Football

Much to the consternation of Harvard fans, Yale celebrated its 800th victory with a bang this weekend with a dominating 42-6 win over Dayton. The Elis now possess more victories than any other college or university in the country.

The prestigious record proves one thing for certain: Yale is old.

The Bulldogs' performance in its first game bodes well for the rest of this season. Yale has now won 10 consecutive games, dating back to last year when the team won its last nine after falling to Brown 25-24 in the 1999 season opener.

Tailback Rashad Bartholomew rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns, leading the offensive attack. The game was over almost as soon as it began as Yale jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Dayton did not have enough firepower to work its way back into contention and could not spoil Yale's party plans.

Junior quarterback Peter Lee, in his first Yale start, threw only four incomplete passes, connecting on 19-23 for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Over 20,900 people came out to watch the game in the Yale Bowl, a massive crowd for a non-league Ivy football contest.

Brown 36, San Diego 20

Brown, the Ivy League's defending league champion and Harvard's next opponent, picked up from where it left off last season, defeating non-league San Diego 36-20.

Making his first varsity start, senior quarterback Eric Webber had little trouble adjusting to the Bears' offensive system. Webber threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns, completing 27 of his 38 passes. Junior tailback Michael Malan complemented Webber on the ground, tallying 183 rushing yards including a 16-yard TD.

Colgate 42, Dartmouth 24

Dartmouth did not fare as well in its opener, falling 42-24 to Colgate. After fumbling on its first two offensive positions, the Big Green yielded 21 points before it was able to find the end zone. But by that time, it was too little too late for Dartmouth.

Two more turnovers spoiled any hope of a comeback, and the loss put a damper on the Green's hopes of bettering last year's dismal 2-8 season.

Bucknell 38, Cornell 15

Cornell, who hosts Yale this week, could not keep up with Bucknell to commence its football season. The Big Red lost 38-15 to fall to 0-1 on the early season. While Cornell only managed a total 26 yards on the ground as a team, Bucknell's Jabu Powell ran for 282 total yards and three touchdowns. As a result, Powell had more than 10 times the rushing yards of Cornell's entire squad.

Even though Cornell wide receiver Keith Ferguson finally scored the first TD of the game, Bucknell scored 31 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

Columbia 43, Fordham 26

Columbia easily disposed of Fordham, 43-26, in its first regular season game. Junior quarterback Jeff McCall completed 13 of 18 passes, threw of which were caught in the end zone for touchdowns. Fordham actually led 26-21 at halftime, but the Lions put on their game faces for round No. 2, scoring 22 unanswered and clinching the victory.

Halfback Johnathan Reese added 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Columbia. Defensively, cornerback Philip Murray intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble. Harvard will have to watch out for Murray, who also recorded 11 tackles, a team high. Columbia's 43 points were the most the team had scored in 28 years.

Lehigh 17, Penn 10

Lehigh (2-0), who actually might be the best team in Pennsylvania this year, defeated Penn 17-10, though Quaker quarterback Gavin Hoffman broke a school record with 36 pass completions and 356 total yards. Though overshadowed by Yale's quest for 800, Penn continues to search for win No. 725. It has a chance to earn that victory next week against Lafayette.

Lafayette 24, Princeton 17

Princeton got bitten by the Lafayette Leopards, losing 24-17 on a last second Lafayette TD. Princeton actually scored with 45 seconds in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 17-17. Unfortunately for the Tigers, 45 seconds was a bit too much time to leave on the clock for Lafayette.

Instead of downing the ball and playing for overtime, the Leopards tried to win. Beginning on its own 20-yard line, Lafayette struck gold when third-string QB Marko Glavic found Phil Yarberough streaking down the sidelines for 55 yards. On the Princeton 15, Glavic again connected with Yarberough, this time on a fade pattern in the end zone with just two ticks on the clock.

Princeton led 7-3 at the half, but could not stop Glavic, who began the game on the bench but saw action in relief when starting QB Harry Armstrong went down with an injury. Princeton will try for its first win next week against Lehigh in another non-league game.