Dartmouth Wraps Up Spring Camp With Competitive Spring Game

By: Justin Lafleur

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth football team wrapped up a strong spring season on Saturday with its annual spring game. The game was held in the Graham Indoor Practice Facility due to heavy rain in the forecast and saw a tight 44-43 final in favor of Team White over Team Green.
 
Competition was a theme of the day.
 
“One thing we challenged our guys was to come out here today and compete,” said Sammy McCorkle, Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach after the game. “It’s the final exam. It’s a chance for us, coaches and your teammates, to see how you’re going to perform in a game situation.
 
“I thought our guys, first of all, took care of each other, but at the same time, you could see how it got physical, especially down in the red zone,” McCorkle continued. “The guys came out here prepared to play full speed the entire time, and we were able to accomplish all the things that we wanted to accomplish.”
 
The Big Green were hoping to get in between 90 and 100 snaps and ended up getting in 97, according to McCorkle.
 
“We were almost dead even on both groups getting the same amount of snaps,” he said. “That’s exactly what we wanted. We got two-minute situations, we got short-yardage situations.”
 
At halftime, the Big Green announced their captains, featuring rising senior offensive lineman Delby Lemieux, defensive back Sean Williams and wide receiver Daniel Haughton.

“We’re used to having the spring game and games outside, but this spring game was a nice little switch up,” said Haughton. “We always talk about sudden change and being able to adapt and improvise. It was good and we came out and played with energy. Defense played well, offense played well. We competed really well.”
 
The Big Green are happy, but not satisfied. As Haughton said, there’s always room for improvement.
 
“Definitely think we can improve,” he said. “We have to be a little more consistent, a little more detailed, but this spring was a great start.”
 
Specific to Saturday, the offense had a number of big plays, but so did the defense, including two interceptions. One by Samuel Washington was the last play of the day.
 
“The offense and defense challenge each other every day,” said McCorkle. “The offense has shown it can be explosive. You saw that a couple times today. The quarterbacks did a good job finding our guys down the field, wide receivers did a good job catching the ball and getting explosive plays, which forces the defense to have to be very disciplined and making sure they’re in the right spots.
 
“But I thought our defense responded,” McCorkle continued. “Guys are playing with confidence, and you can see that with each practice; they became more confident as a whole. I’ve been really impressed by the guys we were expecting to need to step up [this spring], who maybe haven’t played so much in the past
 
“They did that.”
 
The Big Green, winners of four of the last five Ivy League Championships, enter the offseason with plenty of momentum.
 
“One of the biggest things we try to harp on is that we’re not last year’s team,” said Lemieux. “This is a new team. We’re the 2025 Dartmouth football team. I think we did a really good job of embracing that this offseason, coming into the spring and staying true to that throughout these last 12 practices and these workouts.”
 
“The best thing to take away from spring, whether it’s good or bad, is you can see what you need to improve on this offseason,” said Williams.
 
Dartmouth football can’t be complacent, which was a message from McCorkle.
 
“The biggest thing we wanted to do was get better with each practice,” he said. “We would add a little bit to every practice, but our guys did a really good job improving as we went along.
 
“We we had a good spring, but we have to continue to take this thing to the next level,” McCorkle continued. “This is not when we put it on cruise control. We challenged the guys, if you’re here on campus or you’re off campus, you have to be totally, totally committed. And this is a huge offseason, a huge summer leading into the preseason.”
 
Dartmouth football fans can get a jump on the 2025 season by securing their season tickets for next fall when the Big Green attempt to defend their Ivy League title and win their fifth conference crown in six seasons. To place your deposit today, visit the Dartmouth Athletics Ticket Office website or call 603-646-2466.
 
NOTE: Also announced at halftime Saturday were the Big Green’s most improved players in the spring by position, listed below.
 
Specialists – Julian Coviello
Quarterbacks – Noah Trigueros
Running Backs – D.J. Crowther
Tight Ends – Kristian Strong
Wide Receivers – James Elliott
Offensive Line – Godson Ajoku
Defensive Line – Taylor Faalele
Linebackers – Cameron Lee
Cornerbacks – Jorden Barnes
Safeties/Nickels – Samuel Washington