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Dartmouth 17, Yale 16

HANOVER  — Quarterback Grayson Saunier ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns and Owen Zalc kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to help Dartmouth earn a dramatic 17-16 win over Yale on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

Zalc missed a kick from 31 yards in the first quarter and from 56 in the third before his game-winner, which capped a seven-play, 42-yard scoring drive. Saunier completed 3-of-4 passes for 37 yards on the drive. The big play was a 22-yard completion to Ky’Dric Fisher on third and 5 to put the ball at the Bulldogs’ 33 and give Zalc a chance to win the game.

“Unbelievable,” Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle said. “Proud of this team, proud of our staff, battling to the end. Everything didn’t go our way, but we didn’t flinch, we didn’t blink and we believed. Our guys believed the entire time. Every time we went out there and every time we huddled on the sideline to go out there on the field — offensively, defensively and special teams — our guys just wanted one more shot to get out there and make it happen.”

On the prior drive, Yale took a 16-14 lead on a 13-play, 70-yard drive that ended when Dante Reno threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Graham Smith with 37 seconds left.

Yale (2-2, 1-1) built a 10-0 lead through three quarters before the Big Green (3-1, 1-1 Ivy League) rallied. Saunier scored from the 6 at the end of an 11-play, 92-yard drive that lasted a little more than five minutes.

On Yale’s next drive, Dartmouth’s Sean Williams intercepted Reno. Six plays later, Saunier ran it in from 37 yards away for a 14-10 lead. On the ensuing drive, Yale’s Abu Kamara intercepted Saunier, but the Bulldogs’ Phoenix Grant was called for a personal foul and Dartmouth maintained possession.

Reno threw for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

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