Class of 2008 takes final bow

When the football team lines up against Dartmouth tomorrow in Hanover, N.H., it will be the last game for the Class of 2008, a group of players who have contributed mightily to the reestablishment of Princeton (3-6 overall, 2-4 Ivy League) as one of the Ivy League's premier football programs. For the Big Green (3-6, 3-3), it will be a chance to play against an old coach who has taken his new program to the top.

When this year's graduating seniors matriculated at the University in fall 2004, even the most optimistic Tigers could not have foreseen the impact they would have on the program. The team's last championship season — in 1995, five years before current head coach Roger Hughes left Dartmouth for Princeton — was but a distant memory. Four years later, the Class of 2008 will leave with at least a 60 percent winning percentage for its four years in the program.

"They've had a tremendous impact," Hughes said. "You've got to look at their whole body of work."

Starting with the 2004 season, Princeton steadily climbed in the Ivy League standings. From a 5-5 finish in 2004, the Tigers improved to 7-3 the next season. Last year, Princeton went 9-1, and its 6-1 conference record secured the Tigers a share of the Ivy League championship.

Difficult as it is to believe, offensive standouts such as senior wide receiver Brendan Circle and senior running back Rob Toresco did not play in their first season. Circle now stands sixth on Princeton's all-time receptions list, while Toresco's 96 catches are the secondmost for a running back in school history.

Circle's status is uncertain for tomorrow's game due to an injury that also kept him out of the Tigers' 27-6 loss to Yale (9-0, 6-0) last week. Also dealing with injuries are two of Circle's fellow wideouts, junior Will Thanheiser and sophomore Jeb Heavenrich. Princeton's offense, which has failed to score a touchdown the past two weeks, can hardly afford to lose several key cogs on offense.

On the other hand, the team may not need its full complement of players to run up the score against the Big Green. Dartmouth cedes nearly 37 points a game with the most porous defense in the Ivy League. Hughes, however, does not want to see the game devolve into a shootout.

"Could it turn into a track meet?" Hughes said. "I hope it's not."

On offense, Hughes stressed the fact that the Tigers have racked up good yardage — including nearly 400 yards of offense against the Bulldogs last weekend — but failed to capitalize of late in the redzone. In the Yale game, for instance, two fumbles on the two-yard line cut short two promising Princeton drives in the first half.

"I think we have the ability to move the ball," Hughes said. "We've just got to make sure that we avoid the turnover. When you're inside the five-yard line, you've got to come out with touchdowns."

On defense, the team will need to stuff the run and hold down a Big Green offense that puts up 27 points per game. Dartmouth tailback Milan Williams is third in the Ivy League with 572 rushing yards, while quarterback Tom Bennewitz is second in the league with 13 touchdown passes.

"You hope your defense continues to stop the run and not give up the big play," Hughes said.

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The Tiger front seven are coming off a hard-fought game against the Bulldogs. Yale's star tailback, Mike McLeod, rushed for an average of only three yards per carry, well below his season average. McLeod, however, got the ball 36 times and managed to pile up 114 yards.

The constant wear inflicted by the Bulldog ground game ultimately took its toll, as Yale quarterback Matt Polhemus connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Denny-Brown early in the second half.

Those sorts of plays are precisely the kind that Princeton must avoid giving up against Dartmouth. Key to this effort will be two other senior leaders, linebacker Tim Boardman and safety Kevin Kelleher.

Boardman, who leads the team with 79 tackles, will head the effort to contain Williams' shifty running ability. Kelleher, meanwhile, will need to play at the top of his game to adequately contain the Big Green passing attack.

"Our kids are looking for an opportunity to finish our season off the right way," Hughes said.

For the Class of 2008, that comment is doubly true. In their last game, the Tiger seniors will be looking for a win to cap off not only their challenging 2007 season, but also their incredible Princeton careers.