Columbia Hands Indians Homecoming Loss

by Joseph S. Marucheck

Dartmouth was spelled out in red, white, and blue across the endzones. Dartmouth fans, coming from the many tailgates, around campus filled up the home stands . Excitement approached the level it had reached the night before at the bonfire. It was just the beginning of an action-packed Homecoming football game, in which Dartmouth would test its skills against the Lions of Columbia.

After winning the opening toss, Dartmouth declined to receive the ball on the opening kickoff. Columbia started in its own territory and was quickly stopped the by the Dartmouth defense. The Indians received the ball for the first time on their own 16. On the first play, Evan Love (’05, QB), handed the ball to Mike Gratch (’02, TB), who started off the Dartmouth offense with a 16 yard run. Dartmouth looked strong as it moved up the field. Columbia finally stopped Dartmouth on the 6 yard line. Dartmouth attempted a short-range field goal, but missed it.

Columbia took over and began to march down the field, lead by Jonathan Reese’s (’02, TB) running game. A few plays later, Columbia faced 3rd down and 1 yard to go on Dartmouth’s 16 yard line. Jeff McCall’s (’02, QB) attempted touchdown pass failed. Instead of opting for the field goal on the next down, Columbia decided to go for the touchdown. On 4th and 1, Reese ran 16 yards for first touchdown of the game, giving the Lions the first points in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Dartmouth’s Steve Jensen (’05, CB) returned the ball to the 50. Gratch took over and steadily moved Dartmouth down the field. With a 17 yard and 12 yard run, Gratch managed to get the Indians to 1st and goal on the 8 yard line. Three plays later, Love found Matt DeLellis (’02, WR) in the endzone, tying the game at 7-7. The 1st quarter ended soon after Dartmouth’s touchdown.

Both teams traded possession for most of the 2nd quarter. Toward the end of the quarter, Columbia put together a drive lead by a 30 yard pass to Doug Peck (’03, WR) and a 17 yard run by Jonathan Reese. At 4th and inches on Dartmouth’s 12, Jeff McCall connected on a touchdown pass to Steve Cargile (’04, WR), breaking the tie and giving the Lions a 14-7 lead.

Columbia got the ball back again with a few minutes left in the half after stopping Dartmouth on its previous drive. The Lions put the football deep into the red zone. However, with the final seconds ticking away, they were forced to kick a field goal, giving them a 17-7 lead going into halftime.

During halftime, the crowd was forced to watch the antics of an unimpressive Columbia band. However, toward the end of the performance, an unknown student, rumored to be an ’04, valiantly rushed the field. The Dartmouth marching band came out and gave a performance comparable to that of the Columbia band.

At the onset of the 2nd half, while the special teams were lining up on the field, another courageous soul, this time an ’05, ran onto the field. The crowd cheered as the masked runner ran all over the field before ultimately being caught in a tunnel beneath the stadium.

The second half began with Columbia kicking off to Dartmouth and a strong return by Steve Jensen to the Columbia 44 yard line. Several plays later, Gratch took over on a breakaway run for 38 yards that was headed towards the endzone until Columbia managed to take him down on the 5 yard line. On the next play, Columbia received a penalty for an illegal substitution, moving the Indians closer to the endzone. However, in a heartbreaking play, Dartmouth fumbled the football, and Columbia recovered on its own 15.

Both teams traded possessions again, until Columbia put together the first scoring drive of the 2nd half. Reese proved to be the backbone of the drive with a 35 yard run. Finally, McCall connected with Jarel Cockburn (’02, WR) for a 19 yard touchdown pass, putting Columbia up 24-7.

For some, hope for a win was starting to wane, until Dartmouth came up big on the kickoff. Steve Jensen received the kickoff, eluded the Columbia player left and right, and ran 94 yards for a touchdown, bringing the scored to 24-14. The crowd went wild, and momentum began to shift in Dartmouth’s direction again. Then the Indians stopped Columbia on the ensuing drive and received possession in great field position, with the 3rd quarter ending abruptly.

The 4th quarter was the most exciting. Dartmouth moved deeper and deeper into Columbia’s territory until Chuck Britton (’05, OLB) intercepted the football and ran it back to his own 40. With the help of a 28 yard pass to Jarel Cockburn, Columbia moved to Dartmouth’s 16. However, this time, the Indian defense was ready. A Dartmouth sack and two penalties forced the Lions to settle for a field goal, which made the score 27-14.

The next drive mirrored Dartmouth’s previous one. Love, facing 1st and 10 on its own 29, threw a pass that was intercepted by Craig Brown (’03, OLB), who returned it to the Dartmouth 9. Fortunately, the Indians returned the favor with an interception by Joe Vinci (’02, LB) in the endzone, denying the Lions the chance the score anymore points.

Each team’s next drive was stopped. Then Dartmouth put together a strong drive midway through the 4th quarter. Dartmouth’s drive started on the Columbia 42. Columbia almost stopped the Indians, however facing 4th down and 4 yards, Love found Andrew Hall (’05, WR) for a big catch, moving the ball to the 15. Three downs later, Gratch made another big run, this time to the endzone. Unfortunately, Dartmouth’s kicker missed the extra point making the score 27-20.

On the next and final drive of the game, the Lions ran the ball and the clock. Columbia faced 3rd down and 9 on its own 18. The excitement from the Dartmouth side was intense, this play was going to make or break the game for Indians. Then, McCall connected a 28 yard pass to Peck for the 1st down. With too few timeouts remaining, the clock ran out and Columbia won.

Both teams accumulated respectable statistics. McCall threw for 213 yards, connecting on 23 of 34 passes. Reese ran 25 times for 139 yards, and Peck caught 7 passes for 91 yards. Love, who replaced Greg Smith (’02, QB) as starting quarterback, finished the day with 104 yards on 12 of 24 attempts. Gratch ran for 133 yards on 25 carries with an additional 33 yards in receptions.

The loss drops the Indians to 1-4 (1-2 Ivy) and moves the Lions to 1-4 (1-2 Ivy) and snaps an eight game losing streak. Dartmouth looked like a darkhorse contender for the Ivy league title at the beginning of the season. However, the loss of Greg Smith to a broken hand was a setback that will create new challenges for the team throughout the remainder of the season. The Indian’s next opponent is the Crimson of Harvard 5-0 (3-0 Ivy), which will be played Saturday, October 27, at Harvard.

Though Columbia managed to eke out a victory, the game was well fought by both sides. All four quarters and the halftime were full of great plays and a undying ‘05 tradition that made students, alums, and other spectators proud to be in Hanover during Homecoming Weekend.