Offense closes out win for Bulldogs

NEW HAVEN — The lead had shrunk to one touchdown and Yale was nine yards from a first down with just over 3 minutes remaining.

It was third down from its own 36 for Yale, which saw a threetouchdown lead evaporate against Mercer Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were clinging to a seven-point advantage as they attempted to eat the final few minutes off the clock.

Quarterback Kurt Rawlings stepped back in the pocket as pass rushers converged around him. Rawlings calmly stepped forward and tossed a JJ Howland for a 14-yard gain and a first down.

And the ball kept moving with two more first downs as the Bulldogs devoured the time remaining on the clock. The offense that compiled 564 yards was fittingly on the field as Yale completed a 35-28 victory at the Yale Bowl.

It was not always easy as the Bulldogs (3-2) squandered a 21-0 lead and continually gave Mercer (3-3) life, especially in the second half. But Rawlings (23 of 35, 344 yards, four touchdowns) responded time after time as he led a prolific offense.

Alan Lamar rushed for 117 yards, including a 29-yard run on the final possession. JP Shohfi had six receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns while Reed Klubnik had seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

“I believe in this team, I believe in these kids,” Yale coach Tony Reno said. “We were pretty aggressive on some of those plays [at the end] and the reason is, is because I trust our guys in front, I trust our skill guys and I trust [Rawlings]. We put the ball in their hands and let them go. It just says a lot about what they have inside.”

Rawlings and the offense were in synch from the start. Shohfi

scored on a 57-yard pass from Rawlings just 2:21 into the game. The lead grew when Rodney Thomas II recovered a fumble and raced 41 yards for a touchdown and Shohfi caught a 2-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.

After a Mercer touchdown with 3:39 left in the half, Yale regain a three touchdown lead when Rawlings connected with Jaylan Sandifer on a 38-yard touchdown pass 93 seconds later.

But there a momentum shift just before halftime. Quarterback Kaelan Riley (14 of 31, 333 yards) threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to David Durden with 25 seconds

left in the half.

And when Riley tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Irvin early in the second half, it was a onetouchdown game.

“We knew they were explosive,” Reno said. “They scored a lot of points on people.”

Yale allowed 41 points to Dartmouth in its previous game, but Reno said the defense was much better Saturday.

“They went out and made some plays,” Reno said. “I was happy we made a couple nice stops … we played much more physical football, that was the big thing.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as the Yale offense manage to sustain the cushion. Rawlings’ fourth touchdown

strike was 16 yards to Klubnik.

More importantly, Rawlings and his offensive teammates were able to keep Mercer off the field in the final minutes.

“The offensive line carried us the whole game,” Rawlings said. “I barely got touched the whole game.”

Yale is midway through the season and finished with its non-conference schedule. What remains is a season-defining stretch of Ivy League games: at Penn and Columbia, home against Brown and Princeton, and Harvard at Fenway Park,

“I love this team and I love how they play,” Reno said. “I love how intentional they are, how they carry themselves everyday. These

guys press our standards every single day to be great. I challenged them this week to play the standard. Nothing else, just play to our standard . ... I’m just excited. I’m more excited now about this team than I was four or five weeks ago.”