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Kyler earns Golden Helmet

HANOVER — Dartmouth quarterback Derek Kyler was selected as the Gold Helmet Award winner this week as the region’s top player for Division I as selected by the New England Football Writers Association. Kyler is the first Big Green player to earn the honor since defensive end Niko Lalos picked up the award on Nov. 10, 2019.

Kyler, a 6-foot, 180-pound fifth-year senior from DeKalb, Ill., threw for a career-high 325 yards on 18-of-23 passing with a pair of touchdowns to lead Dartmouth to a 38-21 triumph at 23rd-ranked New Hampshire on Saturday. The victory was the first for Dartmouth in Durham since 1969 and gave the Big Green back-to-back wins over the Wildcats (the last meeting was in 2016) since the 1969 and 1972 campaigns while leveling the all-time series at 19-19-2.

Entering the contest as the FCS active career leader in passing efficiency (168.99) and ranked among the top five this season in completion percentage and passing efficiency, Kyler did nothing to damage those figures. He led Dartmouth on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game, followed by the Big Green’s first 99-yard drive in 13 years to open up a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Kyler’s 13-yard touchdown toss allowed Dartmouth to take a 24-7 advantage into halftime, and he added a 52-yard scoring strike on the team’s first drive of the second half. As a team, the Big Green amassed 604 total yards in the game, topping 600 for the first time in five years.

Halfway through the 2021 campaign, Kyler has completed 77-of-106 passes (72.2 percent, 2nd in the nation) for 958 yards and nine touchdowns without an interception for a passing efficiency of 176.58, third in the FCS.

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