Indians Prove Top-Ranked Status

By Christian Bateson | Wednesday, October 2, 1996

The Indians got the 1996 football season off on the right track Saturday, beating the University of Pennsylvania, 24-22, for the first time since 1992. The highly touted game lived up to its billing, as the Indians — preseason picks to win the Ivy League championship — proved their #1 status and knocked off the Quakers. Despite a rash of turnovers and missed kicks, Dartmouth rallied late in the 4th quarter to score the game winning touchdown.

Penn started the game off with a first quarter drive and marched 65 yards down the field to take a 7-0 lead. The Indians soon reciprocated as running back Ambrose Garcia '97 took it in from 6 yards out for the TD, and quarterback John Aljancic '97 ran the ball in for a pair of touchdowns. Kicker Dave Regula '97 missed two point-after attempts, and the Indians failed on their two point conversion attempt, but they went to the locker rooms with an 18-13 half-time lead.

Two key turnovers by Dartmouth in the third quarter cost the Indians dearly, as the Quakers scored 9 points to take the lead. Penn picked off an Aljancic pass and returned it to the Dartmouth 2. The gritty Indian defense, led by Zack Walz '98, Scott 'Happy' Hapgood '97 and Co-Captain Mark Abel '97, drove the Quakers back, but a 31 yard field goal brought Penn to within 2 points, 18-16. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, the Indians fumbled the ball on their own 19, and Penn recovered. The Quakers converted the turnover into a touchdown, and took the lead, 22-18, with 19 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Dartmouth couldn't find the offensive spark early in the 4th quarter, and the Indians were forced to punt. However, the Indian defense stonewalled the Quakers and Dartmouth got the ball back with 2 and a half minutes to go in the game, 4 points down. Aljancic coolly drove the ball down the field toward Penn's endzone. The Indian offense hit paydirt with 19 seconds to go in the game, as Aljancic hit wide receiver Eric Morton '97 with an 8 yard game-winning touchdown pass. Regula missed the kick, and Dartmouth led 24-22. The Quaker offense was unable to control the clock, and time expired.

Overall, Dartmouth attacked Penn with a balanced offensive attack, with 227 yards passing and 197 on the ground. Aljancic was 21 for 34 with one passing TD, and also ran for 66 yards and 2 TDs. He was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. Senior tailback Greg Smith '97 rushed for 90 yards on 21 attempts. Smith rushed for 826 yards last season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and looks to improve on those numbers this year.

The stingy Indian defense had a shaky start, and was unable to stop Penn during their opening drive, but they solidified quickly and held Penn to a mere 92 yards in the second half. Penn managed a measly 9 first downs throughout the entire game. The defensive line did a great job of pressuring Penn's QB, who was 7 for 18 passing, for only 107 yards.

Despite the victory, the Indians almost gave the game away through sloppy play. The usually consistent Dave Regula was 0 for 3 on extra point attempts as Dartmouth failed to convert even a single extra point attempt. In addition, turnovers cost the Indians 9 points and nearly lost them the game.

Dartmouth Head Coach Tom Lyons leads the Indians against Lehigh(1-2) this Saturday. Dartmouth, unbeaten in 8 games, will face the Engineers in a non-conference game in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They return to Memorial Field on October 5th, for a game against Fordham.

Indians Prove Top-Ranked Status

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