Win lifts Big Green out of Ivy cellar

Of the four league games played this past Saturday, only one proved to be a close contest. The other three Ivy League matchups were blowouts.

In the one close game of the weekend, Penn defeated Yale in a 9-0 shutout, the first for the Quakers in two years. All of the scoring in the contest occurred in the first quarter, beginning with a 35-yard field goal by kicker Andrew Samson. The lone touchdown in this rainy afternoon game came on the next possession off a 15-yard interception return by Penn’s Jared Sholly, a sophomore defensive linemen.

The Quaker defense held the Bulldogs scoreless thanks to five sacks—two by junior Brian Levine and one by Owen Thomas, who leads the Ancient Eight with four-and-a-half sacks. The defense held Yale to just 25 yards rushing on 31 attempts.

The Bulldog defense kept its team in the game with the help of senior linebacker Tim Handlon, who had seven solo and 11 total tackles. But Yale couldn’t capitalize on any of its three field goal attempts.

Penn improved to 3-0 in Ivy League play and 4-2 overall while Yale fell to 1-2 in league play and 3-3 overall. Next Saturday, the Quakers will travel down to Brown while Yale will face Columbia.

Harvard breezed through a 37-3 home win over Princeton on Saturday. The Crimson were led by a balanced offensive attack and a solid defensive effort.
The Harvard offense—which ran for 267 yards—was led by junior Gino Gordon, who ran for 84 yards, and senior Cheng Ho, who ran for 73 yards. Gordon and Ho each scored a touchdown.

Junior quarterback Collier Winters passed for 190 yards on 19 attempts as well as two scores: one on a 77-yard pass to Chris Lorditch and another on a three-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk.

Princeton’s only score came on a 19-yard field goal by Ben Bologna with 9:20 left in the first quarter. Next Saturday, Harvard, which is tied for first with Penn with a 3-0 in-league and a 4-2 overall record, will face Dartmouth at home. In addition, Princeton will look for its first Ivy League win at home against Cornell.

Brown traveled up to Ithaca on Saturday and earned a well-deserved 34-14 victory over Cornell. The win improved the Bears to 2-1 Ivy and 4-2 overall record while the loss dropped the Big Red to 1-2 Ivy and a 2-4 overall.

All of Brown’s 34 points came as a result of the efforts of two players—senior wide-out Buddy Farnham and junior running back Zachary Tronti. Farnham scored on 48- and 56-yard passing plays while Tronti scored three touchdowns for a total of 134 rushing yards.

Cornell was winning the game 14-7 heading into the third quarter, but Farnham’s 56-yard score and senior James Develin’s interception on consecutive offensive plays turned the momentum in favor of the Bears.

Dartmouth’s homecoming game was a happy one, as it beat Columbia 28-6 in a rainy bout. The star of the game was junior running back Nick Schwieger, who set the Big Green’s single-game rushing record with 242 rushing yards, including a 66-yard touchdown.

Following the Schwieger’s lead, the Big Green snapped a 17-game losing streak that dated back to Nov. 3rd, 2007. Sophomore quarterback Connor Kempe added two touchdown passes for Dartmouth.

In Columbia’s third straight loss, the Lions turned the ball over three times including two interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Millicent Olawale, the only player to score for the Light Blue. The loss drops Columbia to 1-2 in Ivy League play and 2-4 overall while the surprising win improves the Big Green to a 1-5 overall record.

Next weekend’s four Ancient Eight matchups will be headlined by the Halloween afternoon game featuring Penn at Brown.