To the list of Dartmouth commitments add the name of Michael Vallarelli, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound tight end from Andover, Mass., and Phillips Andover. Vallarelli's offer sheet includes UMass, Penn and Lehigh. Vallarelli was a multisport athlete at Governor's Academy before transferring to PA.
With Vallarelli announcing, BGA now has identified 20 football players intending to head this away next fall. Check back tomorrow for the full list.
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Dartmouth safety Harrison Keith had a career-best five pass breakups and made nine tackles in Saturday's win over Merrimack and has been named the New England Football Writers Gold Helmet winner. Find a story HERE.
Green Alert Take: Until last year I was a Gold Helmet selector and it was always awkward when I had to pick a Dartmouth player. While this week's selector wasn't able to see it, Keith was a good choice because beyond the stats he brought contagious excitement to the Big Green Saturday.
Green Alert Take II: I always found it curious that the New England Football Writers tapped me to be a selector, but I was never a member of the NEFW, even when I was the beat writer covering Dartmouth.
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The Dartmouth has a story about Saturday's win over Merrimack HERE, and depending on how many visits you made to the Valley News website and how recently you went there, you may be able to access their game story HERE.
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Paul Justafan has a look at the Ivy League weekend HERE.
Green Alert Take: While I really like Paul's stuff, I think he is a little premature in saying teams with one league loss are playing "elimination" games. There have been years when the season reaches this point and it's clear there is a team that will not lose twice, but this isn't one of those years. Could there be a two-win champion? The odds are against it but it absolutely could still happen and not just mathematically.
EXTRA POINT
We are well past peak foliage here in Northern New England and the leaf peeping pensioners and their caravans have disappeared. Mother Nature put on a glorious show this year with all kinds of reds and oranges and yellows dotting the mountainsides. On my daily hike I came across a single leaf on the trail that includes pretty much the full palette of fall colors in these parts.
