Dartmouth 47, Columbia 6
The Big Green kept its Ivy League championship hopes alive as it toppled Columbia, 47-6. The score was the highest point total by a Dartmouth football team since 1943, and the victory clinched a winning season for the eighth year in a row. It was a game which was reminiscent of the 1962 season - the Big Green could do no wrong.
Kelly outplayed Columbia's All-Ivy quarterback Archie Roberts by completing ten out of sixteen passes for 189 and one touchdown, scoring one touchdown himself, and engineering two other drives of 61 and 83 yards.
The Green had the ball only twice in the first quarter but scored each time. Taking the opening kickoff, the Indians proceeded to pick the Lion defense apart as Kelly pinpointed passes to halfbacks Spangenberg and McLean and end Creelman. The touchdown came on a Kelly to Creelman toss.
After holding the Lions on downs, Dartmouth came back with a drive of 61 yards, capped by halfback Bob O'Brien going over from the ten on a slant through tackle.
Despite a Columbia touchdown early in the second period, the game was all Dartmouth. Just before the intermission the Indians scored again. Kelly passed again to Creelman for a 39 yard gain to put the Indians on the Lion 40. On the next play he connected with halfback Chris Vancura over the middle. Vancura worked his way through the Columbia secondary, displaying some fine broken field running, and wasn't stopped until he had gone 37 yards to the Columbia 3. Three plays later Kelly went over on a quarterback sneak.
The game was iced early in the second half as the Green once again took the kickoff and went 83 yards with McLean bucking over for the score. At this point the first team was removed from the game, and Blackman played reserves the remainder of the game.
But the Indians couldn't keep from running up the score. Rookie halfback Bob O'Brien took a Columbia punt and returned it 43 yards to the Lion 3 where halfback Mike Urbanic went over. Midway through the fourth period, a Columbia punt was blocked and the Green recovered on the Lion 20. In four plays the Indians went the distance with fullback Gene Nattie going in from the two. The final touchdown was registered by Urbanic, who capped a brilliant afternoon with a fine 24-yard run.
Despite the one-sidedness of the final score, Coach Blackman used five quarter-backs and still the touchdowns came. For his play against Columbia, Kelly was named Ivy League Back of the Week. It was felt by most who saw the Columbia game that for the first time this year the Indians had jelled. The pressures of the fifteen-game winning streak were forgotten and Indians of 1963 were on the warpath.
