Minutes after hitting a career-high 50-yard field goal, Owen Zalc ’27 once again set up his routine from 32 yards out. Down 14-13 with three seconds on the clock, his next kick would decide the Big Green’s fate against Merrimack University. Despite the pressure of the moment and the intense winds, Zalc was unfazed, sending the ball through the uprights to secure Dartmouth a narrow 16-14 victory at Duane Stadium in North Andover, Mass. on Sept. 28.
“I just did the same thing I do every time,” Zalc said postgame. “I’m going to get good protection, snap’s going to be there, hold’s going to be there. … I’ve just got to kick it.”
Having missed a 50-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, Zalc had to refocus for his final two kicks. While the outcome of the last two kicks might have changed, his approach did not.
“If you miss, you just have to bounce back,” Zalc said. “If I make a mistake, I think about it a little bit, fix it in a warm up kick, but when I go out there, it’s the same thing every time.”
Along with Zalc’s three successful field goals — two in the fourth quarter and one in the second — Dartmouth scored one touchdown: a 75-yard catch-and-run by receiver Painter Richards-Baker ’25 from quarterback Jackson Proctor ’25. The second-quarter play, which equalized the score at 7-7, was the program’s longest touchdown pass since a 2019 victory against Yale. The touchdown was a much needed spark after a quick three-and-out in the first drive for the offense.
“We needed it,” head coach Sammy McCorkle said. “We needed a jumpstart — felt like our guys were going through the motions a bit, but that [touchdown pass] was helpful.”
Aside from that big play, the offense looked somewhat stagnant in the first half, largely due to the Merrimack defense holding strong against star wide receiver Paxton Scott ’25. Scott was restricted to just two targets and zero catches in the first half, but his game wouldn’t stay quiet much longer, as he had a big impact in the last 30 minutes. While the receiver’s box score numbers — four catches for 36 yards — don’t pop off the page, Scott secured a few vital first-down catches that helped set up Zalc’s field goals.
“As receivers, playmakers need to make plays,” Scott said. “The ball just found me. I was trying to get open the best I could, and Proctor was able to find me — so [I’m] grateful for that.”
Scott said he admired Proctor’s play and poise. The quarterback finished his second game as the undisputed starter with 161 yards, one touchdown and no picks, as well as 43 rushing yards.
“He bounced back and finished really well in the second half,” Scott said. “We try to encourage each other and get on the same page, and we started getting there toward the end of the game.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Big Green came up clutch in the fourth quarter, holding Merrimack scoreless and making a few big plays, including a late combined sack by defensive linemen Josiah Green ’25 and Ejike Adele ’25. Adele and the defensive unit left it all out on the field in the final drive of the game and gave the offense a chance to take it home.
“You got to empty out your tank and give everything you have,” Adele said. “Up front, I think we did that, and it helped us win the game.”
While the team scraped out its second win in as many games this season, there are multiple aspects of the game the team wants to keep working on. One aspect that McCorkle emphasized at halftime was the team’s energy, he said after the game.
“We need more energy,” McCorkle recounted himself saying. “We can’t wait until the second half to get it. But we have enough guys with the experience and the maturity that know what they need to do moving forward.”
Importantly, though, the win gives players and coaches alike more experience with close game situations, which will prove crucial in crunch time during the Ivy League season.
“It’s big,” McCorkle said. “[Merrimack’s] a good football team. You’re going to have those games going forward, and the team that’s been in those situations before — their composure — that will show.”
Adele and several other players echoed that it was important for them to learn to win a tight game.
“It’s good that we had this experience now so that we can move forward and fix the things we messed up on,” Adele said.
Moving forward, the team will set its sights on the Ivy League season, which kicks off against the University of Pennsylvania next Saturday, Oct. 5.
While this weekend’s nail-biter will help the team build composure down the stretch, some players — like Scott — could not watch the final play.
“I can’t look at those kicks,” Scott admitted. “We think it’s a bad superstition to watch any of [Zalc’s] game-winning kicks, but we trust him.”
If future games this season come down to the wire, the team can be grateful for Zalc’s steady leg and concentration — even if his teammates can’t watch the ball go through.
