Fourth-Ranked UNH Pulls Away from Big Green

Saturday, September 27

Durham, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-1

New Hampshire

3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Dartmouth

New Hampshire

9/27/2014 8:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

DURHAM, N.H. — Fourth-ranked New Hampshire posted 531 yards of offense to hand the visiting Dartmouth Big Green a 52-19 defeat on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 10,133 at Cowell Stadium in the first game between the only two Division I schools in the state in five years. The victory is the third straight for UNH (3-1), while Dartmouth drops to 1-1 on the season while yielding 50 points for the first time in seven years.

Wildcat quarterback Andy Vailas, filling in for injured starter Sean Goldrich, threw for 219 yards and ran for 112 while accounting for a pair of touchdowns both through the air and on the ground. Running back Jimmy Owens and receiver R.J. Harris also reached the end zone twice to pace the UNH offense.

UNH 52, Dartmouth 19
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014
Cowell Stadium • Durham, N.H.
Attendance: 10,133 • Weather: 80, Clear

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Dartmouth	13	3	3	0	19
UNH	17	14	21	0	52

Scoring Summary
1st/11:48	N	69-yd run by Vailas (Harris run)	0-8
1st/10:59	N	TEAM safety	0-10
1st/9:08	N	1-yd run by Owens (Breda kick)	0-17
1st/4:02	D	5-yd D. Williams pass to Johnston (Gakenheimer kick failed)	6-17
1st/0:20	D	12-yd D. Williams pass to Bramble (Gakenheimer kick)	13-17
2nd/8:00	N	2-yd run by Owens (Breda kick)	13-24
2nd/1:15	N	2-yd run by Vailias (Gakenheimer kick)	13-31
2nd/0:07	D	26-yd FG by Gakenheimer	16-31
3rd/11:21	N	29-yd Vailas pass to Harris (Breda kick)	16-38
3rd/9:29	N	9-yd blocked punt return by Chalstrom (Breda kick)	16-45
3rd/4:22	D	41-yd FG by Gakenheimer	19-45
3rd/1:57	N	2-yd Vailas pass to Harris (Breda kick)	19-52

PASSING		C/A/I	Yards	TD
D	D. Williams	12-23-1	108	2
N	Vailas	17-26-0	219	2
N	McCormick	6-7-0	45	0
LEADING RUSHERS		#/Yds	Avg	TD
D	Bramble	15-51	3.4	0
D	D. Williams	8-43	5.4	1
N	Vailas	8-112	14.0	2
N	Owens	15-81	5.4	2
LEADING RECEIVERS		#-Yds	Avg	TD
D	Bramble	4-39	9.8	1
D	V. Williams	3-37	12.3	0
N	Harris	8-113	14.1	2
N	Spears	4-43	10.8	0

Statistical Comparison	N	D
1st Downs	27	19
Rushing Yards (Net)	267	154
Passing Yards (Net)	264	108
Total Offense	531	262
Penalties/Yards	10-83	7-66
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Conversion	10/14	3/12
Time of Possession	33:04	26:56

For the Big Green, junior Dalyn Williams completed 12-of-23 passes for 108 yards and two scores while junior Kyle Bramble led the team in rushing (51 yards) and receiving (four catches for 39 yards). Sophomore Alex Gakenheimer added a pair of field goals, the second of which was a career-long 41 yards.

The Big Green showed some nerves early in the game as the Wildcats built a 17-0 lead in less than six minutes. Vailas broke free on a keeper for a 69-yard touchdown run for the game's first score, and UNH ran in a two-point conversion. When Dartmouth stalled on the ensuing drive at its own 19, the snap on the punt sailed over sophomore Ben Kepley's head and out of the end zone for a safety. The second Wildcat touchdown came on a one-yard plunge by Jimmy Owens to cap a seven-play, 54-yard drive with 9:08 still showing on the clock for the first quarter.

Faced with a quick 17-point deficit and starting at its own 12-yard line, the Dartmouth offense methodically went to work. Williams completed a trio of passes and Bramble picked up 21 yards on five carries before the Big Green dodged a bullet. Defensive end Cam Shorey picked off a Williams pass, only to have it negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty, and three plays later Williams found freshman tight end Stephen Johnston all alone in the end zone for his first career reception on a five-yard scoring strike. The nerves will still a little evident, however, when the PAT sailed wide, leaving the Big Green down 17-6.

Dartmouth took advantage of a fumble by Vailas on the Wildcats' next possession, setting up the Big Green at the UNH 37. Williams needed just five plays to post his second touchdown toss, this time with a soft touch on a 12-yarder to Bramble out of the backfield. Gakenheimer had no trouble with this PAT, suddenly making it a 17-13 game with 20 seconds still remaining in the opening quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Dartmouth had a golden opportunity to take the lead after forcing the first UNH punt of the night. One play after Williams ran for a first down with a 12-yard gain, he threw a lateral to senior Ryan McManus who just overthrew a wide open Bo Patterson streaking down the left sideline. The drive eventually stalled, and an 18-yard punt gave the Wildcats the ball in Dartmouth territory.

A 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-10 led to Owens scoring the second of his two touchdowns on a two-yard run. Vailas added another two-yard TD with a mere 1:15 remaining in the half, and the Wildcats looked as if they would take a 31-13 lead into the locker room.

But senior Kirby Schoenthaler returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards thanks to second, third and fourth efforts before being brought down at the UNH two. Dartmouth could not punch it in, however, and had to settle for a 26-yard Gakenheimer field goal to make it 31-16 at the break.

As at the start of the game, the Wildcats began the second half by striking quickly. A Shane McNeely interception gave UNH the ball at the Big Green 46, and Vailas passes to Owens and Harris, the latter a 29-yard connection, for the swift score. Another Dartmouth punt went awry when Kepley's boot was blocked by Mike Kelly, allowing Horace Chalstrom to scoop up the loose ball and take it the final nine yards to the end zone for a 45-16 lead.

Reserve running backs, Abrm McQuarters and Jacob Siwicki, combined to pick up 42 yards on the ground on the next Dartmouth drive, leading to Gakenheimer's career-long kick to make it a 45-19 ball game. Needing to get the ball back to have any hope of making a miraculous comeback, Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach Buddy Teevens gambled by calling for an onside kick. New Hampshire was there to cover the kick, however, and immediately went on a six-play, 55-yard scoring drive that culminated in Harris' second TD catch, this time from just two yards out. Christian Breda's PAT became the final point of the night as neither team scored in the fourth quarter as UNH ran out the final 9:18 off the clock.

Junior Will McNamara returned to the field this week and led the Big Green with seven tackles, while a trio of his teammates had six stops, including junior Zach Slafsky who registered the team's first sack of the season. New Hampshire's Akil Anderson led all players with nine tackles, and Cody Muller had two of the Wildcats' six tackles for a loss on the night, one of which was a seven-yard sack.

Dartmouth returns home to play its Ivy League opener on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Penn (0-2), which suffered a 41-7 defeat against 6th-ranked Villanova today. The game will be televised by Fox College Sports Atlantic with Eric Frede and Steve DeOssie calling the action. New Hampshire travels to Elon for a Colonial showdown at 1:30 p.m. as well.

Notes: For the first time in 15 games, Dartmouth failed to hold the lead at some point … Schoenthaler's kick return matched the eighth-longest in Dartmouth history, and his 198 kickoff return yards set the program's single-game record … New Hampshire has won 13 straight in the series dubbed the Granite Bowl and is 18-0-2 in the last 20 meetings with the Big Green dating back to 1979 … the interception thrown by Williams is just the sixth of his career, while his two touchdowns give him 23 for the best TD-interception ratio in Dartmouth history … Patterson had his streak of 13 straight games with a reception come to an end.