Dartmouth Scores the Last 13 Points and Beats Merrimack 27-21
Merrimack led 21-14 at the end of the third quarter and did not score again. Dartmouth finished with 13 straight points, the last six of them from the kicker, and won 27-21.
It was tied twice and the lead changed twice, which is about as even as a game gets. Grayson Saunier ran in from two yards out to put Dartmouth up 7-0 in the first quarter, and AJ Hairston answered with a 5-yard run and a two-point conversion for an 8-7 Merrimack lead. DeMarcus McElroy scored from two yards out in the second quarter (the extra point failed), and it was 14-7 at the half. Noah Trigueros tied it with a 1-yard run late in the third, and Matthias Latham put Merrimack back ahead 21-14 with a 15-yard run with six seconds left in the quarter.
Then the fourth quarter. Trigueros hit James Elliott for 59 yards with 14:10 left, which tied it 21-21. Owen Zalc kicked a 50-yard field goal with 8:47 to go, and a 42-yarder with 7:09 left made it 27-21. That is where the scoring stopped.
Merrimack had the better of the yardage, 353 to 294, and still lost. The difference was turnovers. Merrimack threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, and Dartmouth had none. Hairston, who threw both picks and lost the fumble, was 16 of 27 for 174 yards and ran for a score. Dartmouth finishes 2-3, Merrimack 2-4.
Fantasy-wise the best player on the field was a Dartmouth receiver who had been quiet: Elliott had 19.6 points on four catches.