HANOVER — Isaac Boston leapt twice and waved his hands wildly in the back of the end zone. The Springfield, Mass., native who called Hanover his home for the first four years of his collegiate career, made a concerted, flailing effort to capture the attention of his quarterback, Central Connecticut State’s Brady Olson.

But Olson never once looked in his direction.

If he had, he might have noted Dartmouth’s Jordan Washington was tasked with covering two Blue Devil players: Boston and running back Jadon Turner. Olson could have lofted a pass toward Boston, allowing the former Big Green wide receiver to make a play on the ball and complete a storybook return to Hanover.

Olson, who completed 15 of 29 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 20-16 loss to No. 22 Dartmouth, had marched the Blue Devils 69 yards down the field in the waning minutes of regulation, needing a touchdown to win the game. A 31-yard completion to Boston had set CCSU up inside the Big Green 10-yard line.

Olson had targeted Boston twice on the drive. Why not look for him a third time?

Instead, Olson’s eyes never left the center of the field. Just as Boston’s feet returned to the turf following his second jump, Olson’s pass — which had been rifled through a gaggle of Dartmouth defenders — bounced off the outstretched right arm of Peter Cleary.

The game was now effectively over, the incomplete pass all but stamping a win for Dartmouth.

So as the Big Green clapped and chest-bumped following the play, Boston walked out the back of the end zone toward the visiting sideline, his final time playing at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field. He finished the game with two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown, his second receiving score against an Ivy opponent this season.

“Dartmouth will always be home,” Boston said postgame. “I did my four years here; I graduated here. … Walking back out on the field (after) ending my senior year with a torn ACL right on that field, it felt good to be back.

“It was like the job wasn’t done. It still feels halfway not done because we didn’t come out with a win.”

Saturday’s game was a reunion of sorts for a pair of Dartmouth coaches, too. First-year wide receivers coach Dan Hebert and special teams coordinator Joe Castellitto both spent time in New Britain, Conn., with the Blue Devils — Hebert was a four-year player and later an assistant coach, and Castellitto served as an outside linebacker coach for one season.

Ahead of the game, the two program’s third meeting all-time, Big Green coach Sammy McCorkle said the two handled the offensive, defensive and special teams scouting reports. Dartmouth won the first matchup in 2014, a 35-25 victory in Hanover, before beating the Blue Devils at their place in 2015, 34-7. Hebert played in both games, hauling in three passes for 21 yards.

Nearly a decade later and having traded in his blue for green, Hebert saw Dartmouth keep its perfect record intact and improve its all-time record against CCSU to 3-0.

“For coach Hebert and coach (Castellitto), I’m sure it feels good to be on the winning side of it,” McCorkle said. “But once you start the game, all that stuff’s out the window. That doesn’t matter. You’ve got to go out there and execute, and that’s what we did pretty much the majority of the game.”

Since a 45-13 rout of a depleted Fordham squad in the season opener, the Big Green have won four consecutive games by four points or fewer. Saturday’s victory was the kind of drag-’em-out, narrow, one-possession battles to which Dartmouth has been accustomed — and in which it has thrived — this season.

McCorkle has harped on his team developing an identity in recent weeks. Now midway through the season, with yet another down-to-the-wire win under their belt, the Big Green’s late-game performance remains their calling card.

CCSU was right there in the final minute of regulation, a mere six yards from the goal line, but the Big Green defense held once again, spoiling Boston’s homecoming.

And while Boston might not have gotten Olson’s attention on the final play, he certainly had McCorkle’s.

“Isaac Boston is a fantastic young man,” McCorkle said. “I enjoyed him being in our program and am super proud of what he’s doing at Central Connecticut right now.

“And I saw him after the game, we gave each other a big hug, and I told him, ‘Holy cow, you’re the guy that almost got us.’ ”

Here are a couple of other storylines from Saturday’s game:

Dartmouth offensive line keeps CCSU from pressuring Saunier: Entering the game, the Blue Devils’ defense had totaled 20 sacks in six games — their 3.33 sacks-per-game average ranked second in the FCS. Junior left tackle Delby Lemieux said the Big Green’s offensive line was “very aware” of CCSU’s pass rushing capabilities ahead of kickoff.

“They’ve got a great unit up front, they’ve got some great linebackers and we saw that all day,” he said. “It was a great competition out there.”

The Blue Devils sacked sophomore quarterback Grayson Saunier once on Saturday — Dartmouth has only allowed five sacks this season, a mark that ranks 13th in the FCS. That protection allowed Saunier to settle in during his first start for the Big Green in place of senior Jackson Proctor, who missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.

Saunier completed 15 of 21 passes for 177 yards and rushed for 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the second of which proved to be the game-winning score.

“We got after them in the run today too, I thought, big time,” Lemieux said. “We really got after them and that helped us open up the pass.”

CCSU’s kicking miscues aid Dartmouth’s win: Nineteen seconds remained on the clock ahead of the intermission as CCSU kicker Jack Barnum lined up a 50-yard kick. If he converted, the Blue Devils would head into halftime with a 13-10 lead. Insert Washington, the senior cornerback who had already blocked one field goal attempt this season for a 60-yard scoop-and-score touchdown against Fordham.

Washington lauded CCSU’s kicking operation on its first two attempts of the game and joked that he knew he was “not getting there.” But on Barnum’s third kick of the day, the Blue Devils “slowed down the operation just a little bit,” Washington said, paving the way for the California native to notch his second field goal block of the season.

The blocked field goal wasn’t the only blemish on Barnum’s day, either.

Barnum, an All-NEC first team selection last season, had made all 18 of his extra-point attempts this season before traveling to Hanover. His 19th, which came in the first quarter following Olson and Boston’s end zone connection, sailed through the uprights without a hitch. It was reasonable to assume that his 20th attempt, on the heels of a Turner rushing touchdown, would be converted.

But Barnum’s right-footed boot clattered off the left upright with 12 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, keeping Dartmouth within three points of the Blue Devils. Had Barnum connected, CCSU could have opted to take a field goal on its final drive of the game, level the score at 20-20 and send the game into overtime.

Instead, the Blue Devils’ boss, Adam Lechtenburg, was forced to leave his offense out on the field on fourth-and-goal, ultimately unable to find the much-needed six points and ensuring a fifth straight win for the Big Green.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.