Football: Dartmouth Fails to Score Against University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire Wildcats defeated our very own Big Green 14-0 here at Memorial Field on October 15. The game leaves Dartmouth with a 1-4 record for the season. Making matters worse, the following players were injured: Noah Roper, Luca Di Leo, and Chris Corbo.

The game got off to a quick start in the first quarter, with UNH scoring on the opening drive. Shortly following was a failed drive by Dartmouth, leading to a punt received on the five-yard line. Then, a takedown behind the line of scrimmage nearly led to a touchback. However, a questionable call led to the ball being placed on the one. UNH would go on to score in the second quarter, leaving both teams unable to convert a drive for the rest of the game.

Much of the blame for the defeat lies within the hands of Dartmouth’s offensive incapabilities. However, the team was not entirely to blame. After the first quarter, the referees seemingly developed a priapism for the Wildcats, stymying every Dartmouth attempt for a touchdown with a plethora of penalties. The most notable penalty of this variety was an unnecessary roughness call on number 65, Michael Flores. An absence of any unnecessary roughness whatsoever made the call so confounding that it even befuddled UNH’s coaching staff, as they shrieked at the referees “we don’t have a 65.”

While this season has started unsuccessfully for Dartmouth, the team still has five more games to look forward to. Perhaps Big Green will begin to surmount a comeback, starting with the Columbia game on October 22.