Yale Hold Off Brown, 45-42, In Shootout At Brown Stadium

Saturday, November 8

Providence, R.I.

12:30 pm

Brown University

4-4 , 2-3

Yale

7-1 , 4-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

YALE

Brown

Yale Hold Off Brown, 45-42, In Shootout At Brown Stadium

11/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Providence, R.I. - Senior Tyler Varga ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns to lead Yale to a 45-42 win over Brown in a shootout at Brown Stadium. The two teams combined for 1,046 yards of total offense with the Bears having a 526-520 edge.

The last time Brown scored 40 or more points and lost was 2002, a 56-42 decision to Towson to open the season.

The loss drops the Bears to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League, while Yale improves to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in Ivy play.

In a wild game, both teams scored on fumble recoveries and ensuing runs for a touchdown.

Bears' quarterback Marcus Fuller (Ashland, OH) completed 27-of-39 attempts and passed for 393 yards and two touchdowns on throws of 28 and 30 yards, both to sophomore Alexander Jette (North Attleboro, MA). Junior tailback Andrew Coke (Andover, MA) rushed for 88 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown romp.

Senior wide receiver Reiley Higgins (Cota de Caza, CA) had his finest day in a Brown uniform with 7 catches for 137 yards, while senior wide receiver Brian Strachan (Wellesley, MA) had 10 catches for 83 yards.

Defensively, Bears' senior linebacker Xavier Russo (San Francisco, CA) had 13 total tackles, including five solo stops. Senior linebacker Dan Giovacchini (Acton, MA) chipped in with eight tackles.

Varga came into the game as the Ivy League's top rusher with 136 yards per game and ran for a game high 204 yards on 35 carries, scoring on runs of 5 and 23 yards. Bulldogs' quarterback Morgan Roberts was an efficient 20-of-26 for 248 yards and two touchdowns.

Brown struck first on its initial possession when junior Grant Senne (Winter Park, FL) booted a 33-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 advantage just five minutes into the game.

Yale answered immediately to grab a 7-3 lead, driving 72 yards in 11 plays, capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Deon Randall with 5:55 left in the opening quarter.

The Bears drove down the field once again to cut Yale's lead to 7-6, aided by a 55-yard pass play from Fuller to Higgins, completing the drive with a 38-yard field goal by Senne.

Following a Yale punt, Coke electrified the partisan crowd with a 77-yard touchdown run on Brown's first play from scrimmage to give the Bears a 13-7 advantage at the 13:55 mark of the second quarter.

Lightning struck once again when Brown junior outside linebacker Ryan MacDonald (Falmouth, ME) picked up a Yale fumble at the Bears' 53-yard line and rumbled down the field into the end zone to grab a 20-7 lead just three minutes later.

Yale got back in the game with 3:53 left in the half when Chandler Rich scored on a 33 yard run to trail, 20-14.

The Bulldogs drew to within three points at intermission, 20-17, on a 39-yard field goal by Kyle Cazzetta on the final play of the first half.

Varga gave the Bulldogs a 24-20 lead when he scored on a five-yard run on Yale's first possession of the second half, finishing off a 90-yard drive.

On its next series, the Bears attempted a flea-flicker, but the lateral back to Fuller was picked-off by Yale's Darious Manora, who ran 38-yards into the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 31-20 lead with 11:25 left in the third quarter.

Undaunted, the Bears answered with a 79-yard, 10-play scoring drive, with junior Seth Rosenbauer (Lima, OH) bulling his way into the end zone from the one yard line with 5:28 left in the third quarter to draw Brown closer, 31-27.

Yale gained a 38-27 advantage after a 57 yard scoring drive, when Roberts connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Grant Wallace on the opening play of the fourth quarter.

The high scoring game continued with the Bears marching down the field once again. Fuller lofted a 28-yard scoring strike to Jette and Fuller converted the two point conversion to Higgins, to pull to within three points, 38-35,with10:32 left to play.

The touchdown exchange continued with the Bulldogs reaching the end zone once again, with Varga scoring on an 23-yard run with 6:18 remaining to lift Yale to a 45-35 lead.

Brown made it interesting when Fuller connected with Jette once again, this time on a 30-yard pass play for a touchdown with 3:33 remaining in the game.

Brown travels to Hanover, New Hampshire for its final road game of the season, battling Dartmouth on Saturday, November 15. The game will be televised on the NBC Regional Sports Network with kick-off at 12 noon at Memorial Field.