Dartmouth football, down seven to Merrimack College late in the third quarter, had looked flat all game.
“We needed a spark,” Dartmouth head coach Sammy McCorkle said in a post-game interview.
On his own 29-yard line, backup quarterback Noah Trigueros ’28 lined up in shotgun, received the snap and handed it off to Myles Craddock ’29.
Merrimack’s defense shifted to defend Craddock, but didn’t expect Craddock to flip the ball to Nick Lemon ’27, who was sprinting the other way.
“They’re an aggressive defense. They’re going to load the box,” McCorkle said. “If we can catch them in a certain defense, we can get the edge on them.”
The gambit worked, and Lemon sprinted all the way to the Merrimack 8-yard line for a 63-yard run.
“Nick Lemon can fly,” McCorkle said. “That was a great call by [assistant offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery] Coach Monty, and great play by and great blocking on the perimeter too.”
The spark had been found. Dartmouth checked back in to edge out Merrimack College 27-21.
Attendees could feel the buzz in the stadium before the game as fans recalled the excitement of the last time these two teams met in 2024: With seven seconds remaining, kicker Owen Zalc ’27 drilled a game-winning field goal to give Dartmouth the victory.
It was also the homecoming for Micah Green ’26, who is completing his fifth year of eligibility at Merrimack.
“Micah is a phenomenal person. He represents a lot of what Dartmouth football and this school is all about,” safety Harrison Keith ’27 said. “Definitely a little weird seeing him in a white jersey today, but it was incredible to see him out there. Glad he’s still playing hard.”
The Big Green started red hot, as a 41-yard kick return from Luke Rives ’28 set up a methodical Dartmouth drive, capped off by Saunier taking the ball himself into the endzone to start the game with the lead.
But just as quickly as it had arrived, the offensive momentum disappeared. The Big Green struggled to adjust after Saunier’s exit, only managing to gain 16 more yards before halftime and punting five times in a row.
Merrimack took advantage of the stalled Dartmouth offense to take the lead, going up by a touchdown to end the first half.
“Coach McCorkle told us to settle down and be in an attacking mindset,” Trigueros said, recounting the halftime . “That’s what we needed.”
Dartmouth responded to McCorkle’s call and went on the attack with Lemon’s 63-yard run. Three plays later, the Big Green were level with Merrimack 14-14.
Merrimack struck again with a seven-play touchdown drive to retake the lead with six seconds left in the third quarter, but Dartmouth quickly tied it up with a 59-yard touchdown from Elliot.
Trigueros, despite the slow start, ultimately managed to get the offense back into gear. He finished the game with two touchdowns — the one through the air to Elliot and another one on the ground to clinch the victory.
“He stepped up when we needed him,” Elliot said. “It also goes into what he does all off season, always preparing to step in and be the starter.”
Elliot connected with Trigueros four times in the game for 96 yards, helping Trigueros shake off the nerves and get the offense rolling.
“We put in a lot of work on the off season,” Trigueros said. “James obviously played his butt off today. So I was really lucky to have that.”
Needing a stop, Dartmouth got one when Merrimack fumbled a handoff. Ayo Adeniyi ’30 recovered the ball, bringing it back in Merrimack territory with a chance for the Big Green to take the lead. A Zalc field goal capped the drive with three points on the board. Dartmouth’s momentum got even stronger on the ensuing Merrimack possession as Keith tipped the pass to Steven Simpkins Jr. ’27, who came down with Dartmouth’s second interception of the game.
“We had a great game plan coming in,” Keith said. “We knew what the offense was going to try to do. We knew what the quarterback wanted to do, where he wanted to go with the ball. So just relying on those tendencies, trying to be in the right place at the right time.”
The opportunity did not go to waste as Dartmouth followed the interception with another field goal, extending its narrow lead to 27-21 and giving Merrimack the ball with seven minutes to go. The defense held strong, forcing a turnover at Dartmouth’s own 17 with two minutes remaining on the clock.
“They’re a great team and took us down to the wire,” wide receiver James Elliot ’28 said in an interview after the game. “Started with Nick Lemon lighting the spark with a long run, and then we got the ball again and were able to check out of something into something else.”
Keith was all over the field, breaking up five passes and locking down the secondary. He helped Dartmouth get its first two interceptions of the season, the first of which was caught by No’Koi Maddox ’28. His energy was crucial to inspiring the victory.
“Energy is contagious,” Keith said. “When I was energetic, the guys reciprocated it. It was awesome.”
Dartmouth’s second win of the season provided some needed momentum moving into the rest of the Ivy League Conference schedule. The Big Green will travel to New York City next weekend to play Columbia University on Oct. 24.
