The Dartmouth High School football team defeated Melrose, becoming Division 3 Super Bowl champions for the second year in a row.

The Indians and Red Raiders squared off for the second time at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 5. After a close match, the Indians proved victorious 26-21.

“We knew it was going to be a brawl,” said head coach Rick White, “and it certainly was.”

Dartmouth fans had much to cheer about early on in the game. With less than two minutes on the clock, star player Chris Martin scored the first touchdown of the night. The Indians pushed their way to the end zone a second time, nearly scoring again before the clock ran out on the first quarter.

Six minutes into the second quarter, Martin and Cole Jacobsen worked together to bring the team to the edge of the end zone. Melrose pushed backed, however. With 30 seconds left before halftime, the Raiders scored a touch down.

With a 6-7 score, the second half of the game could have gone in either team’s favor. Late in the third quarter, Melrose player Michael Pedrini threw to Julian Nyland, who ran the ball nearly the entire length of the field to score another touchdown.

This feat was nearly repeated exactly one minute later when Martin got ahold of the ball and brought Dartmouth back to the 20-yard line. Jacobsen threw to Jack Sullivan with about a minute remaining, bringing the score to 12 Dartmouth, 14 Melrose.

It would be the last time the Red Raiders were ahead of the Indians.

With Dartmouth hovering on the end zone at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the team quickly moved ahead, 20-14. Halfway through the final quarter, Jacobsen ran from the 30-yard line, narrowly scoring a touchdown before being tackled. The Indians pushed through seconds later.

In the final minutes of the game, the Red Raiders sprang back, bringing the score to 26-21. The crowd sounded like rumbling thunder as fans stomped the bleachers with excitement. When the clock ticked down and the Indians’ victory was all but assured, everyone wearing green was on their feet screaming with delight.

Principal John Gould extended his congratulations to head coach White and the coaching staff amid the wails from the crowd.

“These boys are the definition of what a team is,” said Gould.

“This is the icing on the cake for a first-year superintendent,” said Superintendent Bonny Gifford from the sidelines. “We’re excited to bring home a trophy.”

White said that the team had a “good talk” during halftime, where he stressed that the game was going to come down to who wanted victory more.

“They were able to pull it together during the second half. I’m proud of these kids. They pulled out an unbelievable second half,” said White, as the players were busy lifting up their state championship trophy while posing for pictures.

“For the coaches, there’s a lot of pressure to win it the second time,” said White. “But hats off to Melrose. They’re the best team we played all year. We have a lot of respect for them.”

After the game, Martin was bruised, sweaty and sounding hoarse from a night of shouting. He was also beaming with pride for his fellow Indians.

“A game’s won as a team, not just one player,” said Martin. “We all came together.”