There were no surprises Saturday in the three games featuring Dartmouth's non-conference opponents.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 51, STONEHILL 17
Quarterback Max Brosmer tossed five touchdown passes and All-American Dylan Laube scored three TDs as the stars came out for the 11th-ranked Wildcats before a crowd of 2,400 at second-year Division I Stonehill.
Brosmer completed 19-of-25 passes for 285 yards, with each of his TDs going to a different receiver. Laube, meanwhile, had a 58-yard punt return for a score, 89 yards rushing and 31 receiving as he racked up 229 all-purpose yards. Heron Maurisseau was on the receiving end of the long play of the game, a 69-yard TD throw from Brosmer that made it 34-0 just 10 seconds into the second quarter.
New Hampshire will have a steeper hill to climb Saturday afternoon when it visits Central Michigan in its final game before the opener against Dartmouth.
VILLANOVA 38, LEHIGH 10
The Mountain Hawks rolled the dice and called for an onside kick to start the game and recovered it at their 45. That might have been the highlight of the afternoon.
Aided by two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the first half, Villanova needed drives of just 17, 28 and 51 yards on the way to a 31-3 lead at the half. Villanova piled up 284 yards rushing while averaging a whopping 9.2 yards per attempt. Lehigh was held to 78 yards on 23 carries, for 3.4 yards per.
Lehigh's only touchdown came with 8:02 remaiing when Brayten Silbor hit Gaige Garcia with a seven-yard strike.
Attendance in Bethlehem was 4,360. The Mountain Hawks travel to Merrimack Saturday.
SYRACUSE 65, COLGATE 0
All you need to know is the star of the game for Colgate was punter Shelby Pruett, who punted nine times for a 47.6-yard average – although he was tackled for a 24-yard loss by Dartmouth grad transfer Isaiah Johnson on a botched kick
Syracuse dominated the overmatched visitors through the air (406 yards to 52) and on the ground (271-54), combining for 677 total yards to just 106 for the Raiders. Between the 7:18 mark of the first quarter and the 7:13 mark of the second quarter the Orange rang up 37 points.
Dartmouth product Johnson was credited with three tackles from his corner slot as a crowd of 32,465 in Syracuse watched the home team record nine touchdowns and a field goal in the first three quarters before a scoreless fourth. Colgate will try to regroup Saturday at Villanova.
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In the grad transfer ranks, former Dartmouth defensive lineman Shane Cokes was credited with three tackles in Colorado's 45-42 upset win at No. 17 TCU.
John Pupel had five unassisted tackles and seven total stops in Boston College's 27-24 loss to Northern Illinois.
In a 38-17 loss at Buffalo tight end Zion Carter had one catch for seven yards.
Seth Verilus had three tackles for Robert Morris in a 42-7 loss at Air Force.
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In case you are wondering, here is a list of Dartmouth grads playing elsewhere this fall:
TE Zion Carter, Buffalo
DL Shane Cokes, Colorado
WR Dale Chesson, Michigan
CB Robert Crockett, Bryant
OL John Paul Flores, Louisville
OL Michael Flores, Old Dominion
LB Joe Heffernan, Duke
DB Tyron Herring, Delaware
DL Bobby Jefferson, Robert Morris
DB Isaiah Johnson, Syracuse
DB John Pupel, Boston College
RB Noah Roper, Colorado School of Mines
DB Seth Verilus, Robert Morris
Running back Zack Bair intended to play at Robert Morris this fall but had to medically retire after yet another foot injury. And although wide receiver Jamal Cooney was reported by various outlets to have committed to Missouri State, he's not listed on their roster.
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After scrimmaging for the first time yesterday the Big Green has a day off from practice. A look at the scrimmage went up last night on BGA Premium.
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EXTRA POINT
Our house has four smoke/carbon monoxide detectors on the second floor. There's one here in the home office of the BGA World Headquarters, one in the hallway directly outside the office door and one in bedrooms at either end of that open hallway.
Several mornings ago at about 6 a.m. one of the detectors started to chirp. I knew it wasn't the one in my office but wasn't sure which of the other three was making the sound. I was pretty sure it was the detector in the "primary" bedroom so I dutifully got a stepladder, wrestled with the detector's battery drawer and replaced the two AA's. Then I folded up the ladder and got back to work on BGA Daily.
When I heard the chirp again I broke out the ladder, wrestled the battery drawer open a second time and tried two other batteries, assuming the first pair I'd grabbed from a shelf were weak.
Back to BGA Daily and then another chirp. This time it sounded as if it came from the hallway detector. But did it? To be sure, I stood directly between the unit in the hallway and the one in the bedroom and waited for a chirp. When it came, I honestly couldn't tell.
Frustrated, I woke Mrs. BGA and asked for her to stand under one and I would stand under another. When the chirp came neither of us was 100 percent certain which one made it.
The smarter one of the two of us then opened the door to the other bedroom as we awaited yet another chirp. Her hunch proved right. Out came the ladder, another wrestling match ensued with the battery drawer and lo and behold the chirping was done.
Later in the day Mrs. BGA bought a 16-pack of copper-topped AA batteries. A little Googling finds suggestions that smoke detector batteries be swapped out every six months. I have a lot of battery drawer wrestling ahead of me . . .
