Dartmouth Beats Back Buckeyes

Hanover, NH – In the midst of some fine New Hampshire April precipitation, Dartmouth came out strong in their second home game of the spring season on Brophy Field to come away with a solid victory over Ohio State.

The Buckeyes started off the half by kicking to the Big Green. A knock on, a couple of penalties, and several missed tackles led to an opening Ohio State try, putting the Buckeyes up 5-0 very early in the match. It looked as though the inclement weather, which a weatherman might describe fondly as a “wintry mix”, would slow the Green’s game down. However, with last weekend’s tough loss to Navy fresh in mind, the Green decided to take a stand, and at the next kickoff came charging down the field after the ball.  

Leading the charge was a new face on Dartmouth’s 1st XV, sophomore Michael Burbank ’13.   Burbank had a good rucking and tackling game in his debut at inside center, and a heads up pick-and-go off a goaline ruck, led to his first A-side try.  With Dartmouth matching the Buckeyes in points, #9 Derek Fish ’12 was able to step up to the tee and put the conversion away, leaving Dartmouth up 7-5.   Soon afterwards,   Fish picked off an OSU pass and ran it all the way back in for another Dartmouth try.  Fish was able to convert his own try, and Dartmouth led Ohio State 14-5 with plenty of time left in the first half.   The Buckeyes put increased pressure on the Dartmouth set piece and rucks, forcing turnover in a few instances.  However, the Green were able to regain possession and spin the ball through the hands to winger Tanner Scott ’11, who found his way around the OSU defense for Dartmouth’s third try of the game.  The kick by Fish from a corner placement went wide, and Dartmouth closed the half with a solid 19-5 lead.

Recognizing the second-half defeats of games past, Dartmouth came out for the second forty minutes fired up. With the rain letting up somewhat, the first few minutes of the first half involved a volley of kicks from each side as Dartmouth and Ohio State both tried to establish an attacking platform in the other team’s end.  Eventually, the Dartmouth forwards were able to do just that, and Co-Captain Paul Jarvis ’12 powered his way over the Buckeyes’ defensive wall for Dartmouth’s fourth try of the match.  The kick by Derek Fish was good, and Dartmouth was up 26-5 with plenty of time to play in the second half.   The Green continued to dominate territory in the latter part of the second half, working out some of the first half’s kinks with the set piece and keeping the ball securely in Ohio State’s end.  In an instant replay of his earlier try, Paul Jarvis was able to punch yet another one in for the Big Green towards the end of the half, putting Dartmouth ahead 31-5.   The kick by Fish was good, and Dartmouth wound down the remaining minutes of the second half leading the Buckeyes 33-5. 

“The team adjusted well to the conditions”, said Jarvis, referring to the snow and rain.   “All week we'd focused on putting more width in our attack, but when wet conditions forced us to play a territory game we adapted and were able to play in their half….Everyone worked hard chasing kicks and there was also some great work done defensively to adapt to the conditions and limit our penalty count in the second half.”

Dartmouth is looking forward to some much nicer spring weather this weekend in their final match of the CPD season against Kutztown.  The game will kick off at 1:00 PM on Brophy Field, this Saturday, April 30th, and will be accompanied by a catered barbecue as a part of the Dartmouth Hill Winds society’s Alumni Appreciation Week.

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call Charlie Grant at (978) 857-2851 or e‐mail at charlie [dot] grantdartmouth [dot] edu