Lalos Named Ivy League Football Defensive Player of the Week

HANOVER, N.H. — For the second time this season — and second time in the last three weeks — Dartmouth defensive end Niko Lalos has been selected as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. This is the eighth weekly award won by a Big Green player this season, half of them coming for defensive play.

Lalos, a 6-5, 270-pound defensive end from Akron, Ohio, played a key role in Dartmouth's 29-23 victory over Brown on Saturday to secure a share of the program's record 19th conference crown. Twice he sacked Bears quarterback E.J. Perry in the fourth quarter at crucial moments, the first coming on a 3rd-and-10 play with the Big Green clinging to that six-point lead and five minutes remaining, forcing Brown to punt away. The second sack came right after the Bears got the ball back and drove down to the Dartmouth 14 with 32 seconds on the clock. Lalos chased down Perry and brought him down for a 15-yard loss, forcing Brown to call its final timeout. On the very next play, Dartmouth intercepted a pass in the end zone to clinch the victory and the title.

Lalos finished the game with seven tackles (five solo), three going for a loss with the two sacks, and a quarterback hurry.

Four additional Big Green players were named to the league's honor roll as well. Junior quarterback Derek Kyler posted career highs with 303 passing yards and four touchdowns while completing 19-of-23 passes (earning honorable mention for the STATS National Offensive Player of the Week as well); senior wide receiver Drew Estrada hauled in a career-best 14 passes for 193 yards and two scores; senior wide receiver Hunter Hagdorn caught 12 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown, becoming the sixth Dartmouth player to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in a career (2,015); and senior cornerback Isiah Swann had five tackles, a pass breakup and the all-important interception at the end of the game, the 17th of his career, extending his Big Green record.

Other weekly winners for Dartmouth this year have been senior linebacker Jack Traynor (defense, Oct. 7 and 21), Estrada (offense Oct. 14, special teams, Oct. 28), and sophomore place kicker Connor Davis (special teams, Sept. 30 and Nov. 11).

Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) was also listed among the top 25 teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) polls at the conclusion of the regular season, finishing 20th in the AFCA Coaches Poll and 21st in the STATS Poll. This is the second straight year the Big Green ended their season in the national rankings, earning No. 15 from the coaches and No. 18 by STATS a year ago (at the conclusion of the FCS playoffs).

Notes: Over the past six seasons, Dartmouth has a record of 47-13 and 30-12 in the Ivy League, tops among Ancient Eight teams … the Big Green allowed the second fewest points (12.4 per game) among FCS teams, trailing only top-ranked North Dakota State (12.3) … Dartmouth was among the top 10 in the nation in team passing efficiency (173.08, fourth), completion percentage (school-record 68.1 percent, fourth), third-down conversion percentage (52.1 percent, fourth), defensive touchdowns (5, fourth), punt return average (1.64, sixth) and team passing efficiency defense (112.78, eighth) … the Big Green led the Ivy League in rushing yards (167.0 per game) yet did not have a single player average even 40 yards per game on the ground … quarterback Jared Gerbino set a new Dartmouth record with 1,496 rushing yards as a quarterback, surpassing Dalyn Williams '16 (1,494) … Kyler's 303-yard passing day was the first time a Big Green QB topped 300 yards since Jack Heneghan racked up 331 yards against Columbia two years ago … neither Kyler nor Gerbino had enough pass attempts to qualify for the national rankings in passing efficiency, but their marks would put them second and fifth in the FCS, respectively … Estrada's 14 catches tie him for the second most by a Dartmouth player ever, and his 193 receiving yards give him two of the top six single-game totals (his 203 yards against Yale on Oct. 12 ranks third) … Estrada also ended the season leading the Ivy League in all-purpose yards per game (137.1) … Swann's 17 interceptions are the most for any active FCS player and fourth most in Ivy League history … Davis set a Big Green record by converting 43 PATs this season and has successfully kicked 45 in a row, six shy of the school record held by 18-year NFL veteran Nick Lowery '78.

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