Princeton Holds Off Dartmouth, Improves To 8-0

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Princeton scored a touchdown on its first possession against Dartmouth Saturday afternoon. Then it scored another on its second.

Even knowing that, is there anyone surprised that the drama lasted until the final seconds, when Dawson De Iuliis cradled an onside kick attempt and wouldn't let go? Of course not. This was Dartmouth after all. No win against the Big Green is easy.

The 2022 edition of the rivalry certainly wasn't. Princeton held off a very stubborn Dartmouth team to win 17-14, holding on after a Big Green touchdown with 17 seconds left led to an onside kick that could have at least given the visitors one more shot at the end zone.

Instead, De Iuliis never flinched on the play or bobbled the ball, and all that was left was one victory formation. And when it was over, everyone in orange and black could breathe a quick sigh of relief, knowing that another hurdle had been cleared the record was still perfect.

Princeton improved to 8-0 on the season (5-0 in the Ivy League) and can now win at least a share of the league championship with a win in either of its final two games, this coming Saturday at Yale or Nov. 19 at home against Penn, both of whom are currently 4-1 in the league after wins in Week 8. Yale certainly got everyone's attention Saturday with its 69-17 win over Brown; kickoff between the Tigers and Bulldogs in New Haven will be at noon this Saturday. Penn defeated Cornell 28-21, while Harvard, who plays Penn and Yale, lost 21-20 to Columbia to fall to 3-2 in the league. If you're curious, two Harvard wins in the last two weeks and two Princeton losses in the last two weeks would mean a four-way tie for the championship.

For the Tigers, future games and Ivy championship scenarios were very much secondary to the task at hand. This was Princeton's fourth straight year at 7-0, and in the preceding two it was Dartmouth who defeated the Tigers in Week 8. This time Dartmouth came in at 2-5 overall and with just one Ivy win in its first four games, but that hardly mattered.

Princeton's first two drives ended with rushing touchdowns from Ja'Derris Carr and Blake Stenstrom, and it was 14-0 Tigers just over 10 minutes in. Dartmouth answered with a touchdown of its own to make it 14-7 at the end of the first, and the only points the Tigers would score after that — and the ones that would prove to be the difference — came on a 23-yard Jeffrey Sexton field goal late with 22 seconds left before the half.

The Tiger defense, which was tremendous all day, did not permit Dartmouth to get within 10 until the final seconds, after Jackson Proctor directed a 14-play, 78-yard drive in his first collegiate quarterbacking experience. De Iuliis, who also had a great pass break up during that last drive, secured the onside kick to seal it.

Stenstrom completed 31 of 40 passes for 264 yards, including eight for 107 to Dylan Classi and seven for 50 to AJ Barber. Princeton had 10 players on defense who had between three and six tackles.

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Blake Stenstrom

Princeton University Athletics

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