Football Remains Undefeated With 23-12 Win Over Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H.—It may not have been the offensive showcase that characterized the victory over Princeton a week ago, but the Harvard football team still had enough to pull out a win against Dartmouth on Saturday.

On a cold and rainy afternoon in Hanover, the Crimson (7-0, 4-0 Ivy) jumped out to an early lead that it would never surrender en route to a 23-12 victory. Finding itself in a one-possession game in the second half, the Harvard defense clamped down and stifled a fledgling Dartmouth (5-2, 3-1) comeback attempt. With the win, the Crimson moved into sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.

Junior running back Paul Stanton finished with a career-high 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns, surpassing his previous mark of 146 yards against the Big Green last year.

Fueled by Stanton’s carries and effective blocking from the offensive line, the Crimson scored touchdowns on three of its first five drives. Although the Harvard offense managed just a field goal in the second half, the Crimson defense surrendered only six points in the final three quarters.

“It was a great team effort,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “Defense, special teams, offense, I thought the guys in the trenches did an especially great job. The defensive line and the offensive line gave us an opportunity to win against a very good football team.”

FIRST QUARTER - Harvard and Dartmouth each scored touchdown tries during the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER - Harvard scored two touchdowns and held Dartmouth to a sole field goal as the first half closed.

THIRD QUARTER - The Crimson dwarfed the Big Green in possession time during the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER - Harvard sealed its fourth Ivy win in the darkness at Memorial Field in Hanover.

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While most of the scoring came in the opening two quarters, two of the afternoon’s biggest plays came late in the contest.

Clinging to an eight-point lead, the Crimson offense marched down the field but faced a fourth-and-one in the Dartmouth red zone. Murphy elected to trust senior kicker Andrew Flesher, who had not practiced for much of the week. Flesher calmly converted the 33-yard try to make it a two-possession game with six minutes remaining.

The Harvard defense came up just as big on the next possession. With Dartmouth attempting to climb back into the game, junior defensive back Chris Evans laid a hit on a Big Green receiver to force a fumble that was recovered by captain Norman Hayes. Nearly the entire Crimson sideline stormed onto the field in celebration, while Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens vehemently berated the officials.

“It was ours,” said senior defensive end Zack Hodges. “I saw it from like 20 yards away.”

“What I saw was the guy was on the ground,” Teevens said. “[The officials] obviously saw it a different way.”

The Crimson offense took over after the fumble, and Dartmouth never threatened again. Harvard benefited from turnovers throughout the game, recovering two fumbles and snatching an interception.

The drama of the second half followed an eventful first half that featured a trick touchdown play and two blocked extra points.

Harvard stormed out to an early lead on the first possession of the game with an efficient touchdown drive, taking less than four minutes to move 75 yards down the field. A 17-yard dash from Stanton followed by a reception of the same length moved the Crimson into Dartmouth territory, and the junior capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.

Dartmouth answered the initial Harvard score on its second possession, when junior quarterback Dalyn Williams manufactured a drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown run. Senior defensive tackle Ryan Delisle maintained the Harvard lead by getting a hand on the extra point—the program’s first blocked PAT since 2010.

Harvard featured some offensive trickery on its ensuing drive. On a first down at the Dartmouth 37-yard line, senior wide receiver Seitu Smith took the end around handoff from his brother, Semar, and found a wide-open sophomore tight end Anthony Firkser down the field for the touchdown. Flesher’s extra point attempt was swatted out of the air for the second blocked kick in as many drives.

It was the Crimson defense that set up the team’s third touchdown of the day when Delisle recovered a fumble deep in Dartmouth territory. Harvard needed just four plays to set up a two-yard Stanton rushing touchdown with a few minutes remaining in the first half.

Dartmouth had two chances to make a significant dent in the Harvard lead midway through the game. A 65-yard drive late in the first half stalled inside the Crimson red zone, and the Big Green was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal.

The Harvard defense clamped down once again on the next Dartmouth drive. The wheels on the Big Green offense looked to be moving after a 37-yard Williams completion to Bramble down the sideline. But the result was another field goal as Dartmouth failed to get anything going deep in Crimson territory.

Harvard suffered a minor scare when senior quarterback Conner Hempel exited the game after the Crimson’s second touchdown drive with a shoulder injury. Junior quarterback Scott Hosch played the remainder of the first half before Hempel returned midway through the third quarter.

Dartmouth had to deal with quarterback troubles of its own, as Williams exited in the fourth quarter after being poked in the eye. The task of the Crimson defense was made easier with the dynamic passer and rushing threat on the bench.

The latter stages of the game turned into a defensive war of attrition as the rain began to fall at a faster pace. Junior defensive back Jordan Becerra iced the game for the Crimson by picking off an errant pass from backup quarterback Alex Park with two minutes to go.

“It’s just us playing hard-nosed football, leaving it all out on the field,” Hayes said. “We play hard, for each other, and good things seem to happen.”

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at david.steinbach@thecrimson.com.