Yale prepares for Dartmouth

BY ERIN FITZPATRICK AND GEOFF CHEPIGA

"I watched the Dartmouth tapes a little bit, and I know they've changed their defense from last year," Yale starting quarterback Peter Lee, TD '02, said. "They are playing a lot of younger guys and new faces, and so far they seem to be doing well."

Hoping for a 3-0 season start for the first time since 1994, the Elis (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) are ready to face the Big Green (0-2, 0-1 Ivy) this Sun., Oct. 7. Given the inexperience of the Bulldog team this year, Lee's words might better apply to his own squad.

At the start of the 2001 season, the Bulldogs' young defense was under the microscope. Yale had lost four First Team All-Ivy selections on defense, including Captain Peter Mazza, JE '01, and Than Merrill, JE '01, who is now playing for the Chicago Bears. Ray Littleton, MC '02, Ryan LoProto, SM '02, Stuart Satullo, ES '03, and Jason Lange, JE '03, were the only returning starters. But in Yale's two contests thus far, the young and quickly improving defense has been decisive.

It was this defense that brought home last weekend's narrow victory over Holy Cross, even after the Bulldogs found themselves down 19-14 at half-time. Yale's defense gave up minimal yardage and just one field goal, making way for an Eli comeback in the final minutes. Holy Cross's last six trips into the red zone resulted in a mere two field goals. "In the first half they played really well, and it took us awhile to adjust. Their receivers are pretty fast and strong, and they had a good game plan," Littleton said. "But later in the game we played a lot more man coverage, and when they kept getting the ball near the goal line, they had to run the ball. I think we have one of the best defenses against the run, and they didn't prosper."

Late in the game, Yale's offense shrugged off its first-half struggles. With 3:33 left in the fourth quarter and the Holy Cross offense held in check, Lee found Billy Brown, CC '02, for an eight-yard touchdown. The touchdown capped off an impressive 93-yard drive on which Brown alone had four receptions. "Toward the end, Coach [Joel] Lamb, the quarterback coach, was telling me what he saw from up in the booth," Lee explained. "He did a good job communicating with me what he saw and we made some adjustments. [Holy Cross was] taking away a lot of stuff down field so we went more to the underneath routes and just concentrated on moving the ball."

Underneath routes, however, did not always work. Yale went for a two-point conversion that would have knotted the game at 22, but Lee tried to go high over the top to receiver Keith Reams, MC '02, and instead put the ball just out of Reams' reach. Yale was forced to try an on-sides kick, and Holy Cross recovered.

Again, Yale's defense stuffed the run, and Holy Cross was forced to punt. The Bulldogs got the ball back on their own 18 with just 1:36 left to play. After two long passes from Lee to receiver P.J. Collins, BR '04, the Elis were in field-goal range. Kicker Justin Davis, PC '02, belted in the game winner with just four seconds left for a 23-22 victory. "It was an all-around team effort with the offense struggling for a good part of the game. The defense really picked us up and helped us out," Lee said. "At the end of the game in the last two drives when we really needed to produce the offense we got it done. Finally, none of it would have meant anything at all without Justin's kick."

Dartmouth's defense also stepped up to give their offense a last minute chance for redemption on Sat., Sept. 29. But a last-minute letdown cost the Big Green its first Ivy League game of the season against last year's league champions, the Pennsylvania Quakers. A Penn upset would have been a major step in the right direction for a young Dartmouth program looking to reassert itself, but its inexperience surfaced in the closing minutes of the game.

After getting off to a slow start, Dartmouth's green defense—the team's leading tackler and interception leader, Steve Jensen '05, is a rookie—held the Quakers to 80 yards and zero points in the entire second half. Then, Dartmouth quarterback Greg Smith '02 started to utilize the much-heralded depth of his receiving squad, five of whom already have double-digit receptions. Much like Lee and his fourth-quarter heroics, Smith led the Big Green offense on an impressive 68-yard, last-minute drive for a touchdown. With 1:36 left in the game, Michael Gratch '02 scored on a two-yard run to bring Dartmouth within one point at 21-20. But kicker Tyler Lavin's '05 extra point was blocked, and Penn managed to run out the clock to secure the win.

With both young defenses beginning to assert themselves, the Yale-Dartmouth Tercentennial Sunday showdown may come down to field position. Both squads will look to their faltering special teams to play error-free football. Last weekend, Yale's punting team let Holy Cross quash two punts, resulting in the loss of precious ground and the half-time deficit. "The whole game was a game of field position and those blocked punts really hurt us," Davis said. Yale learned its lesson: a game cannot be won just offensively or defensively, but must be controlled in every area.

The Holy Cross game was a little too close for comfort for many players, but now they are turning their sights to the first Sunday game in Yale's 129-year football history. "I'm excited about the game," Littleton said. "Dartmouth has skilled receivers, but they may not be so fast. Hopefully the DBs will make some good interceptions."

This Yale team is getting set to prove the preseason polls wrong. The powerful defensive unit combined with an offense that can respond under pressure has created a team that cannot be compared to the past but will define the future.

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