Dawson Shoulders Burden In Season Opener

New quarterback? No problem.

Another quarterback? Doesn’t matter.

For Clifton Dawson, it was just another day at the office.

The senior running back racked up 170 rushing yards on a day when Harvard gave a pair of quarterbacks the first significant game action of their careers.

Dawson had just nine yards on three carries in the first quarter with junior Chris Pizzotti under center and Harvard’s pass-first offense working at full speed. But Pizzotti’s efficient 10-for-13, 126-yard debut was spoiled early in the second quarter when he went down with a knee injury.

The Crimson then turned to untested sophomore Jeff Witt to direct the attack, and asked Dawson to assume a more prominent role. While Pizzotti attempted 13 passes in slightly more than a quarter, Witt would attempt 13 over the remaining three.

Dawson responded to the increased workload with 37 rushing yards and a touchdown on the team’s next offensive possession, a 62-yard drive that gave Harvard the lead.

The next two drives followed a similar script: plenty of Dawson and plenty of success. A missed field goal and another Dawson touchdown were the end results, and the team went into locker rooms at halftime up 17-7 on the strength of Dawson’s 73 first-half yards, 64 of them coming on ten second-quarter carries.

But perhaps his finest run was his third and final touchdown scamper of the afternoon, a sprint around the right end on fourth-and-one from the 28-yard line that put Harvard up 31-7 and ended all thoughts of a Holy Cross comeback.

“It was supposed to be more of an inside run,” Dawson said. “But I figured I would get the handoff and just take it [outside], and at the very least get the first down.”

Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore was nothing short of effusive in his praise for Dawson before and after the game, saying in the days leading up to the contest that he would need to put an extra man on the field to contain Dawson. Instead, Gilmore’s Crusaders went the opposite way, having just ten men on the field for Dawson’s fourth-and-one touchdown run.

“He’s a great runner, he’s got great vision, he can break tackles,” Gilmore said.

“A lot of times you get a kid who is that skilled and they’re not that tough or they’re not a physical blocker,” he added. “But in [Dawson’s] case, he is.”

Harvard head coach Tim Murphy has been insistent that his offense will stick with its pass-first scheme. Last season, Dawson was forced into more carries when several receivers were sidelined with injuries. While he had a successful season, Dawson was also hampered by nagging injuries that kept him out of practice and reduced his effectiveness.

In 2006, it appears that the offense will once again lean on Dawson for the first few games of the year until Witt finds his footing.

Dawson has victimized Holy Cross several times in the past, amassing 583 yards and eight touchdowns in four career games against the Patriot League foe. The Crusaders were also the victim of Dawson’s 21st game of 100 yards or more in only 30 career games. He also ranks second among active players in Division I-AA in career rushing yards per game .

For his efforts, Dawson was named Ivy League co-offensive player of the week with Penn running back Joe Sandberg. Just another day at the office for a workhorse who has been carrying the load for three excellent seasons.