Senior running back Alex Thomas was not ruled out of Saturday's game against Brown until about an hour before kickoff. But he was back at practice on Tuesday and Yale coach Tom Williams believes he will be good to go after missing the last two games with a knee injury.
"He got some reps early in practice and then we shut it down," Williams said. "I talked to him right after and he said it felt.. I fully expect to have him on Saturday. I thought we would have him on last Saturday but he said when he was warming up, it didn't feel good. He came out ready to go, he went through all the motions and wasn't ready."
The news isn't as positive on junior receiver Chris Smith, who had a walking boot on his right foot after injuring his ankle on Saturday.
"I don't know if he will have him on Saturday," Williams said. "The walking boot on Tuesday is a precaution. Tomorrow we will reevaluate it and see if he can get some reps. I would anticipate him not being available this weekend.. That was kind of a freak deal.
"He made that one-handed catch and the guy fell on the back of his leg and rolled him up. Totally different injury. He is tough and if there is a way he can go, he will go."
Yale used both Philippe Panico and Kyle Cazzetta on field-goal tries on Tuesday and Williams didn't rule out making a change this week.
"The placekicking thing, we have to find a guy to get points when we have to go out and get points and do it when it is a big game," Williams said. "Competition always but we are always making a bigger emphasis of it this week. He's been great as a punter but he can also do that. When he kicks the ball, it goes (up). He has a nice little lob wedge but we have to get his timing a little quicker, He is coming. I would like him not to have to focus on that (field goals and extra points) but if we have to..
Williams has not ruled out making a switch at punt returner either Gio Christodoulou lost fumbles in the fourth quarter in each of the last two games. Christodoulou is Yale's all-time leader in punt return yardage but when the team works on punt returns tomorrow, both Christodoulou and Deon Randall will get looks.
"We are competing there. We will give a chance to give him and Deon back there and the best guy is going to play on Saturday," Williams said.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Philippe Panico. Tampilkan semua postingan
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Selasa, 08 November 2011
Sabtu, 05 November 2011
Mistakes prove costly in Yale's loss to Brown
As stunning as it was to believe, had a Yale player recovered the ball on Brown's final offensive play, the Bulldogs may have been able to walk out of the Yale Bowl with an Ivy League championship still within their grasps.
In a mistake-prone game, Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero fumbled the ball when all the Bears needed to do was take a knee and let the final seconds tick off the clock. After a wild scramble, it was ruled that Brown maintained possession and as a result, earned a 34-28 victory.
Capitalizing on three Patrick Witt interceptions and a key fumble by punt returner Gio Christodoulou, the Bears had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs mounted a frantic comeback.
Patrick Witt, who passed for two scores and ran for two more, had a 2-yard touchdown run and an 18-yard TD pass to Mordecai Cargill to pull within 34-28 with 1:28 to play. That set the stage for the final fumble in the game. Yale senior defensive tackle Reed Spiller came out of the pile with the ball but the officials ruled that Brown had already been awarded possession.
"I know we had our hands on it, they had their hands on it," Williams said. "The officials said that he ruled simultaneous possession to them, that is what he told me on the sideline."
The fact of the matter is that the Bulldogs were fortunate to even be within six points at game's end. Yale had enough miscues to last a season and those mistakes mean the Bulldogs would need all sorts of help to be able to go into the season-ending Harvard game in position to earn a share of the Ivy League title.
"We were playing until the last second, we had guys grabbing trying to get the ball but the fact of the matter is that we didn't play well enough to win in a game of that magnitude," Williams said. "We turned the ball over too many times, we didn't take advantage of good field position to score and we gave up a couple of easy touchdowns defensively. We had a punt blocked for no reason at all. If you do things in a game of this magnitude against a good team like Brown, you are going to lose the game. We had plenty of opportunities to have a good day and we didn't do it.
"It starts with me. I have to figure out the right buttons ti push with my football team so that we can execute with poise in a game of this magnitude. This is the point in the season with a team that has been around for at least three years with our staff that we felt confident that we would be able to finish these types of games and to have those things pop up in the biggest game of the year is a head scratcher to me."
Speaking of head scratchers, I asked Williams about the curious play call of having Deon Randall run the ball out of the Wildcat formation with Yale having a 2nd and 3 on the Brown 5. Randall was thrown for an eight-yard loss and Philippe Panico missed a 30-yard field goal. I know Yale was struggling to run the ball at that point but I'd take my chances with a powerful back like Cargill getting a couple of cracks into the 5 rather than the Wildcat.
"That is a play that we practiced all week in that situation and we didn't execute the blocking of it," Williams said. "There was a particular block that needed to be made. It wasn't and that caused us to move backwards. It came down to execution, we liked the play, we knew what we were going to get from it. When you aren't able to execute plays, it doesn't really matter what you call."
It also didn't help that Yale gave up the longest run in Brown football history as Mark Kachmar had 95 of his 192 rushing yards on the Bears' third offensive play. The Bulldogs had a hard time defending both the run and pass in the first half. Brown helped Yale come back by going a bit conservative in its offensive play calling in the second half.
"You kind of knew they had it in them with the kind of skill that they had to come back but when you are up by three touchdowns, it is a matter of getting first downs and we blew it down there," Brown coach Phil Estes said of Yale's late offensive barrage.
"We were up 20 points and we are going to be OK. We have to get some first downs and we just couldn't get the first downs. The problem is you just start watching the clock. You don't want to throw. They have great skill at receiver, great skill at running back, defensively they play some soft coverages but they really wrap up, they hit hard and tackle hard."
Yale senior running back Alex Thomas missed his second straight game with a knee injury while Chris Smith appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the second half. If there was a positive for Yale, it is the continued emergence of freshman defensive end E.J. Conway who had another strong game.
Witt finished with 370 yards and is now just 69 yards shy of Alvin Cowan's Yale career record. Speaking of Witt, a film crew from NBC Nightly News was on campus yesterday following Witt around and also at today's game. They are planning to run a segment on Monday's show about Witt's potential conflict with his final Rhodes Scholarship interview. The interview was set for the morning of Nov. 19 in Atlanta and if it is not shifted to the previous day, Witt would have to choose between playing in The Game and going to interview for the most prestigious scholarship in this country.
In a mistake-prone game, Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero fumbled the ball when all the Bears needed to do was take a knee and let the final seconds tick off the clock. After a wild scramble, it was ruled that Brown maintained possession and as a result, earned a 34-28 victory.
Capitalizing on three Patrick Witt interceptions and a key fumble by punt returner Gio Christodoulou, the Bears had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs mounted a frantic comeback.
Patrick Witt, who passed for two scores and ran for two more, had a 2-yard touchdown run and an 18-yard TD pass to Mordecai Cargill to pull within 34-28 with 1:28 to play. That set the stage for the final fumble in the game. Yale senior defensive tackle Reed Spiller came out of the pile with the ball but the officials ruled that Brown had already been awarded possession.
"I know we had our hands on it, they had their hands on it," Williams said. "The officials said that he ruled simultaneous possession to them, that is what he told me on the sideline."
The fact of the matter is that the Bulldogs were fortunate to even be within six points at game's end. Yale had enough miscues to last a season and those mistakes mean the Bulldogs would need all sorts of help to be able to go into the season-ending Harvard game in position to earn a share of the Ivy League title.
"We were playing until the last second, we had guys grabbing trying to get the ball but the fact of the matter is that we didn't play well enough to win in a game of that magnitude," Williams said. "We turned the ball over too many times, we didn't take advantage of good field position to score and we gave up a couple of easy touchdowns defensively. We had a punt blocked for no reason at all. If you do things in a game of this magnitude against a good team like Brown, you are going to lose the game. We had plenty of opportunities to have a good day and we didn't do it.
"It starts with me. I have to figure out the right buttons ti push with my football team so that we can execute with poise in a game of this magnitude. This is the point in the season with a team that has been around for at least three years with our staff that we felt confident that we would be able to finish these types of games and to have those things pop up in the biggest game of the year is a head scratcher to me."
Speaking of head scratchers, I asked Williams about the curious play call of having Deon Randall run the ball out of the Wildcat formation with Yale having a 2nd and 3 on the Brown 5. Randall was thrown for an eight-yard loss and Philippe Panico missed a 30-yard field goal. I know Yale was struggling to run the ball at that point but I'd take my chances with a powerful back like Cargill getting a couple of cracks into the 5 rather than the Wildcat.
"That is a play that we practiced all week in that situation and we didn't execute the blocking of it," Williams said. "There was a particular block that needed to be made. It wasn't and that caused us to move backwards. It came down to execution, we liked the play, we knew what we were going to get from it. When you aren't able to execute plays, it doesn't really matter what you call."
It also didn't help that Yale gave up the longest run in Brown football history as Mark Kachmar had 95 of his 192 rushing yards on the Bears' third offensive play. The Bulldogs had a hard time defending both the run and pass in the first half. Brown helped Yale come back by going a bit conservative in its offensive play calling in the second half.
"You kind of knew they had it in them with the kind of skill that they had to come back but when you are up by three touchdowns, it is a matter of getting first downs and we blew it down there," Brown coach Phil Estes said of Yale's late offensive barrage.
"We were up 20 points and we are going to be OK. We have to get some first downs and we just couldn't get the first downs. The problem is you just start watching the clock. You don't want to throw. They have great skill at receiver, great skill at running back, defensively they play some soft coverages but they really wrap up, they hit hard and tackle hard."
Yale senior running back Alex Thomas missed his second straight game with a knee injury while Chris Smith appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the second half. If there was a positive for Yale, it is the continued emergence of freshman defensive end E.J. Conway who had another strong game.
Witt finished with 370 yards and is now just 69 yards shy of Alvin Cowan's Yale career record. Speaking of Witt, a film crew from NBC Nightly News was on campus yesterday following Witt around and also at today's game. They are planning to run a segment on Monday's show about Witt's potential conflict with his final Rhodes Scholarship interview. The interview was set for the morning of Nov. 19 in Atlanta and if it is not shifted to the previous day, Witt would have to choose between playing in The Game and going to interview for the most prestigious scholarship in this country.
Selasa, 01 November 2011
Collins, Smith and Thomas back at practice
It's looking like Yale's offense is getting closer to being at full strength.
Offensive tackle Roy Collins, receiver Chris Smith and running back Alex Thomas took part in Tuesday's practice in varying degrees. All three players were injured in the loss to Penn. They were all held out of practice last week and missed Saturday's game against Columbia.
Collins, who injured his ankle, saw the most action on Tuesday. In the time I was there, he saw most of the time at right tackle with the starters. Thomas, who suffered a knee injury against the Quakers, was in the backfield for a handful of snaps. Smith, who has missed two games with a tender hamstring, did not take part in an team drills but did some individual workouts.
"(Thomas) is still a little tender but he got a few reps in today," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "Roy was back and pretty close to full speed and Chris was back. He didn't go through everything but he did go through individual (drills) and tomorrow we are going to try to get him some team reps and just kind of slowly ramp him up. I think we are getting closer to where we need to be health wise. They should be available for Saturday. Obviously the next couple of days will be important for Chris and Alex to get full-speed reps but they are on their way. The plan today is try to ease them into it and tomorrow and Thursday get them ready for game speed."
Starting left tackle Wes Gavin is still unable to practice because of an ankle injury and seems unlikely to be back for Saturday's game against Brown.
SEMONES HOLDING STEADY
I didn't get a complete sense of the quality of the hold on Philippe Panico's 38-yard field goal under white-out conditions on Saturday until I replayed the tape of the game.
The snap on the kick was low and slightly wide but sophomore Jake Semones calmly snared the snap and was able to get it down in time for Panico to make the kick for the first points in Yale's 16-13 win.
"I couldn't see it on the field because his back was to me and also because of the snow," Williams said. "That ball was about this low off the ground (holding his hands about an inch or two apart) and to the side. He picked it and got it back in place with no problem at all. That is why he is so valuable.
"His holds have been like that all year and Philippe has great confidence in him. That is what made a difference in the kick, the fact that Philippe did not have to break stride at all. It was the difference in the game. I thought three points might be enough to win it and it ended up being the difference. It was a great hold, unbelievable but he has been like that all year. I think I was watching the TV copy and the guys said that the holder never gets any attention unless he drops the ball. That has been great because Jake has been good the whole year."
Offensive tackle Roy Collins, receiver Chris Smith and running back Alex Thomas took part in Tuesday's practice in varying degrees. All three players were injured in the loss to Penn. They were all held out of practice last week and missed Saturday's game against Columbia.
Collins, who injured his ankle, saw the most action on Tuesday. In the time I was there, he saw most of the time at right tackle with the starters. Thomas, who suffered a knee injury against the Quakers, was in the backfield for a handful of snaps. Smith, who has missed two games with a tender hamstring, did not take part in an team drills but did some individual workouts.
"(Thomas) is still a little tender but he got a few reps in today," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "Roy was back and pretty close to full speed and Chris was back. He didn't go through everything but he did go through individual (drills) and tomorrow we are going to try to get him some team reps and just kind of slowly ramp him up. I think we are getting closer to where we need to be health wise. They should be available for Saturday. Obviously the next couple of days will be important for Chris and Alex to get full-speed reps but they are on their way. The plan today is try to ease them into it and tomorrow and Thursday get them ready for game speed."
Starting left tackle Wes Gavin is still unable to practice because of an ankle injury and seems unlikely to be back for Saturday's game against Brown.
SEMONES HOLDING STEADY
I didn't get a complete sense of the quality of the hold on Philippe Panico's 38-yard field goal under white-out conditions on Saturday until I replayed the tape of the game.
The snap on the kick was low and slightly wide but sophomore Jake Semones calmly snared the snap and was able to get it down in time for Panico to make the kick for the first points in Yale's 16-13 win.
"I couldn't see it on the field because his back was to me and also because of the snow," Williams said. "That ball was about this low off the ground (holding his hands about an inch or two apart) and to the side. He picked it and got it back in place with no problem at all. That is why he is so valuable.
"His holds have been like that all year and Philippe has great confidence in him. That is what made a difference in the kick, the fact that Philippe did not have to break stride at all. It was the difference in the game. I thought three points might be enough to win it and it ended up being the difference. It was a great hold, unbelievable but he has been like that all year. I think I was watching the TV copy and the guys said that the holder never gets any attention unless he drops the ball. That has been great because Jake has been good the whole year."
Sabtu, 29 Oktober 2011
Snow, Yale offensive line dominate Columbia
When the Ivy League announces its weekly player of the week, it would be fitting for one or more of Yale's offensive linemen to get the nod. Of course, there would have been a better chance of finding a sun bather at Saturday's Yale/Columbia game.
In a game played in a surprisingly potent storm, Yale made some Ivy League history.
After paving the way for Alex Thomas to run for 204 yards in a loss to Penn, the Yale starting offensive line of Ben Carbery, Gabe Fernandez, John Oppenheimer, Colin Kruger and James Talerico were at it again as Mordecai Cargill ran for 230 yards in the 16-13 win over Columbia.
I went through the record books for the Ivy teams and as far as I can tell, it is the first time an Ivy team had two backs rush for 200 yards in consecutive games. What makes the feat so impressive is that the Bulldogs were playing without both starting tackles as both Wes Gavin and Roy Collins were out with ankle injuries.
"Our O-line has really come together," said Cargill, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing yards late in the game. "It was (unfortunate) that Roy and Wes went down but we have a lot of solidarity up front. Our O-line is starting to mesh and we are looking to build momentum going forward."
I asked Columbia coach Norries Wilson how impressive it is to have two backs run for 200 yards in back to back games and I had to laugh at his response.
"I think Nebraska does it every week," Wilson said. "I think just looking at the stats, they have been intermixing the two backs. I don’t know what’s wrong with 41 (Thomas, who missed the game with a knee injury), we didn ‘t know he wasn’t going to play but (Cargill) made the most of his opportunity and they did a good job blocking for him.
"They are a real good group. They are playing Carbery as a freshman, they have a freshman who played last year (Gavin) who is a really good player. I really like 57 (Roy Collins). I think they have done a good job of playing some athletic kids who can play offensive line. They can reach block on the second step, they do a real good job of protecting their quarterback."
It is NOT the first time Yale had a 200-yard rusher in consecutive games as Robert Carr accomplished the feat in games against Cornell and Holy Cross but it is the first time it was done by different running backs.
A few defensive details thanks to Jordan Haynes since it was extremely difficult to make out many of the plays. On the fumble recovered by Will McHale which led to Panico's field goal, McHale deflected a pass which was caught by a Columbia lineman. Cliff Foreman then jarred the ball free and McHale recovered. Haynes recovered a fumble after a huge submarine tackle. Again, I couldn't make out the player and he said it was Kurt Stottlemyer. Because of the conditions made passing extremely difficult, Yale was able to aggressive blitz its defensive backs on obvious passing situations. Collin Bibb led the way with two tackles for a loss including a sack.
Wilson was asked whether he felt the play before Nick Okano's game-clinching interception should have been called pass interference.
"You have to ask the official on that side, it doesn’t matter what I think," Wilson said.
The Yale players heard that Brown beat Penn 6-0 as the Bulldogs were running the final few seconds off the clock. Now Yale can clinch no worse than a share of the Ivy League title it it wins its final three games. Had Penn won out, Yale would not be able to catch the Quakers in the standings.
The main focus on my game story is on Cargill's monster effort and the fact that Yale did not attempt a pass in the second half. I have a notebook with reaction from Yale players about the winter wonderland they played in as well as Philippe Panico somehow getting a 38-yard field goal through the uprights.
Speaking of the snow, Yale history buff Bob Barton (a former New Haven Register copy editor and regular at Yale games for years) came up with a list of other Yale games of the last 50 years impacted by snow.
Temple 1953 (Yale 32-6) early November, probably 4 inches
Harvard 1955 (Yale 21-7), probably 2-3 inches
Princeton 1967, there were snowflakes but rain, thunder, little of everything, no accumulation
Think there was also a little snow at Princeton in 1985, but nothing serious.
I am thinking that if you said this was the most serious snow during a game in more than half a century, you'd be right.
In a game played in a surprisingly potent storm, Yale made some Ivy League history.
After paving the way for Alex Thomas to run for 204 yards in a loss to Penn, the Yale starting offensive line of Ben Carbery, Gabe Fernandez, John Oppenheimer, Colin Kruger and James Talerico were at it again as Mordecai Cargill ran for 230 yards in the 16-13 win over Columbia.
I went through the record books for the Ivy teams and as far as I can tell, it is the first time an Ivy team had two backs rush for 200 yards in consecutive games. What makes the feat so impressive is that the Bulldogs were playing without both starting tackles as both Wes Gavin and Roy Collins were out with ankle injuries.
"Our O-line has really come together," said Cargill, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing yards late in the game. "It was (unfortunate) that Roy and Wes went down but we have a lot of solidarity up front. Our O-line is starting to mesh and we are looking to build momentum going forward."
I asked Columbia coach Norries Wilson how impressive it is to have two backs run for 200 yards in back to back games and I had to laugh at his response.
"I think Nebraska does it every week," Wilson said. "I think just looking at the stats, they have been intermixing the two backs. I don’t know what’s wrong with 41 (Thomas, who missed the game with a knee injury), we didn ‘t know he wasn’t going to play but (Cargill) made the most of his opportunity and they did a good job blocking for him.
"They are a real good group. They are playing Carbery as a freshman, they have a freshman who played last year (Gavin) who is a really good player. I really like 57 (Roy Collins). I think they have done a good job of playing some athletic kids who can play offensive line. They can reach block on the second step, they do a real good job of protecting their quarterback."
It is NOT the first time Yale had a 200-yard rusher in consecutive games as Robert Carr accomplished the feat in games against Cornell and Holy Cross but it is the first time it was done by different running backs.
A few defensive details thanks to Jordan Haynes since it was extremely difficult to make out many of the plays. On the fumble recovered by Will McHale which led to Panico's field goal, McHale deflected a pass which was caught by a Columbia lineman. Cliff Foreman then jarred the ball free and McHale recovered. Haynes recovered a fumble after a huge submarine tackle. Again, I couldn't make out the player and he said it was Kurt Stottlemyer. Because of the conditions made passing extremely difficult, Yale was able to aggressive blitz its defensive backs on obvious passing situations. Collin Bibb led the way with two tackles for a loss including a sack.
Wilson was asked whether he felt the play before Nick Okano's game-clinching interception should have been called pass interference.
"You have to ask the official on that side, it doesn’t matter what I think," Wilson said.
The Yale players heard that Brown beat Penn 6-0 as the Bulldogs were running the final few seconds off the clock. Now Yale can clinch no worse than a share of the Ivy League title it it wins its final three games. Had Penn won out, Yale would not be able to catch the Quakers in the standings.
The main focus on my game story is on Cargill's monster effort and the fact that Yale did not attempt a pass in the second half. I have a notebook with reaction from Yale players about the winter wonderland they played in as well as Philippe Panico somehow getting a 38-yard field goal through the uprights.
Speaking of the snow, Yale history buff Bob Barton (a former New Haven Register copy editor and regular at Yale games for years) came up with a list of other Yale games of the last 50 years impacted by snow.
Temple 1953 (Yale 32-6) early November, probably 4 inches
Harvard 1955 (Yale 21-7), probably 2-3 inches
Princeton 1967, there were snowflakes but rain, thunder, little of everything, no accumulation
Think there was also a little snow at Princeton in 1985, but nothing serious.
I am thinking that if you said this was the most serious snow during a game in more than half a century, you'd be right.
Sabtu, 10 September 2011
Yale beats Dean 24-7
Yale's defense, outside of one play, and special teams had strong performances in Saturday's 24-7 win over Dean College in a scrimmage at the Yale Bowl.
Yale had seven sacks (of course with the no hitting the quarterback rule at the scrimmage, defenders only needed to be in the general vicinity to get some of these sacks.
Carter Deutsch, who is back on defense after a move to the offensive line, had three of the sacks while Cliff Foreman had two sacks. Jordan Haynes led Yale with six tackles (according to my unofficial stats). After Haynes made his presence felt on Dean's first offensive possession, one of their assistant coaches could be heard telling his players "we've got to block the Mike (linebacker). Why can't we block the Mike." I am sure more than a few Ivy League coaches said or thought the same thing since Haynes is the Mike or middle linebacker at Yale. Haynes was not the author of the best hit of the scrimmage. That came from sophomore tight end who rumbled for yardage on his only reception when a Dean player came in and tried to lay a huge hit on Coty. The result was the defender being knocked backwards and Coty continued to move forward as if he was barely touched. The play happened in front of the Yale sideline and Coty's teammates went absolutely crazy after the play.
On special teams, Gio Christodolou brought back a punt 65 yards for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on a dropped Dean punt led to Alex Thomas' 2-yard touchdown. Yale coach Tom Williams was impressed with the efforts of his freshmen punters Parker Toms and Kyle Cazzetta.
He was not as happy with the effort of the first-team offense. At halftime he challenged them to come down the field and score and the Bulldogs did just that. Thomas ran three times for 41 of his team-high 45 yards on the six-play, 79-yard drive which ended with Patrick Witt hooking up with Chris Smith on a 28-yard touchdown.
Witt struggled at times throwing the ball down the field although he finished 13 of 20 for 122 yards with the one touchdowns and an interception. Smith led the team with 51 yards on three catches while Allen Harris had a team-high four catches.
Yale offensive starters were Witt, Mordecai Cargill at tailback, Cameron Sandquist, Deon Randall and Allen Harris at receiver, Kyle Wittenauer at tight end and the offensive line of tackles Roy Collins and Wes Gavin, guards Gabe Fernandez and Colin Kruger and center John Oppenheimer. On defense, it was ends Matt Battaglia and Austin Pulsipher, tackles Reed Spiller and Jake Stoller, linebackers Haynes, Will McHale and Wes Moyer, cornerbacks Drew Baldwin and Dawson Halliday and safeties Geoff Dunham and Nick Okano.
As for the freshmen, William Chism and Ben Carbery saw time on the second-team offensive line, linebacker Will Vaughan, running back Wynston Bouknight and corner Nick LaTesta where the ones I noticed as well as the two aforementioned punters.
There have been some injuries among the freshmen. Running back Kahlil Keys suffered a knee injury during practice earlier in the week and he may miss the season, defensive back Ethan DeSilva had a knee injury late in his senior season at Mission Viejo (Calif.) and will not play this season. Chism hurt his hand in the scrimmage and had an MRI done on Saturday.
Yale had seven sacks (of course with the no hitting the quarterback rule at the scrimmage, defenders only needed to be in the general vicinity to get some of these sacks.
Carter Deutsch, who is back on defense after a move to the offensive line, had three of the sacks while Cliff Foreman had two sacks. Jordan Haynes led Yale with six tackles (according to my unofficial stats). After Haynes made his presence felt on Dean's first offensive possession, one of their assistant coaches could be heard telling his players "we've got to block the Mike (linebacker). Why can't we block the Mike." I am sure more than a few Ivy League coaches said or thought the same thing since Haynes is the Mike or middle linebacker at Yale. Haynes was not the author of the best hit of the scrimmage. That came from sophomore tight end who rumbled for yardage on his only reception when a Dean player came in and tried to lay a huge hit on Coty. The result was the defender being knocked backwards and Coty continued to move forward as if he was barely touched. The play happened in front of the Yale sideline and Coty's teammates went absolutely crazy after the play.
On special teams, Gio Christodolou brought back a punt 65 yards for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on a dropped Dean punt led to Alex Thomas' 2-yard touchdown. Yale coach Tom Williams was impressed with the efforts of his freshmen punters Parker Toms and Kyle Cazzetta.
He was not as happy with the effort of the first-team offense. At halftime he challenged them to come down the field and score and the Bulldogs did just that. Thomas ran three times for 41 of his team-high 45 yards on the six-play, 79-yard drive which ended with Patrick Witt hooking up with Chris Smith on a 28-yard touchdown.
Witt struggled at times throwing the ball down the field although he finished 13 of 20 for 122 yards with the one touchdowns and an interception. Smith led the team with 51 yards on three catches while Allen Harris had a team-high four catches.
Yale offensive starters were Witt, Mordecai Cargill at tailback, Cameron Sandquist, Deon Randall and Allen Harris at receiver, Kyle Wittenauer at tight end and the offensive line of tackles Roy Collins and Wes Gavin, guards Gabe Fernandez and Colin Kruger and center John Oppenheimer. On defense, it was ends Matt Battaglia and Austin Pulsipher, tackles Reed Spiller and Jake Stoller, linebackers Haynes, Will McHale and Wes Moyer, cornerbacks Drew Baldwin and Dawson Halliday and safeties Geoff Dunham and Nick Okano.
As for the freshmen, William Chism and Ben Carbery saw time on the second-team offensive line, linebacker Will Vaughan, running back Wynston Bouknight and corner Nick LaTesta where the ones I noticed as well as the two aforementioned punters.
There have been some injuries among the freshmen. Running back Kahlil Keys suffered a knee injury during practice earlier in the week and he may miss the season, defensive back Ethan DeSilva had a knee injury late in his senior season at Mission Viejo (Calif.) and will not play this season. Chism hurt his hand in the scrimmage and had an MRI done on Saturday.
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