Courtesy of David Schamis

The Bulldogs (5–3, 3–2 Ivy) ended last Saturday’s game against Brown (4–4, 2–3 Ivy) at the Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium with a significant lead, winning 36–17.

The Yale football team’s victory over the Bears was carried out on both sides of the ball, as both the Bulldogs’ offense and defense played a high-caliber game. Yale’s win has kept them in a position to potentially claim the Ivy League Championship title, contingent upon their performance in their final two games. 

Yale began the scoring just under two minutes into the start of the game. Despite Brown receiving the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs took possession early in the game when, in under a minute, Brown quarterback Jake Willcox fumbled. The loose ball was recovered on the 10-yard line and returned by linebacker Jermaine Baker ’24. 

Seconds later, running back Joshua Pitsenberger ’26 punched the ball in with a four-yard run into the endzone, adding the first six points to the scoreboard. 

In an effort to answer back, Brown went on a 53-yard drive, and the Bears kicker Christopher Maron booted a 22-yard field goal to get his team on the board. 

Maron then kicked off 57 yards to the Yale three-yard line, which was returned 47 yards by wide receiver Joey Felton ’24, his season best. Coming back recently from a spine injury, Felton seemed unphased, helping Yale to its win with an impressive 129 yards on three returns. 

The Bears added to their three points over three minutes later when Brown wide receiver Wes Rockett made a 3-yard run into the endzone, capping a 59-yard drive and putting Brown into a 10–6 lead. 

Despite this, in the second quarter, the Bulldogs dominated. With 13:14 remaining in the half, quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24 threw a 41-yard pass to wide receiver Mason Tipton ’24, capping a 75-yard, eight-play drive. 

Brown began their drive at their own 25 and managed to move it only six yards before defensive back Osize Daniyan ’27 forced Willcox to fumble again. The Bulldogs were able to capitalize on the Wilcox gaffe once again, as the ball was recovered by defensive back Joshua Tarver ’26 at the Brown 46. 

A few minutes after kicker/punter Jack Bosman ’24 added the extra point to Tipton’s touchdown, Bosman kept up his work by kicking a 21-yard field goal to close out the half.

Yale started off scoring in the second half exactly as they did the first, 1:18 into gameplay. Grooms sent a 45-yard pass to running back Tre Peterson ’24 in the endzone to tally another touchdown for the Bulldogs. 

In response, Brown stepped up its defense. Under a minute later, Brown defensive back Isaiah Reed made a big play for the Bears, picking off Grooms before returning the ball 35 yards, putting Brown at only a five-point disadvantage.

The Elis were unwilling to sacrifice the win, however, and continued with their strong passing attack. Grooms once again completed a 35-yard pass to Tipton five minutes later to increase Yale’s lead to 29–17.

After a series of incomplete passes by Brown, punter Austin Alley attempted to punt on the Brown 26, but it was blocked by Bulldog defensive back Phoenix Grant ’27 and recovered by defensive lineman Zion Dayne ’24. The impressive special teams play left the Bulldogs’ offense in prime position to grow their lead deep in Brown territory. 

Less than a minute after their most recent touchdown, Grooms completed a nine-yard pass to Tipton in the endzone to secure their third touchdown of the afternoon. 

With 19 seconds remaining in the contest, Brown had made it to the Yale 6 and was at fourth down when defensive back Abu Kamara ’27 intercepted a pass by running back Stockton Owen at the Yale one-yard line. The interception marked Kamara’s career first and closed out the win for the Bulldogs. 

Yale proved to be dominant on both sides of the ball, as the offensive and defensive play was strong on Saturday. The Bulldogs went 10-of-19 in third down conversions and traveled a total of 410 yards, while Brown was 5-of-17 in third down conversions and traveled only 334 yards. 

The Bulldogs also dominated Brown on the ground, tallying 190 rushing yards in comparison to the Bears’ 68. 

Tipton’s three touchdowns have added to his 10 total this season, which leads the Ivy League and ranks second in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. His 10 touchdowns have also tied the star wide receiver for fourth most in a season in school history. 

Grooms was 15-of-27 in passes, threw for 220 yards and rushed 102, while completing four touchdown passes. Grooms tied his personal best in touchdowns per game and now has a total of 19 this season, which are tied for fifth most in Yale history. 

Defensively, Yale broke up six Brown passes and forced four turnovers during the contest. Linebacker Joseph Vaughn ’24 tallied eight tackles, four of which were solo, to lead the offense. In addition to his forced fumble, Daniyan also had a total of six tackles.

Winning five of their past six games, the Bulldogs look to carry their momentum into next week, when they face their next Ivy League opponent, Princeton. Yale is currently tied for second place in the Ivy League with Princeton, Penn and Dartmouth, each with a 3–2 conference record.

Harvard leads the Ivy League with just one loss, so the Ivy League Championship is still up in the air. 

The Bulldogs will travel to face Princeton in their penultimate game this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for noon at Powers Field at Princeton Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.