Football Falls Just Short, 20-16, at #22 Dartmouth

The Central Connecticut State football team dropped a 20-16 non-conference contest to 22^nd ranked Dartmouth College on Saturday afternoon in Hanover, NH.

The Blue Devils took the ball into the red zone on the final drive, after an Isaac Boston 31-yard reception, that gave them 1^st and 10 on the Dartmouth nine-yard line. Donny Marcus rushed for three-yards, but the Blue Devils could not complete the drive, with three incomplete passes following the run.

GAME INFORMATION

Score:  Dartmouth 20, CCSU 16
Records: CCSU (3-4, 1-0 NEC) | #22/24 Dartmouth (5-0; 2-0 IVY)
Location: Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field | Hanover, NH

KEY MOMENTS

• The Blue Devils defense stiffened on the Big Green's first drive, stopping them at the CCSU 32 and forcing a 50-yard field goal attempt that fell short
• A 3-yard gain by Ricky Ortega on 4th and 1 kept the Blue Devils' second drive alive led to Brady Olson finding Isaac Boston for a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter
• Dartmouth drove into the red zone on the ensuing drive and attempted an end around that Kimal Clark stopped for a loss of one and forced a Big Green field goal
• Ricky Ortega took a handoff and tossed it over the defender to Mike Plaskon for a 36-yard completion that set up a 24-yard Jack Barnum field goal to give CCSU a 10-3 advantage
• Dartmouth answered on its next drive, going 78 yards on 12 plays which ended with a four-yard TD run by Grayson Saunier
• CCSU drove into the Big Green half of the field in the final seconds, but a 50-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the teams went to intermission tied, 10-10
• Dartmouth took its first lead of the contest with a 36-yard Owen Zalc field goal that capped off a 12-play, 64-yard drive
• Jadon Turner but CCSU back on top early in the fourth quarter, with a battering 13-yard touchdown run with 12:34 to play
• Dartmouth drove into CCSU territory on the next drive, but the defense found its FCS leading 10^th fumble recovery, this one credited to Jack Stoll, to get the offense the ball back with 10:42 to play in the game
• The Big Green forced a three-and-out and Sean Williams had a 26-yard punt return, that had a face mask penalty added on to give Dartmouth the ball on the CCSU 32
• Dartmouth took the ball to the CCSU 1-yard line where the Blue Devils appeared to have another take-way, but an offsides flag gave the Big Green the ball back and Saunier scored on the next play to put the Big Green in front, 20-16

NUMBER TO KNOW

4 – The number of games, including Saturday at Dartmouth, that CCSU has not allowed a sack

NOTES

• CCSU finished with an advantage in total offense, with 317 yards, while Dartmouth finished with 315
• Jayvis Rayside finished with a career-high 12 tackles, eight of which were solo stops
• Boston finished with two catches for 43 yards, including a touchdown, in his return to Hanover
• Clark tallied his eighth-career double-digit tackle game, finishing with 10, to go along with 2.5 TFL
• David Pardo and Mike Plaskon both had four catches
• Olson finished 15-29 passing, for 168 yards and a touchdown pass
• Turner carried 16 times for 66 yards and his touchdown
• Aidan Clark averaged 50.8 yards per punt on Saturday on four punts, with two over 50 yards
• The Blue Devils were 2-3 on fourth down conversions
• Saunier led the Dartmouth offense with two rushing touchdowns and a 15-21 passing effort
• CCSU recorded 8.0 TFL's on Saturday
• Jalen Howard was credited with two QBH and four tackles
• Jayden Anderson had 1.5 TFL amongst his seven total tackles

UP NEXT

• The Blue Devils return to NEC play next Saturday, traveling to LIU for a 12:00 pm contest.