Yale scrambles to evade Lions

In a contest that emerged as a tale of two halves, a strong Yale start ultimately made all the difference in the Bulldogs’ 31-28 win over Columbia.

Yale (5-2, 3-1 Ivy) jumped out to a 31-7 halftime lead forged by quarterback Patrick Witt’s three second-quarter touchdown strikes. Despite a valiant effort by the Lions to come back, the gap proved insurmountable.

The Lions (3-4, 1-3) went into the game with the best turnover margin in the Ancient Eight at plus seven, and they took advantage of their knack for takeaways after halftime.

Columbia cut the lead to 31-21 with a 41-yard Sean Brackett pass to Nico Gutierrez after an interception, and Andrew Kennedy made his third touchdown catch of the game after a fumble deep in Bulldogs territory, making the score 31-28.

However, the Yale defense then forced a turnover on downs at Columbia’s 35 yard-line to seal the victory. It was Yale’s second consecutive close shave over the Lions following a 23-22 comeback victory last year.

With the win, Yale remains tied for second place in the Ivy League with Harvard and Brown.

Crimson rush over Dartmouth. After gouging Princeton with over 300 yards on the ground last week, Harvard experienced similar offensive success against the Big Green.

The Crimson amassed 480 total offensive yards en route to a 30-14 win in Hanover, N.H.

The Harvard defense held Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger — who entered the game leading the League with 141.8 rushing yards per game — to just 69 yards on the ground.

The defensive line put pressure on Dartmouth quarterback Conner Kempe, recording four sacks and three interceptions. The feat was especially impressive as Kempe had been sacked just once all year prior to the game.

On offense, Harvard’s three first-half touchdowns forced Dartmouth (4-3, 1-3) to play catch up for the rest of the game.

Crimson QB Collier Winters’ two rushing touchdowns and interception-free performance earned him Ivy Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Big Red wins battle of the winless. For the seventh consecutive time, Cornell and Princeton fought in a game decided by one touchdown or less.

This year, the Big Red outscored the Tigers 14-0 in the third quarter to eke out a 21-19 win over Princeton in Ithaca, N.Y. The win was Cornell’s first Ivy victory in 10 games.

After entering the second half up 7-6, the Big Red (2-5, 1-3) came alive. Wide receiver Luke Tasker caught a pass from four yards out in the endzone. Later in the quarter, defensive linemen Kevin Marchand cashed in on Tiger QB Andrew Dixon’s fumble to give Cornell a 21-6 lead going into the final frame.

“Last week, we really felt our play in the third quarter lost us the game almost, so we really focused on coming out strong in the third quarter today,” Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews said after the game.

In the fourth quarter, Princeton (1-6, 0-4) seemed poised to come back. After consecutive 87 and 92 yard scoring drives, the Tigers pulled within two.

However, Cornell’s Emani Fenton broke up a two-point conversion pass and intercepted a pass in the endzone to deliver the win. His performance earned him Ivy Defensive Player of the Week honors.

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