Hanover
Stetson University is scheduled to host the Big Green’s season opener the night of Sept. 16 in DeLand, Fla., between Daytona Beach and Orlando. Given the arrival of Hurricane Irma in the Sunshine State, however, there are questions about when the Hatters (0-2) will be able to get home from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where they lost at Marist on Saturday.
Stetson is coached by former Dartmouth assistant and Princeton head coach Roger Hughes.
“I don’t know if they got out tonight, and if not, then what happens?” Teevens said after his team’s practice concluded at 9:15 p.m. on Memorial Field. “I might buzz Roger and offer to get them some accommodations for the week. They can train here and we can play the game here if need be.
“If they get stuck up here, playing at our place would seem to be the easiest option. We’d just agree to play down at their place sometime in the future in return.”
Teevens stressed that Dartmouth has not officially made such an offer and that the preference of everyone involved is to play at Stetson next weekend as scheduled. The Big Green is slated to open the home portion of its 10-game schedule the night of Sept. 23, when it hosts Holy Cross.
For now, everyone sits, waits and asks questions. When will Stetson reopen? Will its stadium be ready to host a game? Will Florida’s airports, roads and power grid be operational in time? And what about the Daytona Beach hotel on the sand where the Big Green has reservations for Friday night?
“We’ll control what we can control and run our normal schedule for now,” Teevens said. “We can adjust, and it’s not going to be a last-minute thing.”
Dartmouth’s roster features 11 Floridians. During a Saturday team meeting, Teevens had them each stand and update the group on their family’s status. It was a way for the affected players to avoid having to answer numerous, individual questions and for others to realize their buddies are undergoing serious stress.
“I was trying to convince my mom (Robin) to evacuate but she said it was going to take hours and hours just to get out of Orlando,” said sophomore linebacker Nigel Alexander, a native of that city. “She doesn’t sound very worried.”
Seth Walter, a freshman defensive end, is from Longboat Key, a barrier island between Bradenton and Sarasota off Florida’s west coast. He said his parents, Mike and Becky, initially weren’t going to evacuate, but once they saw the hurricane’s projected path move westward, they departed to join his brother, who attends Florida State University in Tallahassee.
“They left last night and I haven’t talked to them, but I got a text from my mom,” Walter said. “I guess they’re en route. Our house was built four years ago and other than flood damage, I think it will be all right. We all just have to hope for the best.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.