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.