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Dartmouth 35, CCSU 28

HANOVER — Central Connecticut State pulled even, 28-28, with 58 seconds remaining, but it took the Dartmouth football team just 42 seconds to answer back, as Grayson Saunier found Ky’Dric Fisher for 50 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining that helped the Big Green earn a 35-28 victory Saturday.

BOX SCORE

The game saw 22 combined points in the game’s final stages, as a Chris Corbo touchdown grab had previously given Dartmouth a 28-21 lead with 5:56 to play.

“It was a battle,” Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle said. “I told the guys after the game we didn’t make it easy for ourselves. We left a lot of points out on the field, but I’ll tell you what, I’m proud of the way we just kept fighting and fighting. We had to be ready and prepared to make plays and I felt like across the board, our guys stepped up at the end of the game to put us in a position to win.”

Saunier finished the day 30-of-44 passing for 407 yards and two touchdowns. All three (completions, attempts and yards) easily shattered his previous career highs, as he became the first Big Green player to throw for 400-plus yards since 2016.

“Ky’dric had a great route, made a good double move,” said Saunier, referring to Dartmouth’s final offensive play of the game. “Coach Montgomery had a great call and we just trusted in our coaches. We connected on it, things worked out and we came out on top. It was great feeling.”

“Super proud of [Ky’Dric],” said McCorkle. “We talk about it all the time; you just never know when your number is going to get called. He’s a heck of a football player. When he had that opportunity, he seized it. He jumped all over it and did a great job.”

Grayson O’Bara posted a career-high 128 receiving yards on seven catches. Dating back to last season, he now has three straight games with 100-plus yards. Corbo also had seven catches for 68 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. D.J. Crowther is now up to five rushing touchdowns this season after two more on Saturday, finishing the day with 86 yards on 24 carries and those two scores.

Tyson Grimm had a team-high eight tackles, which tied a career high. Nico Schwikal added a career-high seven. Zyion Freer-Brown had a big day with one of Dartmouth’s four sacks, along with 1.5 tackles-for-loss.

CCSU got on the board first, taking advantage of a short field after an interception and going 38 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter.

Dartmouth responded less than two minutes later. A 71-yard reception from O’Bara on third down led to Crowther’s first touchdown of the day one play later, pulling Dartmouth even at seven with 5:38 on the first-quarter clock.

The Blue Devils marched down field on nine plays, punching it into the end zone to put them on top, 14-7 after one quarter of play.

The second quarter featured 13 unanswered Dartmouth points, as Crowther began the quarter with a 12-yard touchdown scamper. Zalc knocked through field goals of 36 and 27 yards to give the Big Green a 20-14 halftime lead.

A scoreless third quarter set the stage for a wild end to the fourth. Getting the ball back with 9:38 remaining, the Big Green went 89 yards on nine plays. The drive ended with Saunier and Corbo connecting for 26 yards. Saunier ran in the two-point conversion to put Dartmouth ahead, 28-21 with 5:56 remaining.

CCSU answered right back, going 80 yards in 12 plays, but the Blue Devils left Saunier and the Big Green with 58 seconds to work. The ensuing drive saw Dartmouth hit three short passes to get to midfield, setting up Fisher’s heroics.

Dartmouth finished with a 524-289 edge in total offense, including 407-223 through the air and 117-66 on the ground.

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