By Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

'CAT TALE: Mike Boyle returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to help the University of New Hampshire improve its record to 2-1 (0-1 Colonial Athletic Association) by beating Dartmouth, 52-31, in Durham on Saturday. The Wildcats led 14-0 before the game was three minutes old and held a 45-17 lead at one point. The loss dropped Dartmouth's record to 0-2 (0-0 Ivy League).

WORD PLAY: "Offensively, they're as impressive as any team I've seen. Spotting them 14 points early certainly did not help our cause."
-- Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens

NUMBERS GAME: The game drew 9,560 fans to Cowell Stadium. It was UNH's home opener and the program's first home game since the natural grass surface was replaced with FieldTurf.

LOOKING AHEAD: UNH will return to league play when it faces Richmond at UR Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) Richmond improved to 2-1 (1-0 CAA) by beating Bucknell, 45-14, last Saturday. Richmond's Tim Hightower, a senior running back, was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after he rushed for a school-record 295 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries during the victory over Bucknell. Earlier this season Hightower rushed for 246 yards in a 49-14 victory over Northeastern. Richmond's loss came against Vanderbilt, 41-17. Saturday's game can be seen on CN8.

NOTEWORTHY: Boyle was selected as the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Dartmouth. He finished the game with 112 yards and a touchdown on three kickoff returns. Boyle also rushed for 11 yards on two carries -- including a 3-yard touchdown run -- and gained 19 yards on two pass receptions. ...Dartmouth linebacker Justin Cottrell made 13 tackles against UNH. ... UNH had three interceptions against Dartmouth. The Wildcats had forced a total of two turnovers in their first two games. ... Tight end Scott Sicko had seven catches for 64 yards against Dartmouth.