New Haven, CT – Sophomore tailback Spiro Theodhosi ran for 167 , and senior Buddy Farnham made two touchdown receptions to lead Brown to a 35-21 Ivy League victory over Yale at the Yale Bowl. The win, the first over Yale for the Brown seniors, lifts the Bears to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Ivy League, while Yale falls to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in Ivy play.

Theodhosi came in the game in relief of starter Zack Tronti, who was injured in the first quarter, and immediately made an impact. He ran for a game-high 167 yards on 25 carries, including a 16-yard touchdown run, and a back-breaking 45 yard run.

“Spiro Theodhosi did an unbelievable job after Zack went down,” said Brown head coach Phil Estes. “He ran with speed and power and was the difference in the game.”

Farnham caught touchdown passes of 10 and 30 yards, making six receptions for 62 yards for the day. Junior quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero was totally in sync against the Bulldogs, completing 23 of 30 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

Freshman corner back AJ Cruz was once again the mainstay of the Bears’ defense with nine tackles and a key interception in the end zone with 3:00 left in the game that stopped a Yale drive. He also knocked down another potential Yale score in the end zone. Senior corner back David Clement also registered 9 tackles for the Bears.

“AJ Cruz doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” added Estes. “He’s an unbelievable athlete. Teams go after him and he makes play after play.”

Brown’s offense was unable get on the scoreboard a week ago, and it continued the trend through the first quarter against the Elis, with neither team being able to get on the scoreboard.

“We talked a lot about coming back from last week’s loss to Penn, and had no problem motivating our team,” said Estes.

The Bears initiated a scoring drive in the opening quarter when junior Russell Leedy registered his first career interception, giving Brown the ball at its own 29-yard line.

Newhall-Caballero weaved the Bears down field with a mix of pass and run plays and got into the end zone when he tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Farnham to complete the 71-yard, 11-play scoring drive with 12:11 left in the half.

The Elis wasted no time coming back, driving 64 yards on its next possession to score on a 41-yard screen pass from quarterback Patrick Witt to Mordecai Cargill wit 10:00 left in the second quarter. A missed extra point kept the Bears in the lead, 7-6.

Yale took the lead, 12-7, with 2:35 left in the half, when Adam Money picked off a deflected Brown pass and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown

Instead of getting discouraged, the Bears answered with a vengeance, taking just 1:48 to dive 72 yards to take the lead, 14-12, on a five yard scoring run by Newhall-Caballero with 41 seconds left in the half.

The Bears got on the scoreboard again on their first possession of the second half to extend their lead just 2:47 into the third quarter, when Newhall-Caballero spotted a wide-open Farnham for a 30-yard touchdown pass play to give the Bears a 21-12 advantage, capping a 66-yard scoring drive.

The offensive onslaught continued for the Bears, driving 76 yards in 10 plays, with Theodhosi scoring his first career touchdown on a 16-yard run with 4:58 remaining in the quarter to stake the Bears to a 28-12 lead.

Yale made the score, 28-15, with a 37-yard field goal by Alex Barnes with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Theodhosi provided the impetus on Brown’s next scoring drive. Following an interception by junior Blaine Grinna that gave Brown possession at the Elis 45-yard line, Theodhosi broke a 45-yard run to the Yale two-yard line. The Bears scored on the next play to extend their lead to 35-15, on a two yard run by senior Bobby Sewall with 12:59 left in the game.

The Bulldogs drew to within 35-21 of the Bears with 9:41 left with a 20 pass play from Witt to Reid Lathan.

Brown returns home for its final home game of the season on Saturday, November 14, against Dartmouth. Game time is 12:30 p.m. at Brown Stadium.