DURHAM, New Hampshire -- Noah Robison had a hard time believing what he was seeing.
The University of New Hampshire football player from Derry, a transfer from Coastal Carolina University and in his first semester on campus, was with three teammates on a Friday night early in April, heading out Main Street in Durham to see some friends when they approached a couple of cars that had pulled to the side of the road.
"I was looking at it and it was weird," Robison said. "I saw people outside the car. As we got closer we saw it was a cop and she was doing a DWI test, I found out later. The guy turned around and punched her in the face. She kind of stumbled a little bit. She didn't fall to the ground. Then she turned and he took off."
Robison and his teammates had witnessed an attack on New Hampshire state trooper Michelle Montville by a driver she had stopped, given a field sobriety test to and determined was intoxicated.
The football players – Ismail Asongwed was driving and Quinlen Dean and Isiah Perkins were also in the car – turned around and hustled back to help.
"I didn't even believe what I saw at first," Robison said. "Did that really just happen? I saw him take off and she was running after him, but we could tell she was hurting. Immediately it was, 'we've got to turn around and see if she's all right and see if we can help her out.' By the time we turned around and got to her, he was already all the way in the woods. We asked if she was OK and if there was anything we could do. Since we were the only people around she said what we could do was write our statements on what we saw. It was crazy."
The players waited for responding officers to arrive and made their statements.
The perpetrator was apprehended late that Saturday morning after arranging to surrender through his attorney and was charged with felony escape, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and driving while intoxicated along with other charges, according to news media reports.
Word of the players' involvement in the incident took a while to come out.
UNH president Mark Huddleston knew of the assault on the trooper soon after it happened, but first heard of the players being there about a week later from UNH Chief of Police Paul Dean.
"I get a message from Chief Dean, saying that four of our athletes actually stopped their car and got out to help this trooper in distress," Huddleston said. "Fortunately for him they didn't catch him. He was apprehended by state troopers later. That's just a wonderful story."
Huddleston stopped by one of the team's early morning practices last week and took a couple of minutes to address the team and single out and express his appreciation to the four players.
"Our guys did the right things, made a great choice," said UNH head football coach Sean McDonnell. "Like I told the state police person that called me about it, it's what they learn on and off the field, not just here but from high school, and I think it's from their upbringing, their moms and dads. I think people taught them the right things. There was a police officer who was in harm's way and they did the right thing and stopped. It's a great thing."
One of the most compelling parts of an already impressive story to Chief Dean was that the story got to him late, too.
"You know what?" he said. "They didn't tell anybody. We learned this from the state police. We have such a great relationship with them. They called and said, 'We want you to know about this.' These people just did their job and went on their way. They weren't looking for credit. They weren't looking for any type of praise. They just went and did it. That's an example. That's what coach Mac puts out every single day over there."
Dean was happy the story eventually got out.
"It should be known," he said. "I think people should recognize that. As the chief of police for the University of New Hampshire, I know all too well that our athletes are seen as rock stars. If an athlete makes even the smallest error people tend to want to complain about it. They should be hearing the countless good things that our athletes do. This is just one example that we know of. I think there's more we don't know of that our athletes do every single day to show their leadership and being part of a community."
Director of athletics Marty Scarano feels the same way.
"All too often intercollegiate athletics is identified with negative stories," he said. "Those of us who work with these young people know a vast majority are great representatives of their schools. These young men acted unselfishly and did what we hope everyone would do given that situation. We are very proud of them."
The players were not sure what they were getting into when they turned around and went back to help.
"We don't know and there's the whole point," Dean said. "Maybe the guy would have come back. Maybe he would have come back to do more damage. Who knows? All I know is four football players took it upon themselves. That leadership moment. That moment when nobody watches. . . . They weren't successful in getting the young man, but the fact that the football players stopped, engaged and were ready to help, is exactly what we want from our students. That's what we try to tell people on the outside throughout the state that UNH students are some of the top students in the country. This is a prime example of what it takes to be a Wildcat and the leadership that Marty Scarano and football coach Sean McDonnell have with students."
