Box Score CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --Â Running back
Aaron Shampklin gained 76 yards on the ground and finished with 97 all-purpose yards, while defensive back
James Herring paced the defense with 12 tackles, but the No. 21/RV Harvard football team's comeback attempt fell just short at home to Dartmouth, 20-17, Saturday afternoon.
With Shampklin's 76 yards, he hit the 2,000-rushing mark for his career, the eighth Crimson player to do so.
Midway through the second, Harvard (5-2, 2-2 Ivy League) engineered an 11-play, 81-yard drive in which quarterback
Jake Smith moved into fourth all-time in Harvard career passing. The drive culminated with a nine-yard TD strike from Smith to Shampklin, giving the Crimson a 7-0 lead at the 6:49 mark.
Â
Later in the quarter, Dartmouth (6-1, 3-1) knotted the game, 7-7, when Derek Kylar completed a five-yard pass to Robbie Mangas at 2:54. The Big Green then took a 10-7 lead in the halftime after Connor Davis hit a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the frame.
Â
DeMarkes Stradford opened the second half with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Harvard's first since 2017, as the Crimson reclaimed the lead, 14-10, just 10 seconds into the third quarter. With 24 seconds left in the third, Nick Howard put Dartmouth on top, 17-14, when he found Painter Richards-Baker diving into the endzone for a 31-yard TD strike.
Â
With 8:42 left in the fourth period, Harvard had a chance to tie the game, but
Jonah Lipel hooked a 21-yard field goal to the right, keeping Dartmouth ahead, 17-14. Less than four minutes later, Lipel drilled a 31-yarder to tie the game, 17-17. The Big Green answered with a nine-play, 67-yard drive, which ended with a 25-yard field goal by Davis, giving Dartmouth a 20-17 edge with just 49 seconds left.
In the final seconds, Lipel attempted a 53-yarder, but it missed slightly to the left, as Dartmouth held on for the win.
Harvard Highlights
- DeMarkes Stradford's 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first for the Crimson since Adam Scott returned a kick for a 90-yard TD against Lafayette in 2017.
- Aaron Shampklin now has exactly 2,000 rushing yards on his career, becoming the eighth Harvard running back to hit the mark.
Game Notes
- With 82 passing yards, Jake Smith moved into fourth all-time in career passing at Harvard with 4,466 yards over his career.
- Harvard extended its streak to 225 consecutive games with a point, an Ivy League record. Â
Up next
The Crimson will visit Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 1 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN+.