Columbia 21, Dartmouth 6
Dartmouth had its modest winning streak of four straight games rudely shattered by Columbia on Baker Field before a near-capacity house, as the expected second-half comeback of the Green utterly failed to materialize. Coach McLaughry's charges provided some defensive heroics during the afternoon, stopping the Lions time and again within the Green 20-yard line and once on the one-foot line. These activities are praiseworthy in themselves, but they must be combined with some kind of offensive efforts in order to win football games. These efforts were largely lacking, as the Dartmouth offense stuttered and stalled and never really got going.
The first and only productive offensive move by Dartmouth was, in effect, a defensive triumph. In the first minute of the game, Columbia failed in its initial sequence of plays and dropped back to punt on its own 15. At this juncture, the two big Dartmouth defensive tackles came barging through into the Light Blue secondary. Sophomore Fran Caswell blocked the kick and big George Rambour caught it and propelled his 235 pounds, across the goal line. Hank Fry failed in his attempt to kick the extra point, but Dartmouth was, nevertheless, ahead before many of the customers had even found their seats. That, however, was just about the end of the joy for Dartmouth for the afternoon. Indeed, the Green did not even get hold of the ball again until 14 minutes of the first quarter had elapsed. Dartmouth gained two yards from scrimmage during the entire first quarter, with Columbia dominating the play.
The initial Columbia score did not appear in the records until the second period, and followed the first defensive victory of Dartmouth, when the latter stopped the Lions on their (Dartmouth's) 6 and the home forces missed a placement. But Coach Lou Little's boys were not to be denied and, after 25 seconds of the second period, a 13-yard pass by the Columbia quarterback Price to one of his halfbacks produced the TD. Columbia kicked the extra point and was out in front 7-6. During the rest of the second period, Dartmouth continued to be passed dizzy by the accurate tosses of Columbia's Price, who completed 9 for 13 for 101 yards before he retired with a sprained ankle. If he had remained in the game, the score very possibly would have been even worse from the Dartmouth point of view.
In the second period, Dartmouth mounted one of its few sustained attacks and went 63 yards, mainly on passes from Gene Howard to Dick Brown and John McDonald, to the Columbia 13. There the advance bogged down and Hank Fry missed a field goal, which would have put the Hanoverians ahead, at least temporarily. Columbia came right back and scored again before the end of the second period, and the two teams left the field with the Lions ahead 14-6. The third period was marked by a succession of strong delaying actions on the part of the Dartmouth defense, with one Columbia advance thwarted on the 1-foot line, another on the 7, and still another on the 6. The third Columbia touchdown came in the fourth period and was manufactured entirely on the ground, with a 43-yard advance made the hard way. The home forces threatened once more before the end of the game, with the ball on the Dartmouth 8 when time ran out. As noted, these defensive activities are very laudable, but they do not ordinarily win football games.
The comparative disparity between the two teams is clearly indicated by the statistics. Columbia made 20 first downs to Dartmouth's six. Columbia gained a net 200 yards by rushing, as compared with a meager 68 for the Green. Through the air, the home forces completed 11 for 19 for a total of 126 yards, with Dartmouth attempting 14 passes and managing to connect with only four for 79 yards. In the matter of penalties, Dartmouth suffered from a total of 96 yards lost through infractions, of which several were costly. In one case, a Dartmouth touchdown was called back because of some esoteric violation of the statutes.
LAST-MINUTE BRIEFING: Track Coach Ellie Noyes '32 has a few words with the varsity cross-country team before the Harvard meet in Hanover. Left to right: Thomas L. Tyler '54, William J. Andre '53, Coach Ellie Noyes, Michael F. Morrissey '54, Thomas H. Ritner '53, Donald S. Richardson 52 Walter L. Clarkson '54, Samuel H. Daniell '52, Captain Stanley E. Smiley '52, George E. Rosenberg 52, Edgar Boody (hidden), and Wallace F. Ashnault '53.
