Kevin Barrett went to Dartmouth College last summer to attend a prospect basketball camp and heard something disappointing.
“The coach told me I was too small to play for him,” Barrett said.
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But the 6-foot-6 senior at Thornton Academy saw something encouraging – football could be his path to an Ivy League institution.
“I came back to school and talked to Coach (Kevin) Kezal and said, ‘Do you know anyone at Dartmouth you can contact from the football team? I really love the school.’ ”
It turned out, Dartmouth’s football coaches liked Barrett as much as he liked Dartmouth.
On Wednesday, the Maine Sunday Telegram all-state tight end publicly accepted Dartmouth’s offer to join its football team in a ceremony at Thornton Academy.
At the same ceremony, Thornton soccer/track standout Tori Daigle signed a letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship to compete in both sports at Merrimack College. Merrimack is a member of the Division II Northeast-10 Conference.
At Cheverus High, Joe Fitzpatrick and Zordan Holman signed letters of intent to play football at the University of Maine and the University of Connecticut.
Wednesday was the first day for high school seniors to sign a letter of intent in football and soccer. The NLI is a binding agreement between student-athletes and NCAA schools.
Fitzpatrick, a star running back who was a finalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy, said he considered eight schools but narrowed it to Maine and Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.
In the end, he liked everything about Orono, especially after his official visit.
“I’ve always thought about playing at Maine. I liked the coaching staff and the players,” said Fitzpatrick, who rushed for 2,071 yards and scored 27 touchdowns last fall.
Fitzpatrick said he would redshirt next fall. His older sisters, Shannon and Molly, also attend Maine.
Fitzpatrick is a two-time Maine Sunday Telegram all-state player. He was named the Maine Gatorade Football Player of the Year following last season.
“Joe is a guy whose stock went up tremendously on his visit,” said Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove.
“We were very impressed with him. He came up with his mom and dad and fit in really well with our guys. We’re looking for him to be a great running back for us. He’s a hard kid to tackle at times.”
The 6-foot-6, 225 pound Holman is projected to be a tight end at UConn.
“I’ll play wherever they need me. I’ll do whatever I can to help the team win,” said Holman, who also played defensive end at Cheverus.
“I visited (UConn) my junior year and just liked what I saw,” said Holman. “My goal has always been to play football in college at the highest level I could.”
Holman said he was offered a scholarship by the Huskies last spring. Wednesday, he made it official.
“I feel very privileged and honored to be here,” he said after signing.
Because Ivy League schools do not grant athletic scholarships, Thornton’s Barrett did not sign a letter of intent. Instead, he and his parents, Kevin and Lori Barrett, signed what is termed a “likely letter.” Barrett, who lives in York, has been told he likely will be admitted to Dartmouth.
Dartmouth’s veteran football coach Buddy Teevens offered Barrett a spot in his program in December.
“The way the (Dartmouth) coaches described it to me, I’ve been (approved) by admissions. They said ‘Listen, he’s in. We like him. He’s accepted,’ but the official acceptance doesn’t happen until April,” said Barrett, who carries a 3.94 grade-point average.
“I could have gone to a very good school but I don’t know if I would have gotten into Dartmouth without football,” Barrett said.
“It would have been a stretch. The Ivy League is a great league. Being able to play football and get a top-notch education at the same time is really a dream; a dream come true.”
In his first season as a tight end, Barrett caught 24 passes for 480 yards with seven touchdowns, and proved to be a force as a blocker.
Daigle had verbally committed to be a two-sport athlete at Merrimack before the soccer season.
“I’ve been doing both since like sixth grade so it’s definitely great to keep doing them in college,” she said. “I’m used to being motivated by school and sports together so I think with both sports it will keep me ready to go.”
Considered the fastest girls’ soccer player in Western Class A, Daigle used her speed, finishing ability and strong, accurate crosses from both sides of the field to score 24 goals with 14 assists.
She was named to the Sunday All-Telegram team, the SMAA all-conference first team and the SMAA All-Academic team.
In track, Daigle is the reigning indoor and outdoor Class A champion in the long jump. As a junior she also won the Class A 55-meter hurdles indoors and was second at the Class A outdoor meet in the 100 hurdles.
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