Friday night lights returned to Old Rochester on Sept. 24 with their first home game of the season against Dartmouth.

While the Bulldogs got off to a strong start, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game, Dartmouth quickly shifted the momentum and didn’t look back, garnering a 24-7 victory.

“We had a couple turnovers that didn’t help,” Coach Bryce Guilbeault said. “They’re a good team — they’re a good defense. They’re physical, and we knew that they would be well-prepared.”

The game’s momentum shifted midway into the firsr quarter, when Dartmouth returned the ball for a touchdown after OR’s only score of the game.

“That’s a game-changer because we could’ve come out after that, ran three plays and punted,” Dartmouth Coach Rick White said. “They could’ve got the ball again and gone down and scored again.”

After two more touchdowns from Dartmouth, the Bulldogs looked alive again with a similar return run that put OR close to the Dartmouth endzone. But a flag on the play stifled that opportunity, and each of OR’s following drives ended with punts.

Despite the loss, Guilbeault was proud of the Bulldogs’ defensive performance.

“I think we played well defensively,” he said. “I mean, we gave up one on special teams. We really only gave up 17 points.”

But, he added, “We’ve got to be able to score more than that.”

Following a game with three sophomores starting on offense and a strong defensive performance, Guilbeault said he’s proud of the team and excited for the rest of the season.