.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Senior Saturday
November 21, 2002 | Football
Nov. 21, 2002
This is always an emotional setting, moreso than the typical Saturday afternoon. Sure, it is always meaningful when a team suits up together and takes the field, but when you know that part of the family is doing it for the final time, it just takes on more significance.
This will be the conclusion of a four-year journey for members of the Class of 2003. While they don't play today for a league championship, don't think that these seniors will go through the motions this afternoon. Not only do they want to leave Princeton Stadium for the final time as victors, but also they know they are one solid effort away from ending their careers with a winning record.
And then there are the men who will be back at Old Nassau next season. A sizable group will start today, and there are plenty more who will be working hard to earn playing time in 2003. Will a victory today impact what happens next season? Maybe, and maybe not, but to a man, the members of this team credit the two-game winning streak that ended last season as a major part of the improvement this season.
Two teams will battle today, with each hoping to start the offseason with momentum and send their respective seniors off in the proper way.
Only one can succeed.
Princeton-Dartmouth Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Facts:
The Date Nov. 23, 2002
The Kickoff 1:06 p.m.
The Site Princeton Stadium * Princeton, N.J.
The Series Dartmouth leads 41-36-3
Last Year Princeton defeated Dartmouth 35-14
Last Week Yale defeated Princeton 7-3; Brown defeated Dartmouth 21-18
The Coaches P: Roger Hughes (third season, 11-17); D: John Lyons (11th season, 53-54-1)
TV/Radio The game can be seen live on the YES Network, which is also available on DirecTV, and RCN, and it can be heard live on WBUD AM 1260 and on the Princeton athletics web site.
Game Notes
That Winning Feeling - With a win today, Princeton would earn its first overall winning record since 1997, its first winning record in the Ivy League since 1998 and its first winning record at Princeton Stadium since its debut season of 1998.
Home Improvement - A win would also give Princeton a three-win improvement from last season. It would be only the fourth improvement of at least three wins since 1980.
Elite Company - Roger Hughes is trying to become the fourth coach in Princeton history to have both a three-win improvement from his first season to his third season and to end his third season with a winning record. The three other coaches, Bill Roper (1906-1911; 1919-1930), Charlie Caldwell (1945-1956) and Frank Navarro (1978-1984), combined for a career record of 188-93-22 (.657).
Familiar Faces - Before coming to Princeton, Roger Hughes was the offensive coordinator at Dartmouth for eight seasons. Current Princeton offensive coordinator Dave Rackovan was also at Dartmouth for eight seasons, where he coached the running backs and served as the special teams coordinator.
Sour Taste - Princeton has ended its season against Dartmouth every year since 1990. In those games, Princeton is 3-8-1. Under Roger Hughes, the Tigers have split a pair of meetings, including a 35-14 win in Hanover, N.H., last year.
Movin' On Up - Senior tailback Cameron Atkinson needs 25 yards to move into fourth place on the all-time Princeton rushing list, and he needs 146 yards to move into third place. The two players he would pass are, in order, Walt Snickenberger '75 and Hank Bjorklund '72.
More Moves - Cameron Atkinson needs 14 all-purpose yards to move past Lawrence Van Pelt and into third place on the all-time all-purpose yards list at Princeton.
Atkins(on) Diet - Princeton is 5-0 this season when Cameron Atkinson rushes for more than 100 yards and 0-4 when he doesn't.
A Day At The Veach - Jon Veach rushed for 108 yards and a TD in last year's 35-14 victory over Dartmouth. It was his first career 100-yard game.
Pick Of The Litter - Three returning players on the Princeton defense accounted for four interceptions in last year's win over Dartmouth. Strong safety Kevin Kongslie had two, while linebacker Drew Babinecz and cornerback Jay McCareins had one apiece.
G.I. Joe - No Princeton defensive player had more than four sacks last season, but junior defensive end Joe Weiss has already doubled that total with eight sacks this season. He is among the Ivy League leaders in both sacks and tackles for loss (17 for 62 yards).
Zak Attack - Linebacker Zak Keasey, who led Princeton with 71 tackles last season and had a team-best 10 tackles against Dartmouth in the 2001 season finale, has already surpassed his career best with 77 tackles this season.
Block Party - Freshman Abi Fadeyi record Princeton's first blocked punt of the season when he broke free up the middle last week against Yale and blocked Ryan Allen's punt. It was Princeton's first blocked punt since Rocky Fittizzi blocked one against Columbia in 1998.
Not Bad, For Starters - Princeton has started the same 11 defensive players each game this season. It has used four different offensive starting lineups over the last five games.
Glancing Ahead - Of the 22 offensive and defensive starters from last week's game at Yale, 14 will return next season. Eight of the starters are from the defensive side of the ball, including three players (CB Jay McCareins, CB Blake Perry and DE Joe Weiss) who have earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Quarterly Report - Under head coach Roger Hughes, Princeton has scored at least one touchdown in every quarter it has played against Dartmouth over the last two seasons.
A Night At The Opara - Chisom Opara will end his stellar career at Princeton third on the all-time receiving list. He caught his 150th pass last weekend against Yale.
Moving Targets - A pair of underclassmen will be prime targets in the Princeton offense, both today and next season. Sophomore B.J. Szymanski has had three 100-yard game seasons this year, including last weekend at Yale, and junior Blair Morrison has caught a touchdown pass in two of the last three games.
First And Goal - Sophomore Branden Benson scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter against Penn two weeks ago. Benson and Jon Veach will serve as the focal players for the Princeton rushing attack next season.
I'm Honored - Cameron Atkinson is one of 14 members of the 2002 National Scholar-Athlete Class. He is one of three Division I-AA members of the class and the lone Ivy League representative. Atkinson, a chemistry major, will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be honored at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Dec. 8 when the 2002 Hall of Fame class is inducted.
More Honors - Cameron Atkinson and George Pilcher were both named to the Academic All-District Team.
Crystal Ball - Princeton will play five home games next season, beginning Sept. 20 against Lehigh. Princeton will also host Columbia (Oct. 4), Colgate (Oct. 11), Cornell (Nov. 1) and Yale (Nov. 15).
Last Year
Princeton 35, Dartmouth 14
Princeton 35, Dartmouth 14
Hanover, N.H. - Princeton football finished the 2001 season on a high note, ripping Dartmouth 35-14 in front of 2,417 at Memorial Field. It was Roger Hughes' first win over the team he spent eight seasons with as offensive coordinator.
It was the corps of underclassmen who sparked the win over Dartmouth. The key men were quarterback David Splithoff, who completed 16 of 28 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver Chisom Opara, who caught the two touchdowns among his nine catches for 149 yards.
Splithoff hooked up with Opara for TDs of 10 and 51 yards, giving the sophomore quarterback 12 career touchdown passes.
Princeton led 14-0 after two Cameron Atkinson touchdown runs in the first 20 minutes, but Dartmouth cut the lead in half with a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter.
Atkinson would miss the rest of the game after an injury on the second half kickoff, but freshman Jon Veach stepped in to carry 24 times for 108 yards and a one-yard touchdown run to finish the first possession of the third quarter.
Princeton then broke the game wide open on the two Splithoff-to-Opara touchdown passes, which came 3:08 apart early in the fourth quarter.
Princeton finished the game with 516 yards of offense.
Zak Keasey led Princeton with 10 tackles. Kevin Kongslie had two interceptions, while Jay McCareins and Drew Babinecz had an interception each.
Last Week
Yale 7, Princeton 3
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Ron Benigno caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 4:42 remaining in regulation for Yale's only score, but it was enough to lead the Bulldogs to a 7-3 win over Princeton.
The Tigers, who have utilized big plays offensively throughout the season, were held to a trio of plays that gained more than 20 yards. The first was a 43-yard pass from Matt Verbit to B.J. Szymanski, who broke free down the right sidelines in the first quarter. His efforts helped Princeton to the three-yard line, where Derek Javarone booted a 20-yard field goal.
That would be all the scoring for the Tigers, but their defense seemed like it would hold off Yale on a cold, rainy afternoon. An interception by Drew Babinecz and a blocked punt by Abi Fadeyi aided the cause, but Yale finally sustained an 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter and capitalized on a fade pass into the right corner of the end zone.
Cameron Atkinson nearly gave Princeton the lead back, but was tackled by the last man on a 54-yard pass. Yale would stop the Tigers from there.
Brown 21, Dartmouth 18
HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth wide receiver Jay Barnard caught a pair of touchdown passes, but Brown took a 21-18 decision in an Ivy League football game at Memorial Field.
Brown took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Joe Rackley scored on a 10-yard touchdown run and wide receiver Chas Gessner snagged a two-yard pass.
Dartmouth answered in the second. Junior fullback Scott Wedum grabbed a four-yard scoring pass from senior QB Brian Mann, but Tyler Lavin's PAT was wide.
With 15 seconds left until halftime, Barnard caught a 10-yarder from Mann, but the two-point try failed.
Brown built a 21-12 advantage midway through the third quarter when quarterback Kyle Slager scored on a one-yard keeper. With 8:15 left in the fourth, Barnard and Mann connected on an eight-yard hook-up, but Lavin's extra-point attempt was again wide, leaving the score at 21-18.