HANOVER – What was it that Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle said Saturday after backup quarterback Noah Trigueros stepped in for injured starter Grayson Saunier and helped the Big Green to a 27-21 win over Merrimack?
“You have got to practice like you are going to be the guy because you never know when that opportunity is going to come.”
Trigueros, who shared No. 1 quarterback duties with Woods Ray in the spring when Saunier was dealing with an ankle issue, became “the guy” when Saunier went down midway through the second quarter after being crushed by Merrimack linebacker Jerrium Berry. After playing one full series in the first half, Trigueros led the Big Green to 20 second-half points in the come-from-behind win, completing 8-of-16 passes for 101 yards with one touchdown and finishing off another drive with a one-yard scoring run.
“Once we got in at halftime, Coach Mac really just kind of told us to settle down and just be in ‘attack’ mindset,” said Trigueros. “That’s what we needed, a little break to just kind of reset and everything.
“I’m lucky enough to have the people around me to really uplift me and pick me up. Coach Mac, Coach Mont (Shane Montgomery, offensive coordinator) and everyone else around me . . . so it was really easy to kind of get in the flow of things once the game really got going.”
Bookending the third and fourth quarter, Trigueros was at the controls as Dartmouth scored back-to-back touchdowns aided by big plays. The first was a 63-yard run by Nick Lemon that set up Trigueros’ one-yard touchdown run.
The second was the quarterback connecting with James Elliott on a 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown down the left sideline after adjusting the play call at the line.
“I mean, he took charge,” Elliott said of Trigueros. “He stepped up when we needed him. It (is) what he does all offseason and all week, always preparing to step in and be the starter.”
Elliott caught four passes for a career-high 96 yards with three completions for 79 yards coming from Trigueros, who was asked if he felt “chemistry” with his 6-2 classmate.
“I would say somewhat,” he said. “We put in a lot of work in the offseason. . . . James obviously played his butt off today, so I was really lucky to have that.”
And, as McCorkle pointed out, he was also fortunate to have Saunier by his side between drives.
“Grayson was over there after every series coaching him up, helping him out,” the coach said. “You could tell Noah could feel that confidence from everybody, and that’s why I think he went out there and continued to get better with each series.”
McCorkle said in the immediate aftermath of the game he was still uncertain about Saunier’s status.
“I have to talk with the trainers,” he said. “He was out there cheering the guys on, I know that. He was disappointed. He wanted to be out there playing, but we’re always going to make sure we take care of our guys.
“We’re not going to put guys in a (dangerous) situation. We’re going to keep them safe.”
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Before leaving the game, Saunier was 4-for-5 passing for 40 yards and had a two-yard touchdown run. . . . Lemon’s 63-yard run easily topped the longest previous run by Dartmouth this fall, a 29-yarder by Saunier against Monmouth. . . . Myles Craddock was the Big Green’s second-leading rusher against Merrimack with 16 carries for 62 yards.
Craddock also was the only Dartmouth player to catch more than one pass, grabbing two for 10 yards.
Luke Rives’ 41-yard return of the opening kickoff set up the Big Green's first touchdown and was the longest by a Big Green player since Charlie Miller returned the opening kickoff 55 yards in 2016.
Owen Zalc’s 50-yard field goal was the sixth of his career of at least that far. His personal best is 54 yards against Harvard in 2024.
Punter Luke Armistead kicked five times for a 41.4-yard average. All but one of the punts was into the stiff wind, and he still averaged over 40 yards for the fourth time in five games.
Linebacker Steve Simpkins Jr. continued his strong play for the Big Green with 11 tackles and an interception. Harrison Keith had nine tackles and a career-high five breakups. Joshua Johnson had seven tackles and was credited with one sack, while Bruce Williams and Chris Chol each added a half sack.
Merrimack had 21 first downs to Dartmouth’s 12 and 353 yards of total offense to the Big Green’s 293. . . . The Warriors threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while Dartmouth was clean with the football. Merrimack is last in the country in turnover margin but still had more than a 7½ minute advantage in possession time.
Dartmouth drives in order (plays/yards/result): 10/52/touchdown; 7/24/missed field goal; 3/9/punt; 3/-4/punt; 3/8/punt; 1/4/halftime; 6/12/punt; 3/8/punt; 4/71/touchdown; 5/75/touchdown; 6/16/field goal; 4/4/field goal; 4/9/end of game.
Merrimack drives in order (plays/yards/result): 3/9/punt; 7/60/touchdown; 13/78/touchdown; 4/17/punt; 5/20/punt; 2/-1/interception; 3/-3/punt; 7/75/touchdown; 5/23/fumble; 1/0/interception; 13/61/downs.
THEY SAID IT
(Edited for clarity and brevity)
Merrimack coach Mike Gennetti: “When you get out here and you compete and you don't make the plays that you need to make in the second half, it’s a credit to Dartmouth. You know, they kept playing, they hung in it, lost their quarterback and still found a way to win, so I think that just speaks to their program and how they're doing things. We just have got to play better. We have got to make more plays. And I thought in the second half we couldn't make them when we really needed them, and that was the difference.”
Dartmouth safety Harrison Keith on a Big Green team that had no interceptions through four games, picking off two passes and recovering a fumble: “We knew we only had one (turnover) going into this week, and we knew in order for us to win a football game, you have to create turnovers, 100 percent. Shout out to the D-line. I think they made that quarterback’s life pretty hard today. They were able to get after him, which always helps the defense.”
Keith on showing a little extra emotion: “I think it was really important. It’s tough starting 1-3 but I know and we all know what this group is capable of. We’re not a 1-3 team, and we’re certainly not a 1-4 team. So again, just bringing that energy. Energy is contagious. We always talk about it, so I think that was really important. You could tell. When I was energetic, guys reciprocated it. I think the sideline – coaches talked about it post-game – was awesome. The guys who weren’t playing were all into it, and I think it fed into the offense.”
Receiver James Elliott on his 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown: “It 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 and catch the ball, make a play. Ky’Dric Fisher blocking downfield sprung it, and then it was celebrate with the guys.”
Sammy McCorkle on having the wind during the fourth-quarter comeback: “That was a strategic thing, and it worked out for us. . . . We knew that was going to be critical. We knew it was going to be a down-to-the-wire game like it was last time we played against them. It was important that we did have that wind behind us in that fourth quarter, especially with throwing the ball and having an opportunity to kick the ball.”
McCorkle on his placekicker nailing two field goals to sew up the win: “Hats off to Owen (Zalc). Owen stepped up and did a great job. Those are two huge field goals at the end. Huge. That was the difference in the game.”
McCorkle, asked about Columbia as well as the rest of the season: “Columbia. Just Columbia. There’s nothing else to think about but Columbia.”