(Game Statistics)
HANOVER, N.H. (9/17/05) – For the second time in three games turnovers spelled doom for the Colgate football team. The Raiders (1-2) turned the ball over four times leading to three Dartmouth touchdowns as the Big Green (1-0) opened their season with a 26-21 win at Memorial Field.
The Big Green victory snapped a six-game losing streak against the Raiders.
Colgate opened the scoring on the first play of the second quarter, when senior fullback Ben Evans (Muskegon, Mich.) topped off a 75-yard drive with a two-yard run. Mike Rava (Moscow, Pa.) added the extra point.
The first of Colgate’s four turnovers got Dartmouth untracked after the Raiders had dominated play in the early going. The Big Green’s Josh Dooley raced 29 yards for a touchdown after he recovered a fumble by Colgate quarterback Lee Sloan (Ovieda, Fla.). Sloan was hit in the backfield while attempting a pass. Erik Hinterbichler tied the contest with his extra point with 12:15 left in the half.
Just one minute, four seconds later, Dartmouth again capitalized on a Colgate turnover when Steve Jensen intercepted a Sloan pass and raced to the Colgate three-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, backup tight end Mark Brogna caught a pass from Charlie Rittgers for the touchdown. Hinterbickler added the conversion kick for a 14-7 lead.
After stopping Colgate on downs later in the second quarter, the Big Green moved downfield for a 42-yard field goal by Hinterbichler with 2:58 remaining. The big play in the drive was a 34-yard run by Ikechi Ogbonna to the Colgate 32.
In the third quarter, Colgate scored on a one-yard run by backup center Rich Rosabella (Naples, Fla.), who came into a game as a blocking back on short yardage. Rava’s extra point made it 17-14. The Raiders’ touchdown came after linebacker Jared Nepa (Carbondale, PA) intercepted a Dartmouth pass and returned it 35 yards to the Big Green 17-yard line.
Dartmouth’s third touchdown of the contest came after an interception by Kyle Cavanaugh which handed the Big Green possession at the Colgate 37. Six plays later, Jason Bash busted off right tackle from one-yard out for the touchdown.
With 11:27 remaining in the game, Sloan went down with a neck injury. Replaced by senior Mike Saraceno (Sunrise, Fla.), who was playing on a broken foot, the Raiders immediately moved downfield before freshman Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) bolted around left end for a 33-yard touchdown run on his second collegiate carry to make it 24-21.
Dartmouth scored its final points on a safety when Saraceno slipped down while passing in the end zone with 5:14 remaining. The Raiders had one final opportunity to win the contest after taking over at the Dartmouth 45 with 2:49 left, but the Big Green stopped the Raiders on four downs and ran out the clock.
During the course of the game, Colgate lost its entire starting backfield. Freshman tailback Steve Hansen (Orlando, Fla.) suffered a knee injury with 9:41 left in the first half, while Evans didn’t return from the lockerroom in the second half. Then later Lee suffered his injury.
Hansen carried 16 times for 41 yards, while Scott finished with three carries for 40 yards and Ray LaMonica (Peabody, Mass.) had 16 carries for 28 yards. Sloan completed 10-of-17 passes for 85 and had two intercepted, while Saraceno finished 5-of-10 for 46 yards.
Colgate had 262 yards of total offense, while Dartmouth gained 193.
