The lazy days of summer are quickly becoming numbered. It will not be long before the leaves turn, there's a chill in the air and the crowds flock to Memorial Stadium on early Saturday afternoons.
That's right. It is almost football season.
Although the Dartmouth squad finished the 1995 season with an overall record of 7-2-1, a season-ending tie with Princeton ruined the Big Green's chances for their seventeenth conference title.
"One of the things that will drive us is the feeling we all had after last year's Princeton game," according to tri-captain defensive linebacker Mark Abel '97. "We were one defensive stop away from winning the Ivy League championship. We all left the field with kind of an empty feeling."
With 17 returning starters in 1996, six of whom are picked to make first team All-Ivy, the team wants nothing less than to erase that memory with a shiny championship ring this year.
"It's our goal," Head Coach John Lyons said. "All the games on the schedule are very competitive. We better be ready to play every Saturday."
The defense, which was the top-rated unit in the league last season, once again looks strong. It will be anchored by a corps of talented linebackers: Abel, who led the team with 136 tackles last season, Brian Schmidt '97 and Zack Walz '98.
Although three starters on the defensive line graduated last spring, Scott Hapgood '97 returns at end. Hapgood, a first team All-Ivy selection last year, led the team with 12 sacks and 13 quarterback pressures in '95.
Jeff Link '98, Adam Nelson '97, Brandon Smith '97 and Jason Upshaw '98 are expected to step up to fill the void on the rest of the line.
In the secondary, strong safety Lloyd Lee '98, one of the team's pre-season All-Ivy picks, returns. Marlin Twitty '98 and Brad Jefferson '98 will be the starting cornerbacks.
On the offensive side, tri-captain Greg Smith '97 returns at tailback. After transferring from Missouri last year, Smith led the Green in rushing last season with 826 yards.
"Greg now understands the offense much better. We've designed the offense around him and expect that he will have another good season," Lyons said.
There is significant depth at tailback, as proven ball carriers Ambrose Garcia '97 and Dylan Karczewski '99 return to back up Smith.
The offensive line, which lost only its center to graduation, will be anchored by tri-captain and pre-season All-America candidate Brian Larsen '97.
According to Lyons, the tackle is "probably the best offensive lineman in the league." Trey Bowers '97 and J.J. Coslet '97 will also contribute to the strength of the offensive line.
If there is one thing the team hopes to do differently this season, it's putting the ball the air. After winning the starting job at quarterback last season, fleet-footed Jon Aljancic '97 returns as the expected starter.
Although he passed for 693 yards in '95 and added 506 rushing, the coaching staff hopes to improve on the team's 40 percent completion rate last season in order to create a better offensive balance.
"We led the league in rushing last season, and we're a run-oriented team. But we have to throw it better. I think you'll see Jon throw it better this year," Lyons said.
Tri-captain Abel agreed with Lyons. "The key to success will be the offense's ability to throw the ball," Abel said. "We led the league last year in rushing and opposing defenses are going to start putting eight defensive players in the box. If we can show we have a good passing game, we can keep opponents on their toes."
Starting receivers Eric Morton '97 and Ken Bollens '98 will hope to aid in that cause this year, as both players return to their wide receiver slots. Damon Ferrara '98, Forest Wester '98 and Will Bergman '97 will compete for catches as well, while Darren Gaffney '97 and Will Harper '98 should provide solid play at tight end.
The Big Green have been picked by most publications to win the conference championship this year, but the players know better than to start planning their trips to Disney World.
"We all realize that those polls don't mean a whole lot," Abel said, remembering that "they picked us to finish at the bottom of the league last year," only to have Dartmouth come just inches short of the title.
Lyons admits that, in the Ivy League, "anybody is capable of beating anybody. They're all big games."
"We have the talent," Hapgood said. "It's just a matter of playing consistently well."
