Catching Up With

On-the-field and off-the-field updates on a couple of former Dartmouth linebackers from the Class of 2017, Flo Orimolade and Brian Fordon.

From a follow story in the Calgary Sun after the Stampeders fell to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 20-17, over the weekend (LINK):

While Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund has laid claim to the d-end spot on the left side of the line, the Stamps opted to rest Shawn Lemon on Saturday. In his place, Stefen Banks and Folarin Orimolade stepped in.

Orimolade hadn’t played since Week 3 and had been on the six-game injured list ever since, but made an immediate impact. 

He had two sacks and was getting in Riders QB Cody Fajardo’s face again and again.

Injuries have disrupted Orimolade’s progression in the four years that he’s been in Calgary, but he’s always been a high-ceiling player capable of being incredibly disruptive. He played 10 games for the 2018 Stamps. The d-ends on that team included James Vaughters and Cordarro Law. When you’re mixing it up with that competition for playing time, it says something.

Maybe it’s time for Orimolade to finally get a little injury lucky and make an impact. If it is, his return from injury could be a huge boost for the Stamps as they come down the stretch.

In his return to the line-up he had 3 tackles and 2 sacks, so @FolarinTheGreat is our @GatoradeCanada Performer of the Game! #FuelledByG⚡️ pic.twitter.com/gneBJx1NnM

— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) October 24, 2021

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Fordon, a senior credit manager at Chicago's Northern Trust Bank, served as chairman of the Big Shoulders Fund Ball, which raises money to help inner city Catholic schools in Chicago and Gary, Indiana. With his help the event raised more than $190,000 in a single night.

Only able to play college football as a result of successful heart surgery, Fordon had a season-best three tackles in the Yale game his senior season. He is applying to the University of Chicago for graduate school. Here he is during his speech at the Big Shoulders Fund Ball:

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Jake Novak down at the Roar Lions 202 blog has posted his weekly power rankings and they look like this:

1. Princeton

2. Harvard

3. Columbia

4. Dartmouth

5. Yale

6. Brown 

7. Cornell

8. Penn

He writes of Dartmouth: "These guys can make a case for #1 next week if they beat Harvard. Stay tuned."

Green Alert Take: It's hard to argue with Jake's rankings. He has Princeton ahead of Harvard and, regardless of what you think, the Tigers were credited with a win over the Crimson Saturday. Columbia is ahead of Dartmouth after beating the Big Green and Dartmouth is ahead of a Yale team it beat. Brown is ranked ahead of a Cornell team it defeated Saturday.

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EXTRA POINT
Last week while hiking I listened to a Brave Little State podcast titled, When will there be a vaccine for Lyme disease? (LINK) The Vermont Public Radio podcast was a reminder of just how ridiculous it is that you can give your dog a tablet once a month and boom, no more tick problem, but people aren't so lucky. The executive summary is that some kind of tablet as well as shots to ward off Lyme disease could be available in as little as two years.

Because those things are not available yet, all spring and summer after hiking I'd get home and inspect myself pretty thoroughly for ticks. Found a bunch, too, and removed them before they could cause trouble.

With cooler weather and tick season over, I've been less diligent about checking for ticks. Turns out tick season isn't over and that was a mistake. Fingers cross the little bugger I peeled off later than I should have a couple of days ago didn't have a nasty surprise in store for me. Maybe I should have pilfered one of Griff the Wonder Dog's tablets!