Thomas Pallatroni scores three times as Dartmouth beats Somerset Berkley 42-8 for first home win

DARTMOUTH Thomas Pallatroni took Dartmouth's first handoff up the middle and ran 65 yards for a touchdown 18 seconds into Saturday's football game against Somerset Berkley, and Dartmouth led the rest of the way.

Dartmouth (2-7) beat Somerset Berkley (1-8) 42-8 at Dartmouth Memorial Stadium for its first home win of the season, in the Indians' last game of the year on their own field. Neither team qualified for the MIAA tournament, and the noon game was on the association's Week 10 list of non-playoff matchups.

Pallatroni, a senior running back and middle linebacker who wears No. 26, scored three touchdowns and ran in a two-point conversion. Junior Chase Afonso (No. 10) scored twice, on a 60-yard run and a 60-yard punt return, and junior Brendan Martin (No. 13) scored on a jet sweep and ran in another two-point try.

Dartmouth won on the ground and threw only on two-point tries. Afonso, listed as a receiver on the roster, started at quarterback, handing to Pallatroni between the tackles, keeping the ball on read options and sending Martin around the end on jet sweeps. The game's first two touchdown runs, by Pallatroni and Afonso, covered 125 yards in the game's first four minutes.

Scoring

Quarter	Scoring play	Two-point try	Score
First	Dartmouth: Thomas Pallatroni 65-yard run	Pass incomplete	Dartmouth 6-0
First	Dartmouth: Chase Afonso 60-yard run	Brendan Martin run, good	Dartmouth 14-0
Second	Dartmouth: Pallatroni 15-yard run	Afonso run, good	Dartmouth 22-0
Second	Dartmouth: Martin jet sweep from near midfield	Pass incomplete	Dartmouth 28-0
Third	Dartmouth: Afonso 60-yard punt return	Stopped short	Dartmouth 34-0
Third	Dartmouth: Pallatroni run on third-and-5	Pallatroni run, good	Dartmouth 42-0
Fourth	Somerset Berkley: run at the goal line	Gavin Gooch run, good	Dartmouth 42-8

First quarter

Senior Gavin Gooch (No. 40) kicked off for Somerset Berkley, and Martin brought a low line drive back to the Dartmouth 35, where Somerset Berkley junior Luke Demoura tackled him. On the first snap, Pallatroni went straight up the middle and outran everyone to the end zone with 11:42 left in the first quarter.

A procedure penalty moved the two-point try back to the 8, and when Afonso rolled to his right and threw for the end zone, Somerset Berkley senior Mason Benjamin (No. 16) batted the pass away. Afonso's low kickoff then bounced loose in a scramble, and the Raiders came up with the ball.

Dartmouth's defense held from there, as Benjamin's sneak was stopped at the line, junior Sam Blevines (No. 30) dropped Gooch on a toss for no gain, a procedure penalty made it third-and-15, and junior Conor Munson (No. 20) stopped Gooch on an option after a few yards. Benjamin's line-drive punt rolled out of bounds at the Dartmouth 34.

Pallatroni ran for 6 yards to the 40. On the next snap Afonso faked the jet sweep to Martin, kept the ball on a read option, slipped a tackle and ran 60 yards up the middle, and Martin's jet sweep reached the goal line with both hands on the ball for the two points. Dartmouth led 14-0 with 8:09 left in the first quarter.

Afonso made the tackle on the next kickoff return at the Somerset Berkley 31. Blevines stopped Gooch after 4 yards, Benjamin kept for 1, a third-down pass sailed high, and Benjamin punted again.

Dartmouth's third drive was its longest of the half by plays. Martin stumbled on a third-and-5 jet sweep and still reached the marker, and Pallatroni converted a third-and-inches by a yard and a half. After Gooch tackled Afonso on a read option, Afonso cut outside on the next one and went 41 yards to the end zone, but a holding flag took the touchdown away. Pallatroni lost the ball on the next play and recovered it himself, and on third-and-10 the Raiders stopped Afonso in the backfield, forcing Dartmouth's first punt, and the quarter ended 14-0.

Second quarter

Gooch picked up Somerset Berkley's first first down of the game on the opening play of the second quarter. Junior Chace Powers stopped a Benjamin keeper that had room outside, Martin and Munson stopped a run at the line, and Gooch carried past midfield on third down, but Dartmouth held the fourth-down run to a yard and took over on downs.

After a stop of Martin's jet sweep, Powers, lining up as a second running back with Munson at tight end, ran outside for a first down to the Somerset Berkley 30, then shed a tackle and ran down the sideline to the 17. Pallatroni gained 2, Dartmouth called timeout with 7:34 left in the half, and on the next snap Pallatroni went 15 yards up the middle, running through two tacklers into the end zone. Afonso rolled right and kept the ball for the two points, and it was 22-0.

Junior Trent Cosmo (No. 56) ran down Gooch from behind on the Raiders' next series, Pallatroni made a stop from linebacker, and on third-and-6 Benjamin spun away from a sack and scrambled for a couple of yards before Munson and Powers brought him down short. Afonso returned the punt to the Dartmouth 40.

Pallatroni broke through several tacklers for 12 yards before Benjamin brought him down, and Demoura stopped him for no gain on the next play. Then, with less than four minutes left in the half, Martin took a jet sweep to the outside from near midfield, broke free and stiff-armed a defender on the way in. The two-point pass fell incomplete, and it was 28-0.

Somerset Berkley answered with its best drive of the half. Junior Justin Tavares (No. 20) broke a tackle on the kickoff for the Raiders' best return of the first half, Munson made a solo stop on Benjamin, and Martin tripped up Gooch to bring up third-and-12. A toss and a deep pass then produced the first completion of the game by either team and moved the Raiders into Dartmouth territory, and Gooch ran up the middle twice to the Dartmouth 20 with 1:15 left. Junior Aaron Charest (No. 58) helped stop a Benjamin keeper, and Gooch lost the ball on a triple option but was ruled down. On the last play of the half, Benjamin threw to the end zone and Powers intercepted the pass to keep it 28-0.

Third quarter

Somerset Berkley deferred to the second half and received, and Dartmouth needed three plays to get the ball back. Gooch gained a yard on a triple option, Pallatroni and Charest stopped him after another yard, and Munson came free for his first sack on third down.

Afonso caught the punt and went 60 yards, spinning out of tackles, for his second touchdown. His backward pass to Martin on the two-point try was stopped at the 8, leaving it 34-0 with 9:29 left in the third quarter.

The Raiders' next series started at their 32, and a 15-yard personal foul after a Gooch run pushed them back to their 19. Benjamin lost the ball on a keeper but was ruled down first, and on third-and-long Munson and Charest sacked him together. Powers returned the punt, and Dartmouth started at the Somerset Berkley 48.

Junior Brady Teixeira made back-to-back tackles for Somerset Berkley, on a Pallatroni run to the 41 and a Powers run for a first down at the 38, and Powers shed another tackle to reach the 32. Pallatroni was stopped for no gain, and on third-and-5 he juked inside and ran in for his third touchdown. He pushed through the line for the two points, and the 42-0 lead put the game on a running clock.

Fourth quarter

Somerset Berkley's next drive, which started at its own 42, carried into the fourth quarter against Dartmouth's reserves. Senior Nathan Cadorette (No. 24) stiff-armed a tackler on one run and carried to the Dartmouth 26 for a first down on the next, Gooch and Benjamin ran for a few more, and on third-and-7 Benjamin completed a pass to the 10. Gooch ran inside the 5 and then to the goal line, the Raiders pushed the ball across on the next snap, and Gooch ran up the middle for the two-point conversion that made it 42-8.

Dartmouth's backups took over on offense from there, Afonso's last punt rolled inside the 20 to the Somerset Berkley 18, and Gooch carried on the final play.

The standouts

Pallatroni carried Dartmouth's offense up the middle, ran through two tacklers on his second touchdown and made stops at linebacker. Afonso ran the offense, kicked off, punted and returned punts. Martin turned the jet sweep into a touchdown and a two-point conversion, Powers ran for first downs and made the interception, and Munson led the defense with a sack, a shared sack and the third-down stop on the Raiders' first series. Blevines made two first-quarter stops, and Charest shared a sack and two stops.

For Somerset Berkley, Gooch kicked off, picked up the Raiders' first first down, ran in their two points and tackled Afonso on a read option. Benjamin ran the offense from quarterback, punted, batted down the first two-point pass and threw the fourth-quarter completion that set up the touchdown. Tavares had the best return of the half, Demoura and Teixeira made stops, and Cadorette's runs moved the scoring drive.

Somerset Berkley's seniors

Somerset Berkley's MaxPreps roster lists 12 seniors, and Thanksgiving is their last game. The Raiders' only win this fall came Oct. 2, 42-22 over Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech at Hanson Memorial Stadium, in coach Chris Santos' first season. Against Old Rochester on Oct. 30, Benjamin scrambled 38 yards on a 90-yard touchdown drive and threw the fourth-down touchdown pass to Gooch, and senior Brett Irizarry stopped Old Rochester's Benji Baptiste short of the goal line at the end of the half. Against Diman on Nov. 6, Benjamin's keepers kept drives alive, Gooch made a fourth-and-7 catch in the last minute and tackles behind the line, and seniors Tyrese Brown and Koda Ligunya helped stuff Diman's runs inside, with Ligunya coming off the edge to force an incomplete pass on a fourth down.

What's next

Both teams play Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, at 10 a.m., both schools' Arbiter Live schedules show. Dartmouth plays at Fairhaven, which won last year's Thanksgiving meeting 21-14. The Blue Devils, the defending state champions, lost to Joseph Case 42-37 in the Division 6 Round of 16 on Nov. 5 and lost 36-31 at Middleborough on Friday night.

Somerset Berkley hosts Joseph Case at Hanson Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals are 7-3 in coach Mike Cloutier's first season and reached the Division 6 Round of 8 before losing 36-7 at Abington on Nov. 12.

The win was the 151st for Rick White, in his 23rd season as Dartmouth's coach, by our count from the career record The Boston Globe listed before the season.

Our preview of the game has both seasons side by side. Read Middleborough 36, Fairhaven 31 and Joseph Case's season and its Round of 8 game at Abington for both Thanksgiving opponents, and New Bedford 52, Dartmouth 20 and Diman 8, Somerset Berkley 0 for each team's previous game.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.