NOTEBOOK: Defensive Line Keys Crimson Victory, Winters Sparkles in Return

HANOVER, N.H.—They say the exception proves the rule.

If the rule was that Dartmouth’s offensive line has been impenetrable all fall, then the one sack the Big Green had allowed before Saturday would have somehow proven Dartmouth’s prowess on the line of scrimmage.

But on Oct. 30 in Hanover, N.H., the exception was the rule.

Where others saw a wall, Harvard’s defensive line saw an open gate. Heading into the contest, the Big Green hadn’t allowed a sack since the first half of its first game, but the Crimson found its way to four on Saturday.

“[Defensive coordinator Scott] Larkee’s very good at mixing up not only the coverage but also the blitzing, so I felt like we were getting back there more than usual,” said senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz. “And we kind of just threw him off and made him uncomfortable, and the defense...made some great plays.”

Ortiz made quite a few of those himself, but it was his first sack on Big Green quarterback Connor Kempe that was most resounding. The third-quarter play seemed to have implications greater that the eight-yard loss it produced.

“Every time you play someone, you’re sending a message out to the rest of the league,” Ortiz said.

Most immediate was message the tackle sent out to his teammates. After Ortiz made a second sack, Alex Norman and Chuks Obi followed his lead, posting back-to-back sacks in the fourth quarter for a total loss of seven yards in two plays. Norman, a sophomore, struck first for a six-yard loss, while senior Obi set Kempe back one more yard on the following play.

TOSS-UP

Many teams will attest to the importance of a strong start. The Big Green seems to eschew that philosophy: after six games, it had yet to get on the board first. In four of those, Dartmouth won the coin toss, deferred possession, and then watched as its opponents scored on the opening drives. Yet when the Big Green won the coin toss Saturday, it deferred again.

The strategy backfired as it has all season. Before five minutes had elapsed, the Crimson had already put up seven points and had gained hold of the momentum. Harvard would go on to score 24 points before Dartmouth finally got on the board off a punt return by Shawn Abuhoff.

The Big Green’s early struggles are not entirely the result of coin-toss decisions. In the only game when Dartmouth chose to start with the ball, it failed to secure a first down on its opening drive, and its opponent, Penn, went on to score seven soon after.

But whether or not a coin-toss decision can be blamed, it’s clear that the Big Green’s strategy for its opening minutes isn’t working. Its seven opponents have all scored on their opening drive, and only Bucknell and Sacred Heart had to settle for a field goal.

ROLE REVERSAL

Had Dartmouth not given up 24 points so quickly, the end result might have been different. After charging to a commanding 27-7 lead at the end of the first half, Harvard never made it into the end zone in the second half, scoring only once on a David Mothander field goal in the third quarter while punting on its other three possessions. The Big Green outscored the Crimson, 7-3, in the second half. But the score itself doesn’t tell the full story of Dartmouth’s second half surge. A missed field goal and a completion failure in the endzone spoiled what could have been 10 more Big Green points.

But Dartmouth’s moments of brilliance proved to be too little, too late, as Harvard’s 20-point first half lead was too much to overcome.

“We didn’t figure it out until maybe the third quarter, and by that time it was too late,” said Dartmouth senior wide receiver Tim McManus. “Obviously we had a chance down towards the end that made it exciting. But unfortunately that’s not what we came out to do. We came out to win, but it was good to see us bounce back and execute.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.