Lights . . . Action!

Dartmouth finally made the official announcement yesterday. The Sept. 28 home opener against Holy Cross will indeed by played under the lights at Memorial Field, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

Last year Dartmouth played two night games with the Homecoming contest against Harvard starting at 5 p.m.

Whether Holy Cross will be the only night game this fall is uncertain. Yesterday's release confirms that this year's Oct. 12 Homecoming game against Yale will be a 1:30 start.

Still awaiting an announcement of whether the season opener at Butler will be at night, but it wouldn't be a surprise if it is. The Bulldogs entertained Franklin under the lights in last year's home opener in Indianapolis, drawing a crowd of 4,148. They averaged 2,663 for their other four home games.

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Incoming freshman defensive end Jeremiah Douchee has quite a story, told on a website called DNAinfo.com Chicago. From the story about the 6-foot-5, 230-pound president of the Student Council and National Honor Society and anticipated class valedictorian:

Motivated by his hard-working mother and the tragic death of his mostly absent father, the Hales Franciscan High School senior said he owes it to his community to succeed. 

"I feel like I have to perform and make a difference and show other African-Americans that there are other things to do in life," said Douchee, of Morgan Park.

Also . . .

Douchee's mother, Deatra, has been a Chicago police officer for 22 years and worked 12 years on the mean streets of the South Side's Grand Crossing District.

And . . .

Jeremiah said his father wasn't a consistent part of his life. After he died in 2009 in what was reportedly a murder-suicide, Jeremiah said he didn't cry at the funeral but was motivated to achieve success. 

"I wanted to show that I was in a fatherless home and I can still do well," he said.

The story compares Douchee, who hopes to become a doctor, to former defensive end Charles Bay '11, now at The Dartmouth Institute, the college's MPH and health systems/quality improvement graduate program.

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With news starting to spread about fifth-year seniors returning at Penn, Brown and Columbia, it appears you can tack another name onto the list of Dartmouth returnees. In addition to defensive backs Garrett Waggoner and Chase Womack 6-3, 280 defensive tackle Elliot Kastner is expected to be among the returnees. Kastner had 28 tackles including 2.5 for a loss last fall.