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Football closes season with game against Dartmouth

After a heartbreaking loss to Yale, the Tigers, now 2-4 in the Ivy League (5-4 overall) will look to close out their season on a winning note when they take on Dartmouth this coming Saturday.

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Princeton and Yale were neck and neck throughout their contest, with the Tigers even holding a 28-24 lead at the end of the third quarter. However, the Bulldog offense exploded in the closing minutes of the game, and two interceptions by junior quarterback Chad Kanoff sealed a 35-28 loss for Tigers.

This week, Princeton faces perhaps its most formidable opponent yet. The Big Green (8-1, 5-1 Ivy League) has stormed through in-conference play, with its only loss a 14-13 setback against powerhouse Harvard. In fact, given Harvard’s recent loss to Penn, Dartmouth could be playing for the Ivy League championship in this week’s game. Princeton coach Bob Surace ’90 attributed the Big Green’s success to their experience and depth on both ends of the field.

“They’re a terrific team and, you know, from start to finish have probably played better than any other team in our league in terms of consistency,” Coach Surace said. “They’re very balanced; I think they have 16 senior starters, most of whom have started for three years or more, which is very rare. Their quarterback [Dalyn Williams] was runner-up for Offensive Player of the Year last year; he’s been a four-year starter and he’s one of the best players historically to play that position in our league. They’re very deep, they’ve got wide receivers Victor Williams and McManus, both get the ball and score downfield in a hurry. They’ll play three running backs; all three are very successful runners, both inside and outside. Then, defensively, just about every defensive starter is a senior or a junior who started in the past. They are just tremendous from top to bottom.”

Surace predicted a grueling matchup and highlighted control and consistency as keys for the Tigers’ success.

“Offensively, we’re going to have to grind it out,” he noted. “They are not a team that gives up big plays. We’re going to have to convert third downs — the key is to be in as many third-and-three or fours, third and shorts, as opposed to being in third and long, because they rush the passer exceptionally well. So grinding out yards on first and second downs is going to be really huge for our offense.”

“Defensively, it’s going to be about not giving them the one play score,” he continued. “We got to do a great job, because their quarterback Williams is an exceptional deep ball thrower. And then we’ve got to play our responsibilities, because if you’re just playing coverage they will grind out six, seven and eight yard gains consistently. So that’ll be a big factor, that we play our responsibilities very well.”

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A win would allow Princeton to snap a two-game losing streak in the Ivy League and end the Tigers’ season on a high note. Dartmouth has come out on top in the past five meetings between the two teams.

However, Surace welcomed the contest, noting that this final matchup would bring out the best in his team.

“Week in, week out, you have different challenges, and [Dartmouth] presents most of them because they’re such a well-rounded team from top to bottom,” he stated. “Certainly a very talented team, a very well-coached team. I told the guys on Sunday that we have to be 1 or 2 percent better, all of us — me included. Be one or two percent better. You know, if we go out there out of control and we have to be 25 percent better, then that’s unrealistic. But everybody has to be just a little bit more refined … a little more consistent, against these teams and against this team especially. Because I can say (from what I’ve seen) that this is the best team we’ll play all year.”

Kanoff agreed, viewing the contest as a tough but rewarding closer to the season.

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“[Dartmouth is] a very good team. We haven’t beat them in awhile,” he observed. “But it’s a challenge that we get to face — it’s an awesome opportunity — to play a really great football game.”