
On Saturday, sophomore running back Mike DiMaggio carried the Quakers on his bulky legs.
Quarterback Robert Irvin had a very respectable first half against Dartmouth. But without any semblance of a running game, the Quakers could not get the offense going, forcing Kyle Olson to punt the ball away six times before halftime.
DiMaggio had four carries for six yards in the first half; his backfield counterpart Bradford Blackmon rushed for five yards on six carries.
But when a bruised ankle kept Blackmon out of the game for the bulk of the second half, DiMaggio rose to the occasion and ignited the entire offensive unit.
The turning point came on Penn's first drive of the third quarter, when DiMaggio took a handoff from Irvin up the middle, made a shifty cutback, bounced toward the right sideline and charged forward for a 33-yard pickup.
The run set up a touchdown pass from Irvin to Tyler Fisher, giving the lead back to the Quakers, 14-10. From that point on, DiMaggio made sure the Red and Blue would never look back.
Having established the running game - DiMaggio's 57 third-quarter yards were more than nine times his first half total - the Big Green's defense prioritized stopping the rush late in the third quarter.
As a result, Irvin feasted on a more vulnerable Dartmouth secondary, launching a 43-yard bomb to Kyle Derham to move Penn deep into Dartmouth territory. On the ensuing play, with the Big Green pressing up and expecting another give to DiMaggio on first down, Irvin found another open passing line, delivering a strike to Derham for 17 more yards, setting up an easy field goal for Andrew Samson.
"We struggled in the first half, but then when we get that running game going, our receivers are wide open," Irvin said. "It makes it a lot easier. It was a great second half overall."
DiMaggio's effort also allowed the Quakers to run down the clock in the fourth quarter and wear down Dartmouth. The sophomore's bruising downhill running style essentially sealed the victory mid-way through the fourth quarter.
Time and time again, DiMaggio took the ball straight at Dartmouth's line, bounced outside to his right and pushed downfield.
With over eight minutes to go in the game, DiMaggio started Penn's drive by breaking out a run for 12 yards and then strung together three consecutive gains of 11, 14 and 19 yards, leaving Samson with an easy chip shot to put the Quakers ahead by 13. More importantly, the drive took nearly five minutes off the clock.
"I was just seeing the seams and looking for the holes," DiMaggio said. "Especially on the ends, our line did a really good job against their linebackers."
His ability to hit holes hard and rack up big gains throughout the second half took its toll on the Big Green, as Penn's offense was on the field for over 17 minutes after the break.
"I'd like to think that we didn't get worn down in the second half," Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said, "but there is a significant time of possession difference."
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