An inability to capitalize on opportunities combined with mistakes on both sides of the ball cost the football team a victory in Saturday's 19-13 overtime loss at Dartmouth. It was a microcosm of Brown's season up to this point, as Bruno was, once again, just one or two plays away from winning.
"We had opportunities to win that football game, and we left them right there," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "We should have won that football game, but not the way we played. I just thought all around there were too many mistakes, too many missed opportunities, poor tackling and some penalties that gave them first downs and more opportunities."
Just as they did last week against Yale, the Bears held the lead entering the fourth quarter. It was, however, the second consecutive week in which Brown's opponent mounted a late comeback to steal a win.
"You hate to look back on this season and see all the what-ifs: what if we played better here, what if we had finished there, what if we had made this play," Estes said. "Football is all about momentum, and what happens sometimes is that when you create negative momentum it just seems to carry over from game to game."
The game ended with an overturned call that didn't go Brown's way. Dartmouth scored a touchdown on the first drive of overtime to go up 19-13. When the Bears were forced to go for it on fourth-and-15 on their possession, quarterback Joe DiGiacomo '07 was flushed from the pocket and threw a ball up for Lonnie Hill '07. The pass fell incomplete, but the defender covering Hill was initially called for pass interference. After a brief conference, however, the referees overturned the penalty, and the game ended.
"On that last play Lonnie said it was tipped, so it was a good call," Estes said. "Once the ball is tipped, there's no interference."
The Bears knew better than to blame anyone but themselves for a sub-par game.
"It's easy to point the finger and blame the refs, but we had opportunities to put them away earlier," said tri-captain DiGiacomo. "It was a good game that should have gone the other way, but there's nothing you can do about it now."
True to the form of recent games in this rivalry, the early action saw both defenses ratchet up their level of play before either offense cracked the scoreboard. Bruno finally struck first when Dereck Knight '08 scored from 1 yard out 3:21 before the half to make it 7-0 at intermission.
The touchdown capped a 14-play, 88-yard drive and was the best stretch the Bears could muster in what was a Jekyll-and-Hyde day for their offense.
"It seemed like we either drove right down the field or went three-and-out," DiGiacomo said. "This season we've been an inconsistent offense, and we were inconsistent (Saturday)."
Brown increased its lead to 10-0 with 1:03 left in the third quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Steve Morgan '08. For a day on which they were not on top of their game, the Bears were fortunate to hold a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Yet Brown's luck ran dry in the final 15 minutes, as Dartmouth quarterback Mike Fritz finally got the Big Green offense rolling.
"It was poor tackling on our part, but they also started to move the ball through the air," Estes said. "Their quarterback did a nice job of scrambling and making some first downs and throwing some crossing patterns underneath, and they were able to move the ball down(field) successfully."
After Morgan's field goal, Fritz led the hosts on a 74-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by Nate Servis, making it 10-7 with 12:24 left to play. Dartmouth's next drive was just as effective, traveling 55 yards in nine plays and ending in a field goal by Andrew Kempler from 35 yards out that tied the game at 10-10 with 6:59 left.
The Bears mounted a successful drive in response to Kempler's field goal. Brown went 66 yards in 13 plays - consuming 5:11 - before Morgan booted his second field goal of the day. The kick gave Bruno a 13-10 lead with just 1:48 remaining.
As important as the field goal was for the visiting Bears, Estes acknowledged that the end result of the drive was less than perfect.
"We took it all the way down to the 3-yard line and couldn't put it in," Estes said. "Looking back, maybe I should have run more inside plays. Also, we got them to burn all their timeouts but we should have milked the clock a little more."
Dartmouth took full advantage of the 1:48 it had left, thanks in large part to a controversial call that went against Brown. Faced with a fourth-and-seven from the Brown 48, Fritz's pass intended for Mark Brogna fell incomplete, but Jose Yearwood '08 - who had batted the pass down - was called for pass interference by the back judge. The penalty kept the drive alive and gave Dartmouth the ball at the Brown 33.
"There was contact, but (Jose) can play the football, and it wasn't like he went through the guy," Estes said. "He was successful at knocking the ball away, and I'm not sure this guy's going to be able to catch the football (anyway)."
Dartmouth wide receiver Ryan Fuselier hauled in an 11-yard out route on the next play and was able to get out of bounds, stopping the clock and giving the Big Green field goal unit five seconds to set up. Kempler's kick from 39 yards was good, sending the game to overtime.
Now that the team's goal of finishing above .500 in league play is unattainable, Brown will be playing for pride next Saturday at home against the Columbia Lions. The game with Columbia will be the last for 26 seniors on the roster, and Estes said he hopes his team will go out on top.
"I hope they have some pride left in them and go out there for that last game," he said. "For these seniors, if they went out as winners that would be something special and I think they're going to look at it that way."
