HANOVER – The problem for football coaches in an intrasquad game is, if the offense is looking like world beaters, you start worrying about your defense.
And if the defense is dominating, you can’t help but worry about your offense.
All of which is why the series bridging the third and fourth quarters of Saturday’s highly entertaining Green-White Game played out almost perfectly in Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle’s view.
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| The view from above with the team on the left sideline and spectators on the right. |
The situation: Taking over at his own 35, quarterback Noah Trigueros hit Taysire Williams for 13 yards on a third-and-13 play, and a bit later rolled left and threw a little right to James Elliott for six yards on third-and-four to keep the drive going.
After a short Myles Craddock run on fourth-and-one brought a first, Trigueros aired the ball out down the left sideline, where wide receiver Ky’Dric Fisher turned the back-shoulder throw into a first down at the five.
The offense having shown something by converting third downs and marching down the field, it was the defense’s turn to step up. After an Immanuel Johnson run got the offense just outside the one, the defense made back-to-back stops for no gain. Then down, it was linebacker Matthew Boydell shedding a block and standing up Johnson until help arrived to keep him out of the end zone on fourth down.
For McCorkle, the give-and-take between the units was a welcome turn, starting tight the offense.
“That’s who Ky’Dric is,” he said. “Noah put it out there, and Ky’Dric made a great play. You like to see it.”
Then there was the defense.
“We talk about it all the time,” McCorkle said. “You can’t let a bad play affect the next one, and I thought our defense did a good job after that. They buckled up, wiped it, forgot about it, and did a heck of a job. They didn’t panic and got the stop.”
Which brings us back to the “almost” perfect part of the series in question.
“We got the ball down there, but we have got to finish it off,” said McCorkle. “We’ve got to find a way to get it in.”
Although the offense did not score on that possession, it then “buckled up, wiped it, and forgot about it” on the final two drives to use McCorkle's words for the other side of the ball. First, it was Charlie Peters dropping a perfectly placed 23-yard rainbow over Andrew Smart’s head and into his arms at the back, left side of the end zone for a score.
Then it was Woods Ray hitting five consecutive passes during a 65-yard “hurry-up” drive, with the last two being a 38-yarder to Fisher and a 28-yard TD throw the same receiver ripped away from a defender.
The offensive explosions at the end capped a successful late-morning game shifted inside because of impending rain.
“We didn’t want to roll the dice,” said McCorkle of the decision to come inside. “I would have loved to be outside, but I didn’t want to take a chance. Every five minutes, the weather changes here, and with a lot of fans and recruits here, I wanted them to be able to enjoy the environment. We did it last year, and it was a huge success, and I think everyone had a good time today.”
And no one was injured.
“That’s the important thing,” said McCorkle. “It was a good day. We know we have some things we’ve got to clean up, but overall, I thought we made plays on both sides of the ball.
“It was good competition. We didn’t force it, but it just kind of happened that we had the ‘inside red zone,’ ‘goal line stand,’ some two-minute situations in both halves, and third-down plays. I thought we accomplished what we wanted to.”
As they did this spring.
“It was good, really good,” McCorkle said. “I’m happy with it. We got what you want – we got better. We knew we were going to be a little green at some spots going into the spring, and we knew we were going to have to find out where some guys were. I thought they did a good job of competing and getting better, and gave us a good idea of who may be the guy to be able to step up and perform for us next year.”
NAMING NAMES
Asked who caught his attention, McCorkle smiled and said he could toss out a bunch of names. Pressed before seeing the film/video, he offered a few.
“Ky’Dric, obviously,” he said. “He’s a gamer, man. When the game is on the line, he’s your go-to guy. I thought Noah Trigueros had a good scrimmage. He was very calm and composed. He was confident out there and did a heck of a job.
“Defensively I almost had to tell Joshua Johnson he’s not allowed to play because we can’t block him. I told a ref anytime he runs through don’t call a sack. He played like his hair was on fire. And then I thought Bruce Williams, who has been out the whole spring until the week, really showed something. Matisse Brosseau, too. Those defensive linemen, all of them played hard and will come after you.”
Starting quarterback Grayson Saunier was limited during the spring and did not participate on the field Saturday as he recovers from an ankle procedure. While he’s expected to be a full-go for the preseason in late August, his absence allowed the QBs behind him to get valuable reps and experience.
“That was very important,” McCorkle said. “Grayson would love to be out there but he did such a good job being a coach on the sideline.
“I really thought Noah and Woods did a phenomenal job stepping and competing. Charlie (Peters) and Jaden (Cummings) both got much better this spring.”
ON TAP
Spring football is over but the work continues for both players and coaches.
“Obviously, it’s important for the players now to finish strong academically and then jump right into training and finish out the term with that,” McCorkle said. “Us coaches hit the road tomorrow recruiting. We’ll be out for the next two weeks looking for the next Big Green guys.”
When the spring term wraps up, McCorkle expects a good number of players to be back for the summer, in no small part because of a growing trend.
“I’m going to say we’re going to have close to 60 guys here,” he said. “That’s kind of become the norm now with the whole grad transfer thing. Guys want to get that extra term quicker.”
SPECIAL GUESTS
Dartmouth had more than a dozen potential recruits on unofficial visits, a number of prospects on unofficial visits, and 14 incoming players in attendance for the Green-White.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff going on, a lot of moving parts, and it is hats off to Danny O’Dea, Dino (Cauteruccio), and the staff for putting this all together. It’s all hands on deck, and they’ve done a great job of managing this entire weekend.”
Also on the sidelines was a small group of people in black Dartmouth “D” windbreakers with “Coach” and their last name embroidered on one shoulder.
“It’s something we started the last couple of years,” said McCorkle. “We invite individuals on campus to be our guest coaches. Today, we had people from admissions, from financial aid, and from the dining facility.
“They are a big part of our program and the athletic department. This is a chance for them to be right there in the fire with all the players and the coaches with the headsets on. It’s a chance for them to see how chaotic it is during a game and how quickly decisions have to be made. You could see their smiles and how unbelievable they thought it all was.”