Boston College’s 22-17 over Dartmouth shouldn’t necessarily be thought of as a surprise.

After all, BC downed Dartmouth a year ago, too, in an early-season contest. But the result has resonated somewhat because of Dartmouth’s strong finish last spring. The Eagles, going into the ECRC regular season starting next week, have to feel good about the result, and indeed they do.

“We knew this year would be different for both teams, but it’s always a thrill for us to get to play at Dartmouth,” said BC Coach Rob Conway. “In the first half, the guys didn’t really run the system and we were dealing with some injuries, so it was still an adjustment.”

But BC, which had scrimmaged against national club champs Mystic River the week before (that’s where they picked up the injuries, of course), we ready to bounce back.

Dartmouth took an early lead and held it into the break. But Brian Reilly brought the BC forwards together and calmed everyone down. They started to set the tone on defense and win some ball.

In the backs, once more, Danny Schatzman was superb. The co-captain and player of the game is not big, but he is skilled, tough, and gets the job done.

“He was key for us on defense,” said Conway. “He hits like a big fella.”

BC’s comeback was sparked by a try forced from Schatzman’s defense and the center set up two more.

BC finished 2nd in the ECRC in 2015, and went on to win a Bowl Game. There’s reason to believe that they have a good shot at repeating that performance, or perhaps exceeding it. Both AIC and NEC have new coaches, and while BC is just a club team that can’t recruit, they play as a unit and are most certainly a team to watch.

BC starts next week against UConn, which beat Albany this weekend. 

“That will be a very good test for us,” said Conway.