Atkinson rushes for 233 yards in 38-30 win over Dartmouth
By: Bob Nuse
Based on what had happened the previous 10 quarters, there was little reason for the Princeton University coaching staff to come into the locker room at halftime Saturday afternoon with smiles on their faces.
After losing their two previous games, the Tigers found themselves trailing Dartmouth, 16-3, in their season finale. Yet, even with a possible season-ending three-game losing streak staring them in the face, the Tiger coaches were indeed smiling.
"That’s true," Princeton coach Roger Hughes said. "I got the coaches together on the headsets before heading in at halftime and told them to be positive. We could do what we wanted; we just had to take advantage of it. We made the necessary adjustments and came out and did the rest. We told them to take it one point at a time and one quarter at a time. If they kept believing in themselves, we could get it done."
Obviously, Hughes and his fellow coaches got their message across at halftime. Princeton scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions of the second half and turned that 16-3 deficit into a season-ending 38-30 win.
With the win, the Tigers doubled their win total from a year ago from three to six. Princeton also posted the school’s first overall winning record since 1997. The Tigers finished the season with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-3 mark in the Ivy League, earning them a tie for third place with Yale.
"It was huge for the program to get the six wins," said senior tailback Cameron Atkinson, who rushed for three touchdowns and a career best 233 yards. "Last year we lost six games and this year we won six games, so that’s a great improvement. Of course, we were picked to finish second in the Ivy League and we thought we could win the league, so not doing that is disappointing.
"Coming out of this season with a winning record was something the seniors could leave to the rest of the team."
Atkinson had a lot to do with making sure that happened. He scored three touchdowns in a game for the second time this year. And his 233 yards was the most in a game for a Tiger since the days of Keith Elias.
"I’ll remember this game for the rest of my life," said Atkinson, who two touchdown runs of over 60 yards. "The most important thing was to get the win. For a running back to be able to run for that many yards, everything has to be clicking with the line and the coaches."
For most of the first half, nothing seemed to be clicking for the Tigers. While their offense sputtered and made mistakes, the Big Green put 16 points on the scoreboard and grabbed a 16-3 halftime advantage. But the second half was all Princeton, with Atkinson doing most of the damage.
The Tigers got within 16-10 when sophomore quarterback Matt Verbit connected with Randy Bly for a 5-yard touchdown pass. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Atkinson scored on a 66-yard run and the extra point gave the Tigers a 17-16 lead. Dartmouth came back and scored a touchdown and two-point conversion less than four minutes later, but that would be the Big Green’s final chance to celebrate.
Atkinson scored on the second play of the Tigers’ next drive to tie the score at 24-24. Dartmouth then fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, and five plays later Brandon Benson scored on a 1-yard run to give the Tigers a 31-24 lead.
On Dartmouth’s next possession, Kevin Kongslie intercepted a pass to give the ball back to the Tigers. Atkinson then capped off a seven-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers their fourth touchdown of the fourth quarter and a 38-24 lead. Dartmouth would score a touchdown with 1:24 left to get within 38-30. But when the Tigers recovered the onside kick, all that was left was to run out the clock.
The win allowed the senior class, the last recruited by the former Princeton staff, to leave with a win and a winning season.
"The seniors have been great leaders and it’s important to them to establish a legacy," Hughes said. "What I admire most about them is they never questioned what we were doing. They just wanted to do what we needed them to do. That goes not just for the guys who were starters and played a lot, but also the guys who were role players or who were part of the scout team. They all did their part."
So, while all involved had hoped to challenge for an Ivy title, finishing with a 6-4 season isn’t all that bad.
"As coaches, you always say would have, could have, should have," Hughes said. "Three of our four losses were by a touchdown or less. So you can say what if? But you also look and see the program won twice as many games as the year before. So we accomplished a lot. I think once you’re away from the season a little bit and your perspective comes back, you can appreciate that a little more."
Even if the season did fall short of an Ivy title, the Tigers did finish on a positive note. And nobody finished more positively than Atkinson, whose 233 yards gave him 1,028 for the season and 2,449 for his career, which moved him into third place on the school’s all-time rushing list, trailing only Keith Elias and Judd Garrett.