Football encouraged by promising campaign despite 3-7 record

With the clock winding down on the season and Dartmouth about to kneel down on the game, Mike Higgins refused to give up. In a move that typified both the dedication his class has shown in the past four years and the attitude instilled by the new coaching staff, the senior captain and linebacker vaulted over the Big Green line in an attempt to cause a fumble on the game's final play.

When Higgins landed in the backfield, though, the scoreboard showed the game had ended in Dartmouth's favor. It signaled the end of a season of transition and a leap towards one of great promise.

"This year's 3-7 season was a complete turnaround from last year's 3-7 season — which was at its best dismal," senior offensive lineman Ross Tucker said. "There's a different aura around the team right now."

The new feeling surrounding the team is in no small way due to the efforts of first-year head coach Roger Hughes. Hughes and his staff have worked tirelessly to install a new system on the field and a new state of mind off it. Though wins were as infrequent as they were last year, the team remains in good spirits.

"Despite the record, we have a lot of positive feeling," junior linebacker Bob Farrell said. "We know the program is on the rise."

Injury plagued

Unlike in years past, the 2000 Tigers were able to win close games — including an overtime win over Columbia and a thrilling upset of Yale. The final 3-7 record was more a sign of the numerous injuries the star-crossed Tigers suffered than their overall quality of play.

Indeed, Hughes has brought sweeping change to the program, but part of the success this year is due to a talented group of seniors who have persevered during their time at Princeton.

Senior offensive tackle Dennis Norman stumbled out of the blocks in his opening season with the Tigers when he broke his leg early in the fall of freshman year. Undeterred, Norman recovered and made up for his missed first season by earning first-team All-Ivy accolades in the subsequent three years, becoming only the fourth Princeton football player to ever do so.

Princeton's only other 2000 first-team All-Ivy recipient began his career on the other side of the ball. Marty Cheatham, who was a unanimous first-team selection at fullback, started his playing days as a free safety.

Cheatham finished his senior season with 38 receptions, including a remarkable 19 in his last two games. The deceptively quick fullback was instrumental in the Tigers' comeback at the Yale Bowl on Nov. 11, when he hauled in 11 passes for 164 yards, including a 44-yard gain on the final drive that proved instrumental in the comeback victory.

Senior defensive end Nathan Podsakoff, Higgins, junior linebacker Chris Roser-Jones and Tucker each were placed on the All-Ivy second team. Junior Taylor Northrop earned the unique distinction of having two spots on the second-team roster — as the league's coaches lauded him for both his kicking and punting. Sophomore defensive back Kevin Kongslie and senior offensive lineman John Raveche were both honorable mention selections.

At the team's season-closing banquet, Farrell was announced as next year's captain. In addition, Higgins and Norman were awarded the Poe-Kazmaier Trophy for being the team's most valuable players.

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When the seniors were freshmen, they were the vagrants of the league, wandering from stadium to stadium without a true place to call their own. But with a new leader in Hughes, a beautiful three-year-old facility and a worthy captain, Princeton football is looking forward to the future.