More Names

Yesterday's post mentioned Indiana high school quarterback Connor Kelley, identified by Scout.com as a potential Dartmouth recruiting target next year. Also on the early list from Scout.com as high school juniors who have received interest from (or expressed interest in) Dartmouth are:

• Wide receiver John Alexander, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
• Wide receiver Dylon Chafin, Lakewood, Colo.
• Offensive tackle Fred Eggert, Santa Ana, Calif.
• Wide receiver John Ferreira, Olympia, Wash.
• Middle linebacker Billy Harmon, Akron, Ohio
• Offensive tackle Shane Moniz, Canyon Country, Calif.
• Running back Mike Read, Barrington, RI
• Safety Wayne Swinson, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Keep in mind that most of those names have other Ivy League schools attached to them at this point, and if the past is any indication of the future, the list will look very different by next November.

Opening-game opponent Colgate has put out its spring football prospectus and a quick look is all that is needed to remind us that the Raiders will have firepower galore next fall. True, all-everything tailback Jordan Scott has graduated, but consider what freshman Nate Eachus accomplished last year. Although he didn't switch from linebacker to tailback until the seventh game, he still ran for 932 yards, including two 200-yard games. Eachus rushing total would be fourth on the all-time Dartmouth list for a single season. And did I mention he didn't start playing tailback until the seventh game?

In addition to Eachus, Colgate brings back quarterback Greg Sullivan, whose 898 yards rushing would be fifth on the all-time Dartmouth list. Also returning is 6-foot-6 receiver Pat Simonds, and all he did is outpoll Scott, Eachus and Sullivan to be the Raiders' offensive MVP last year after catching 65 passes for 1,136 yards. And – you knew this was coming, didn't you? – Simonds' yardage total would be a Dartmouth single-season record.

The real challenge for Colgate will be up front, where the offensive line lost four of five starters, including two who signed NFL contracts.

Dartmouth's other Patriot League foe is also in the news as incoming Holy Cross defensive lineman David Herman has been named to the 2009 United States Football Junior National Team. The 6-3, 230 Herman joins Yale recruit Kurt Stottlemeyer on the squad that will play in the Junior World Championship in Canton, Ohio, from June 27-July 5.

Switching to the diamond, when Dartmouth grad and future big leaguer Mike Remlinger was early in his pro career, he lived with several teammates for a bit in a model home. Each day, they had to get up, make their beds, neaten up and get out of the house for the model to be shown. Good story but former Dartmouth pitcher Josh Faiola's story is better. The independent league pitcher with the Lake Erie Crushers is living in an assisted care facility. No lie. Check out this CNN story.

And finally, a second win in as many days for the previous winless Hanover High softball team, this time over archrival Lebanon. That certain junior catcher had three hits including a double, scored three runs and drove in one, tossed out two runners attempting to steal in the same inning, and made a full-fledged dive to tag a runner out from behind in a rundown between home and third in the last inning of a one-run game.