Dartmouth’s McCorkle named Coach of the Year

Eagle Times Staff
HANOVER, NH — The New England Football Writers announced their Division I All-New England Team on Sunday, Nov. 25, featuring four Dartmouth players who made the grade, while their Jack Grinold Division I Coach of the Year award went to Sammy McCorkle, the Big Green’s Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, who guided the team to its 21st Ivy League title in his first year at the helm.

The four Dartmouth selections — Charles Looes, Nicholas Schwitzgebel, Sean Williams and Owen Zalc — tied with Holy Cross for the most from one school in the region. The only teams with three players to make the cut were Harvard and Yale, the two schools with which the Big Green shared the conference crown.

McCorkle, on the coaching staff at Dartmouth for 18 years under Buddy Teevens, was named the acting head coach in the spring following a bicycle accident in March that left Teevens hospitalized before he succumbed to his injuries in September. The Big Green were also reeling from the passing of teammate Josh Balara ‘24 in March after a lengthy battle with cancer. With those tragedies weighing heavily on the players and staff, McCorkle kept the team focused on its goal of winning a championship, dedicating it to the memories of Teevens and Balara. He became the interim head coach prior to the fall campaign and was elevated to the endowed position mid-season, after which Dartmouth won four of its last five games to finish its Ivy League campaign with a 5-2 record, though it was picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. By winning the Ivy title, McCorkle became the 10th person in Ancient Eight history to win the crown in his first year as a head football coach in the league.

The Ivy League leader in sacks with 7.5 for the Big Green this year and an All-Ivy League First Team selection on the defensive line, Looes came on strong toward the end of the season with six sacks in the final three games, including four against Princeton to tie a Dartmouth single-game record. The 6-3, 275-pound fifth-year senior from Hillsdale, New Jersey, had a total of 43 tackles, 9.5 going for a loss, and 7.5 sacks while hurrying the quarterback five times, batting down three passes at the line, forcing two fumbles and recovering one, plus blocked a field goal attempt in a two-point victory over Princeton.

Schwitzgebel, a 6-1, 300-pound senior on the offensive line, started all 10 games at left guard and played nearly every snap, anchoring a line that yielded the second-fewest sacks (5) of any team in the FCS while also opening holes for the second-best rushing attack in the Ivy League (174.4 yards per game). Like Looes, the native of Cleveland, Ohio, was a first-team All-Ivy League selection.

An All-Ivy League second-team pick at two positions, sophomore Sean Williams made the New England Team as a defensive back. The 5-9, 190-pound safety from Nolensville, Tennessee, was second on the squad with 55 tackles and second in the conference with four interceptions. Williams also contributed five pass breakups, forced two fumbles and recovered another, plus served as Dartmouth’s return specialist, ranking second in the league in kickoff and punt returns as well as among the top 20 nationally.

Zalc, a 5-10, 160-pound first-year place kicker from Cary, North Carolina, broke Dartmouth and Ivy League records in his first season in Hanover. He not only set a new standard for field goals in a season by a Big Green kicker, converting 17 in 21 attempts, but he also broke the Ivy record for field goals in league play (14) to earn a spot on the all-conference first team. He booted three field goals in a game, including the game-winner in overtime at Penn to lift Dartmouth to a 23-20 victory in its Ivy League opener. His 1.7 field goals per game are the third most in the FCS, and his 81.0 percent accuracy ranks 18th nationally as well. Combined with his 25-of-26 PAT conversions, Zalc led the Ivy League with 76 points and set the program’s scoring record for a freshman, while his 7.6 points per game ranks 24th nationally.

The team, McCorkle and Teevens (the posthumous recipient of the George Carens Award as announced on Nov. 1) will be honored at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center. Reservations must be made no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, and may be made online through the New England Football Writers website. Tickets are $70 per person. Reservations are available online only and are non-refundable.