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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Dartmouth junior tailback Nick Schwieger grinded out 164 yards on 31 carries and ran for two scores to lead the Big Green to a 28-10 win over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red lost for the fourth time in its last five games and slipped to 2-6 overall (1-4 Ivy), while Dartmouth improved to 5-3 (2-3 Ivy).
Scwieger ran for second half touchdowns of 18 and 22 yards as the visitors rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit to collect its second straight win in the series. The Big Red got a first half touchdown run from sophomore wide receiver Luke Tasker and a career-long 49-yard field goal from Brad Greenway in the loss. Senior cornerback Emani Fenton recorded his fifth interception of the season, all coming in Ivy play, while Zack Imhoff (13 tackles) and Ben Heller (10 tackles) each recorded double figure stops in the loss.
The Big Green guaranteed itself a .500 overall record this season thanks to winning the battle on the ground both ways. Dartmouth rushed for 222 yards (on 49 carries), while limiting the Big Red to 24 yards on 27 carries (-54 yards thanks to sack yardage). Charles Bay had three of Dartmouth's 10 sacks and forced a fumble that ended a potential Big Red scoring drive. Both Eddie Smith and Buddy Benaderet had two sacks apiece. Chase Womack had an interception.
Jeff Mathews completed 21-of-33 passes for 164 yards, but was running for his life all day. He ended up on his back 10 times, a season high. Mathews hit Shane Savage seven times for 73 yards and Ryan Houska six times for 41 yards in the loss. It was a 12-yard run by Luke Tasker that provided the Big Red its lone touchdown of the day, the third score of the season for the sophomore.
After a rough first possession, the Cornell defense held the Big Green's potent rushing game in check, limiting Schwieger to 41 yards on 15 carries in the first half, including 20 yards on his final 12 attempts. After Dartmouth took a 7-0 lead the first time it touched the ball, the Big Red held the visitors to 46 yards on its final 22 plays of the half.
Cornell tied the game at 7-7 when Emani Fenton registered his fifth interception of the game at the Dartmouth 12 with 10:19 remaining in the second. The Big Red went for the home run on its first play, going back to a play already proven to work earlier this year against Bucknell. Mathews faked a handoff on a reverse, instead handing it off to Tasker on a sweep around the end. The sophomore got to the corner and went untouched from 12 yards out until the hit the end zone. Greenway's kick tied it up with 9:40 left on the clock before halftime.
The Big Red took its first lead late in the half after another defensive hold. Despite a pair of sacks on its final drive, Mathews was able to do just enough to get the ball to the Big Green 37. With time ticking away, Greenway was able to drive through a career-long 49-yard field goal to give the Big Red a 10-7 lead with 22 seconds remaining before halftime. The kick was tied for the sixth-longest field goal in school history and is the longest since John Rodin converted a 50-yarder against Harvard in 1995.
Dartmouth's defense was plenty still itself, sacking Mathews seven times and surrendering just 13 rushing yards in the first 30 minutes of action. Charles Bay, Eddie Smith and Buddy Benaderet each had a pair of sacks to lead the Big Green.
Cornell's offense couldn't get untracked in the second half and was limited to 44 yards and three first downs after halftime. Dartmouth got back the momentum with a 50-yard kickoff return by Shawn Abuhoff, then Schwieger went 42 yards on three carries, including an 18-yarder for the go-ahead score just 1:08 into the second half.
The Big Red limited Dartmouth to 47 yards of its own in the third quarter after the opening touchdown (three drives) before the visitors again struck against a tiring Cornell defense. Backup Dominick Pierre ran for an 11-yard score to make it 21-10 with just under nine minutes to play, and Schwieger sealed the deal with a 22-yard run to cap the scoring with 3:21 remaining, emerging from a scrum to go the final 12 yards after seemingly losing himself in the pile.
Cornell will play its final road game of the 2010 campaign when it visits Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 12:30 p.m. at Wien Stadium.
