DARTMOUTH 27, COLGATE 13
After a first half in which Dartmouth performed in a very languid fashion and Colgate managed to score one touchdown, the Green came back to roll up four touchdowns and win going away from a spirited but fatigued Colgate team. John Clayton at quarterback and Bill Roberts at fullback collaborated to produce a one-two punch which for a time appeared to be totally dissipated by the previous injury of several key backfield operatives. Clayton ran the team in his usual superlative fashion and completed 12 out of 18 passes, two of them to Dave Beeman for touchdowns. Roberts scored the other two TDs for the Green, one on a short buck and the other on a trap play for a 21-yard dash into pay territory. With occasional assistance from Jerry Sarno, filling in for the ailing Hal Fitkin at right halfback, this comprised the Dartmouth attack.
The first half constituted thirty minutes of lost opportunities, especially for the frustrated charges of Coach McLaughry. The Green spent the first quarter deep in Colgate territory, but could not summon the punch to score. With Tyler, Williams, and Fitkin out, the speed expected to characterize this year's attack was conspicuously lacking and the Dartmouth offense slowed down practically to a walk. The team came to life only in the waning seconds of the first half, when Clayton hit Red Rowe for a pass that went 40 yards but did not quite produce a score. The timing of the Green backfield was faulty, geared as it is to blazing speed of runners like Tyler and Fitkin. With Colgate fashioning their first score from a long pass, the Red Raiders left the field at the half in possession of a 6-0 lead and with the final outcome very much in doubt.
Coach McLaughry must have uttered some stirring hortatory remarks to his troops between the halts, for the Indians came on the field with fire in their eyes and scored in a minute and a half after the period opened. In this stirring march, they went 73 yards in only four plays, with Roberts, Sarno, and Red Rowe eating up large chunks of real estate, the latter on a tremendous heave from Clayton. Roberts finally went over for the score and Bill Dey, who played an outstanding game at safety all afternoon, kicked the extra point. Shortly after this, Paul Staley, who had ably held the line both offensively and defensively at center prior to this unhappy moment, fired a tremendous center pass over the head of the Dartmouth kicker on fourth down, which mishap gave Colgate the ball on the Green 6-yard line. The Raiders promptly went over for their second TD and led 13-7.
After this misadventure, Dartmouth really went to work, scoring two touchdowns in quick succession, for a total of 20 points in the third period. The first of these scores was ground out the hard way, with the Green taking 14 plays to go 72 yards, climaxed by a 12-yard pass from Clayton to Beeman for the touchdown. Bill Dey kicked the point and the Green led 14-13. The same übiquitous and happily rejuvenated Dey helped set up the next touchdown with an interception of a Colgate aerial in Dartmouth territory. After a flurry of offensive efforts, Clayton handed off to Roberts who exploded through the Colgate line and ran 31-yards to score standing up. The final tally came in the fourth quarter and was again made possible by a couple of Clayton-Beeman passes, the last one ending in a score.
With a strong line, a couple of elusive runners, and two good passing quarterbacks, Colgate threatened all afternoon and looked the equal of the Green in everything but the final score. First downs were 15 for Dartmouth and 16 for Colgate; yards gained rushing were almost equal, with Dartmouth gaining 120 (100 by Roberts) and Colgate 119; and in the matter of passes Clayton completed 13 out of 18 for 195 yards, as against 10 out of 24 for 123 yards for Colgate. The alert Dartmouth secondary again managed to intercept several enemy aerial slants, with three Colgate tosses falling into the hands of Dey, Curtis and company in the defensive backfield. In view of the depleted condition of the Dartmouth backfield, the Green did very well to pull this one out. The list of injured backs for this contest included Tyler, Williams, Fitkin, Howard and Linman, all of whom had played prominent parts in one or more of the previous contests. Coach McLaughry had defensive halfbacks running with the ball, with results which might have been unhappy without some sterling efforts by the few remaining regulars on the scene.
SECOND TOUCHDOWN AGAINST HOLY CROSS: Eddie Williams reaches the last white line after scampering 14 yards on a handoff from Quarterback Johnny Clayton mid-way in the second quarter. A few plays later the Chicago scatback received a broken leg which has sidelined him for the rest of the season.
