Football Rallies Past Merrimack, 27-21 - Dartmouth College Athletics

Saturday, October 17

Hanover, N.H.

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-3 , 1-1

Merrimack

2-5 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Merrimack	8	6	7	0	21
Dartmouth	7	0	7	13	27

10/17/2026 8:25:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth football team rallied from a one-score deficit to beat Merrimack, 27-21, on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field, riding a three-takeaway second half and two Owen Zalc field goals in the fourth quarter.

Grayson Saunier put Dartmouth on top first with a 2-yard touchdown run, capping a 10-play drive. Merrimack answered late in the opening quarter and added a 13-play touchdown drive in the second to lead 14-7 at the half.

10:05 1st | Dartmouth 7, Merrimack 0 A fast start! @SaunierGrayson finds the end zone from a couple yards out! 💻: https://t.co/4CRNLHoY9C #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods 🌲 https://t.co/tNXn4rCrwB
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) October 17, 2026

The Big Green turned the game in the third quarter. No'Koi Maddox intercepted a pass early in the period, and Nick Lemon later broke off a 63-yard run, the longest of the season for Dartmouth. Noah Trigueros finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, with 3:42 left to tie it at 14. Merrimack regained the lead with six seconds remaining in the quarter, making it 21-14.

8:46 3rd | Merrimack 14, Dartmouth 7 INTERCEPTION. @NokoiM reads the ball in the air then goes and gets it! 💻: https://t.co/4CRNLHpvZa #GoBigGreen | #TheWoods 🌲 https://t.co/9d3HzltKNq
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) October 17, 2026

Trigueros wasted no time in the fourth. On the first drive of the quarter, he hit James Elliott for a 59-yard touchdown, the team's longest play of 2026, to cap a five-play, 75-yard drive that took 56 seconds and tied the game at 21. Elliott finished with four catches for 96 yards. Trigueros went 8-for-16 for 101 yards.

The defense then took control. Ayo Adeniyi recovered a fumble at the Merrimack 48, and Zalc converted a 50-yard field goal with 8:47 to play for a 24-21 lead. Seconds later, Steve Simpkins Jr. intercepted a pass at the Merrimack 24 on a play Harrison Keith helped break up, and Zalc added a 42-yarder at 7:09. Merrimack answered with a 13-play, 61-yard drive to the Dartmouth 14, but the Big Green stopped the Warriors on downs with 1:03 left and ran out the clock.

Simpkins led the defense with a career-high 11 tackles and the interception. Keith finished with nine tackles and a team-high five pass breakups. Joshua Johnson added a sack and seven tackles, while Bruce Williams and Chris Chol each recorded half a sack. Dartmouth did not commit a turnover and went 3-for-3 in the red zone. Myles Craddock carried 16 times for 62 yards.

Zalc finished 2-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points. His two field goals put him at 43 for his career, tying Andrew Samson for fourth in Ivy League history, and his 230 career points pass Sean Jensen and Jake McIntyre on the league's kicking-points list. Zalc also kicked a 50-yarder in Dartmouth's 16-14 win at Merrimack in 2024. Saunier threw for 40 yards, enough to pass David Gabianelli for ninth on Dartmouth's career passing list.

The win improves 2-0 all-time against Merrimack. It is also Robert L. Blackman Head Coach Sammy McCorkle's second win over the Warriors and moves the Big Green to 16-3 at home over their past 19 games.

Up Next
Dartmouth travels to Columbia (4-1) on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1:30 p.m.