Indian Football: Big Red Heartbreak

by Brian Ross

Dartmouth’s lackluster performance led to a 28-24 defeat at the hands of the Cornell Big Red last Saturday at Memorial Stadium in front of approximately 5,600 fans. The game was decidedly ugly, and Dartmouth let their lead slip away in the fourth quarter for their fourth consecutive loss.

Cornell began the game with three straight incompletions and was forced to punt from their own 20-yard line. The punt sailed to the 50, where it was dropped. Dartmouth recovered, but it was indication of the overall sloppiness that plagued the game.

Starting their first drive at the 44, the Indians went three downs and out, with an incomplete wide receiver screen, a four yard quarterback keeper by Joe Kinder ‘03, and a sack that pushed Dartmouth back ten yards. Matt Ware’s ‘03 punt was a good one, but it sailed into the end zone. Cornell began their second drive on their own 20.

Following a run to the right side for no gain by Evan Simmons and a quick wide receiver out for six yards, Cornell got its first 1st down on a 13 yard slant to Kellner. Cornell followed with another first down on an eleven yard run by Justin Dunleavy and would have had another on Rahne’s quarterback scramble, but a holding penalty forced Cornell back to their own 43-yard line. Their drive stalled there, and Cornell was again forced to punt.

The punt was a poor one, and Dartmouth began at Cornell’s 28-yard line. However, two straight penalties pushed the offense back to the 50-yard line. Dartmouth picked up eight yards on a catch by Jay Barnard ‘04 and ten more on a swing pass to Barnard again. Facing third and short, Dartmouth opted to run wide on the left, and Mike Gratch ‘02 picked up three yards for the first down. Kinder then completed a 21 yard pass to Bob Murphy ‘05, bringing the Indians down to the Cornell 8-yard line.

On first and goal, Gratch picked up four on a good, patient run. On second down, Kinder threw an incomplete fade pass to the corner. Facing third and goal from the 4-yard line, Gratch again received the call. Running into a whole created by a pulling guard, Gratch was able to break a few tackles on his way to scoring the first points of the game. The extra-point by Tyler Lavin ‘05 was good, and Dartmouth led 7-0 with 7:54 left in the first quarter.

Cornell began a mistake-plagued drive at the 25-yard line. On second down, Cornell fumbled the snap, and, after picking up nine yards on a third down pass, Cornell had to punt again. Grant Wagner ‘04 made a spectacular block of the Mike Baumgartel punt. Dartmouth recovered and the offense took the field in Cornell territory.

The drive, however, would not go the way Dartmouth hoped. On the very first play of the drive, Kinder fumbled the snap. He recovered, but lost a yard. Gratch then exploded up the middle for nine yards. Facing third and short, Dartmouth made a critical error with a false-start. Now facing a third and long, Dartmouth again committed another penalty an illegible man downfield. Now facing a third and eleven, Kinder overthrew an open Matt DeLellis ‘02, forcing Dartmouth to attempt a field goal. Lavin’s kick, however, sailed wide left from 37 yards.

Beginning at their own 20, the Big Red began to drive. Rahne completed a ten-yard pass followed by a 19-yard pass to bring Cornell out to the 49-yard line. Dartmouth, however, stopped the drive there. Steve Jensen’s tackle of Simmons on a run to the right and Josh Woods’ tackle of Rahne on a quarterback bootleg forced Cornell into a third and long. Facing strong pressure from the Dartmouth defense, however, Rahne was only able to complete a short pass, and Cornell was again forced to punt.

Baumgartel’s punt sailed over the Dartmouth punt returners, and Cornell was able to down the ball at Dartmouth’s own five-yard line. Starting with 1:22 left in the first quarter, the Indians had to work from the shadows of their own goal posts. A first-down run by Gratch was stretched out by the Cornell defenders, and he lost three yards. Now on their own 2-yard line, Kinder rolled to the left and delivered a strike to DeLellis, moving the ball out to the ten and giving the offense more room. Facing a third and five, Cornell jumped offsides. On third and short, Kinder ran right and picked up a key first down.

The drive stalled there. A direct snap to tight end Casey Cramer who had lined up at quarterback gained only three yards, ending the first quarter. Following an incompletion by Kinder and a short run by Gratch, Ware was again called on to punt. This punt was a beautiful one, long and high. The Dartmouth punt team was able to get down field quickly, but unfortunately violated the “halo,” crashing into the return man before he caught the ball.

Cornell’s drive was again bogged by penalties and great Dartmouth defense. A downfield holding penalty negated a first down, and a sack by senior linebacker Matt Mercer forced Cornell to punt from their own 45-yard line. Cornell resorted to trickery and faked the punt. Scott Wedum ‘04, however, sniffed out the play and stopped Cornell in their tracks. Dartmouth took over at theCornell 44-yard line.

Dartmouth’s drive was again short-lived. Two incomplete passes and a complete one to Damien Roomets for a short gain left Dartmouth with a fourth and five. Dartmouth elected to go for it, but Kinder was forced to scramble, retreating back about fifteen yards, running from one side of the field to the other before he threw the ball out of bounds. Cornell took over on downs at their own 38-yard line.

Cornell now began a concerted drive. Rolling Rahne out both left and right to run, Cornell quickly marched out to the Dartmouth 39-yard line. A pass interference penalty brought Cornell to Dartmouth’s 25-yard line. Following a six-yard run and a ten-yard pass, Cornell had first and goal from the Dartmouth 9-yard line. The Big Red capitalized, as Evan Simmons exploited the poor tackling by Dartmouth en route to Cornell’s first touchdown. Peter Iverson added the extra point, and the game was tied at seven with just over six minutes remaining in the half.

Following a short kick, Steve Jensen took the ball from the ten yard and sprinted for a great return of thirty yards. Dartmouth committed another costly penalty on the return, however, and the offense had to start from the 28-yard line. Three straight strong runs, the first by Gratch and the next two by Pat Risha ‘05, moved Dartmouth all the way out to Cornell’s 44-yard line. Dartmouth snapped the ball again to Cramer, who scrambled right for a short gain of two. Cramer again lined up at quarterback, but a false start pushed them back five more.

Then, on second down, Dartmouth revealed why Cramer had been taking the snaps. Running right, Cramer stopped suddenly and threw a deep pass to DeLellis, who made a spectacular catch on the short throw, leaping over the Cornell cornerback all the way down at the Cornell 12-yard line. Dartmouth scored two plays later on a great run after the catch by Jay Barnard. The extra point was good, and Dartmouth led 14-7 with 2:46 left in the half.

Cornell, however, was again able to drive down the field. Starting on the 28-yard-line, Cornell’s Keith Ferguson made a great fingertip catch for a twenty-yard gain. Unfortunately, tragedy struck Dartmouth on the play, as captain and All-Ivy inside linebacker Matt Mercer suffered a broken leg just above the ankle, ending his season. The Dartmouth defense was now missing its best player.

Cornell exploited the loss, grinding downfield on runs of nine, five, and nine yards. A 13-yard pass brought Cornell down to the 14-yard line, and Cornell scored two plays later on a two-yard slant to the fullback Nathan Archer. Iverson’s kick was good, and the game was tied at 14 with 30 seconds left in the half.

Starting at their own 29-yard line, Dartmouth began their version of the two-minute drill. Rather than throwing downfield and getting out of bounds, Dartmouth ran on the first play, threw a swing pass on the second, and threw a quick receiver screen on the third. While the plays did gain yards for the Indians, bringing them all the way to Cornell’s 37-yard line, they ran out of time. A long pass by Kinder with two seconds left was intercepted, and the game remained tied.

The second half was uglier than the first, with both teams making critical mistakes and the Dartmouth defense in particular failing to make tackles. It began ominously, as junior fullback Joshua Roberts took the short kick and fumbled. Dartmouth recovered and began the second half on the 36-yard line. Dartmouth’s drive was best characterized by power running, pulling both the tackle and the guard from one side and sending them as lead blockers. Dartmouth used this type of run to march down the field. A personal foul on Cornell brought the ball all the way down to the Cornell 29-yard line. Gratch again ran for seven yards, gaining good yardage after he was initially hit. Following a short run up the middle, Bob Murphy made a great juggling catch for the first down, bringing Dartmouth to the 18-yard line. Gratch then followed his blockers again, breaking tackles, and gaining 11. However, the drive stalled there. A short run, a tackle in the backfield on a blitz, and a short wide receiver screen forced Dartmouth to attempt the field goal. Lavin nailed the 26-yarder, and Dartmouth retook the lead, 17-14.

Starting at their 20-yard line, Cornell was unable to gain a first down. Tackles by Lyle Campbell ‘03 and Jensen forced the Big Red to punt from their own 29-yard line. Following a short return by Barnard, Dartmouth began at the 43-yard line. Cornell committed another costly personal foul on the first down play. Gratch capitalized on the next play, bursting through the defensive line and running straight to the end zone untouched. The extra-point was good, and Dartmouth led 24-14 with seven minutes left in the quarter.

Cornell then marched down the field. Following three plays that brought the Big Red out to the 40-yard line, Rahne made a great throw to Ferguson, who was then leveled by safety Scott Frost ‘04. Dartmouth’s defense decided to rise to the occasion. Great tackles by Frost and freshman linebacker Andy Rankin forced Cornell into a third and six. On a quarterback keeper to the left, Rahne fumbled the ball, and Matthew DeGutes ‘03 recovered. Dartmouth had the ball at their own 25-yard line.

After a three-yard gain on first down, Gratch fumbled the ball, and Cornell recovered at the 26-yard line, deep in Indian territory.

Cornell’s drive was just as ugly‹a false start, an incomplete pass, and a scramble for no gain. An offsides penalty on Dartmouth gave Cornell third and ten. The Big Red did not gain any yards as the defense held strong, and Cornell was forced to kick a field goal. The field goal sailed wide left, and Dartmouth again took over.

This drive was shorter than the last Dartmouth possession. Starting at the 26-yard line, Kinder threw a terrible pass, well short of the intended target, and safety Jamie Moriarty intercepted it for the Big Red at the 48-yard line. It was again Cornell’s turn to try to drive the ball.

Starting at the Dartmouth 48-yard line, Cornell used a wide receiver screen and a run to bring the ball to within inches of a first down. On the next key play, Cornell ran a quarterback sneak, and Rahne was able to eke out a first down. Rahne then elected to throw deep down the right side line. Steve Jensen was badly beaten, and rather than give up the touchdown, he instead made the heads-up play of tackling the Cornell receiver before he could catch the ball. The interference penalty brought Cornell down to the 22-yard line. Following a roll-out by Rahne, an option, and another roll-out, Cornell found themselves at the Dartmouth 3-yard line. Evan Simmons capitalized on a run off the left guard, bringing Cornell to within three points.

Dartmouth began their next drive on the 25-yard line with 25 seconds in the quarter. The Indians looked like they were driving, as runs of 12 and nine yards by freshman Risha brought Dartmouth out to the 50-yard line. However, the left-handed Kinder, rolling to his right, threw another costly interception, this one right at the Big Red defensive back Deron Smith. Cornell took over at the Dartmouth 49-yard line with almost a full quarter ahead of them.

Poor tackling by the Dartmouth defense allowed Cornell to gain nine yards on first down. Following an incomplete pass, Dartmouth again exhibited poor tackling as Kevin Hogan ‘04 missed a key tackle, allowing Cornell to gain a first down. Cornell continued to drive the ball. A scramble by Rahne for ten yards on second down brought the ball down to the 25-yard line. Cornell converted a third and short, and now had a first down on the 15-yard line. Another scramble by Rahne brought the ball to the 11, and on second down, the Big Red ran an option play to the right. Taking the pitch, Simmons broke several arm tackles and shirt grabs by the Indian defense en route to the end zone. The extra point was good, and Cornell held the lead 28-24, which they would not relinquish.

Dartmouth began their next possession at the 33-yard line, but managed only to lose seven yards. Forced to punt, Ware launched a beauty. Punting from his own 15-yard line, he forced Cornell to begin their drive at their 37-yard line. Cornell quickly returned the favor to Dartmouth, also going three and out, losing six yards on a quarterback sack. Dartmouth got the ball back with 6:36 remaining at the 21-yard line.

The drive began well, as Risha busted up the middle on the first play for 18 yards. Risha followed that with runs of five, eight, three, and four yards, bringing the Indians to the Cornell 43-yard line. Dartmouth could not move the ball after that. Gratch lost two on first down, and Risha could only gain back six yards on his next two carries. Facing a fourth and six with 2:46 remaining, Dartmouth had to go for it. On another roll to his right, the left-handed Kinder threw another incomplete pass, ending the drive and extinguishing any hope of a victory.

All Cornell had to do was run out the clock. With 2:11 left, Dartmouth had actually forced Cornell into a third and short situation, but the Big Red were able to pull out a first down behind the running of Dunleavy, who had replaced the injured Simmons. Cornell continued to move the ball on the ground, finally being forced to punt from the Dartmouth 45-yard line. The punt was received at the 6-yard line and returned out to the 20-yard line by Jay Barnard. Dartmouth only had seven seconds left with which to orchestrate a game winning drive. The time proved to be too little, and a short pass for six yards was all the Indians could muster. The game ended there, and Cornell emerged victorious for only the second time this season.

Gratch finished the game with 141 yards on 24 attempts. Pat Risha also finished with 85 yards on 13 carries. Kinder finished with only 100 yards passing on 11 completions out of 23 attempts. Casey Cramer finished with 35 yards on his one pass attempt. Damien Roomets finished with four catches for 25 yards, and DeLellis finished with three catches for 56 yards.