COLUMBIA 33, DARTMOUTH 13
Frustrated Gridmen Finish on the Losing End Against Six Ivy League Foes, Including Harvard in Hanover
ESTABLISHING a pattern of frustration which they were to duplicate with distressing frequency on following Saturdays, Dartmouth started this game by spotting Columbia a touchdown the first time the Lions had their hands on the ball. The Green received the initial kickoff and failed to gain. Then Captain Tom Douglas got off the first of a succession of excellent kicks (the only department in which Dartmouth excelled all afternoon) which went out of bounds on the Columbia 22-yard line. Then the Light Blue went into their dance. These gyrations included a direct pass to the quarterback, a backward lateral to a halfback, a run by him, and finally a long pass to an end which was taken on the dead run behind the Dartmouth secondary and carried for a touchdown before the bewildered Dartmouths had any idea (literally) who was pitching.
This unfortunate overture repeated (with variations) the experience against Brown the week before and was followed by similar gestures of generosity against Yale, Harvard and Cornell on successive Saturdays thereafter. On this occasion the Green rallied sharply and made themselves a touchdown in the first quarter to tie the score. This praiseworthy effort was negotiated by a collaboration between Pensavalle (who continued to be like the girl with the little curl which hung down over her forehead) and Mo Monahan, who snatched an aerial out of the arms of several hostile operatives in the Columbia end zone. George Pulliam's placement tied the count at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter and the Dartmouth stands breathed more easily.
The second period saw this happy deadlock rudely broken by two Columbia touchdowns. One was scored on a naked reverse by one of the Light Blue halfbacks, following a fumble by Sullivan of Dartmouth which was recovered by Columbia. The latter worked the ball down to the Dartmouth 30-yard marker, whereupon said reverse was perpetrated without a single Green player even aware that the ball carrier was sneaking around left end while they tackled the fake receiver in the center of the line. Just for good measure, Columbia scored again before the half, this time on a long pass play which continued throughout the afternoon to find the Dartmouth secondary powerless to do much about it. The Green defenders knew the pass was coming and were usually in the general vicnity, but so well was it thrown and caught, time and again, that were seemingly unable to stop it.
In the second half, with the score 20-7 against them, Dartmouth came out breathing fire. Five plays after gaining possession of the ball, they scored a touchdown on Larry Bartnick's long end run. This was one of the few occasions all year that the Green running attack has been able to pay off, with most of the scoring done through the aerial route. But this time Bartnick was assisted by excellent blocking and swept around end for about 35 yards into pay territory. This proved to be almost the last offensive gasp of the home forces, as Columbia assumed the initiative with another long pass for a touchdown in the third period and another in the fourth. Several of these aerial pyrotechnics, incidentally, were set off by quarterback Don Kasprzak, who was last seen on Memorial Field in a Dartmouth jersey as he piloted the great 1943 Lend-Lease Green team to a season marred by but one defeat (7-6 by Pennsylvania). Dartmouth could well have found use for the elusive Kasprzak this afternoon, for he ran the Columbia team superbly and passed often and with great finesse into the waiting arms of various Light Blue receivers.
The game was primarily a battle in the air, with neither team able (with the exception of Bartnick's touchdown gallop) to do much on the ground. The Green line, sparked by the dogged persistence of Art Young at tackle, shackled most of the ground punch of the famed Columbia touchdown twins Kusserow and Rossides. In the matter of first downs, Columbia had 9 and Dartmouth 7; yards gained by rushing went to the Lions with 124 to Dartmouth's meager 91; Columbia completed the neat total of 11 out of 18 passes, with the even neater yardage of 260 by this route, as compared to the 85 yards gained through the overhead efforts of the Green. Fumbles and pass interceptions plagued the Green during this encounter, as they were destined to against Yale, Harvard, and Cornell the next weeks. With the Columbia aerial circus working at top speed, this was a technically interesting game to watch, since, except for a few moments in the second period when they tied the score, the Green was in no immediate danger of winning.
