yards to make it
fourth and two on the Dartmouth 26.
Olawale found Knowlin for a 10-yard gain on the ensuing play, and then hit James Burrell for an
11-yard pick up to make it first and goal from the Dartmouth five.
Olawale finished off the seven-play,
34-yard drive with a one-yard dive into the end zone. The extra-point attempt
was fumbled, however, and the Lions failed to convert on the broken
play, leaving the score at 21-6.
Schwieger made it 28-6 when he broke free on a 3rd-and-10
run around the left side and went 66 yards for the touchdown.
Dartmouth had 354 total yards for the game, 279 coming on
the ground. Columbia finished with
271 yards with 182 rushing.
Olawale was 12-for-32 for 89 yards with two interceptions
while rushing for a team-high 82 yards, just one more than running back Ray Rangel who had 81. Lion free safety Adam Mehrer led all players with 16 tackles
in the game. Knowlin finished with
40 receiving yards, moving him within 95 yards of Columbia's all-time
receiving record.
Columbia heads home next week for a televised game against Yale on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1
p.m.
