Yale falls to Dartmouth in OT in matchup of Ivy co-champs

HANOVER, N.H. — Nick Howard scored on a 7-yard run in overtime and Dartmouth defeated Yale 24-17 in a matchup of reigning Ivy League co-champions on Saturday.

Dartmouth’s Connor Davis tied the game at 17, connecting on a 32-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter, then the Big Green (4-0, 2-0 Ivy) took the ball first in overtime. Howard lined up in a wildcat formation, took the snap, headed to the right and dragged a tackler the last three yards into the end zone.

The Bulldogs (2-2, 1-1) were stopped on a fourthand-1 pass attempt on their overtime possession.

Yale trailed 14-3 in the second quarter but eventually took the lead 17-14 on a 5-yard pass from Griffin O’Connor to Mason Tipton with 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

O’Connor completed 28 of 42 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown.

Dartmouth’s Derek Kyler was 19-of-29 passing for 189 yards with one touchdown.

It was the 104th game in a series that dates to 1884. Yale leads 54-44-6.

The teams tied for the Ivy League championship in 2019 and the league did not play in 2020.

Sacred Heart 20, Merrimack 10: At Fairfield, Marquez McCray threw for two touchdowns and sophomore Malik Grant ran for a career-high 268 yards and Sacred Heart beat Merrimack.

McCray threw a 13-yard score to Kenneth Womack for a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter, and later, an 8-yard touchdown toss to Naseim Brantley for a 17-3 advantage.

The Pioneers (3-3, 1-1 Northeast Conference) outgained Merrimack 418204 in total yardage with 334 coming on the ground. Grant averaged nearly 10 yards per carry as he toted it 27 times.

Westin Elliott threw for 176 yards and a touchdown for Merrimack (3-2, 0-2). Merrimack ran the ball 30 times for 15 yards.

Columbia 22, CCSU 20: At New Britain, Dante Miller scored on a 65-yard run with 5:38 remaining and Columbia held off Central Connecticut in non-conference play.

Central Connecticut pulled within 15-13 — missing the two-point conversion try — with 6:55 left to play on Romelo Williams’ 16-yard TD toss to Tyshaun James. Miller’s TD run came on the third play of the ensuing drive to push the Lions’ lead to 22-13. The Blue Devils added a TD with 57 seconds left on Williams’ 22-yard TD toss to Erik Surratt, but failed to recover the onside kick.

Gabriel Hollingsworth staked Columbia (3-1) to a 7-0 lead after one quarter with a 1-yard scoring run. Alex Felkins stretched the Lions’ lead to 10-0 with a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter, but Williams answered with a 14yard TD toss to Jadd Dolegala to pull the Blue Devils within 10-7 at halftime.

Williams finished 29of-51 passing for 288 yards and three scores. James had 10 catches for 98 yards. The Blue Devils (1-4) were held to 52 yards on the ground.

New Haven 56, Saint Anselm 7: At West Haven, Christian Ais and Khyon Fitzpatrick had two interceptions each as the Chargers picked off the Hawks seven times in an NE-10 win.

Connor Degenhardt threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more for UNH (4-1, 3-0 NE-10), while Christopher Ais rushed for a team-high 75 yards and a touchdown.

Saint Anselm fell to 1-4 (1-3 NE-10).