(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) RECORD PACE: Mike Shimkin gallops for extra yardage last fall for the Princeton Day School football team. Shimkin ended his PDS career as the program’s all-time leading rusher with more than 3,000 yards. Next week, Shimkin will be playing for the West squad for the 12th annual Sunshine Football Classic at the The College of New Jersey’s Lions Stadium. Shimkin is headed to Dickinson College this fall, where he plans to play both football and baseball.

After Record-Breaking Career for PDS Football, Shimkin Primed for Sunshine Classic, Dickinson

Bill Alden

Mike Shimkin ended his Princeton Day School football career as the program’s all-time leading rusher but he doesn’t see that as a big deal.

“That is not really important; it’s nice that we won the game when I broke it,” said Shimkin, referring to PDS’ 34-12 win at Red Lion Christian (Del.) last October during which he ran for 144 yards to give him 2,583 in his career.

“It’s really a testament to the whole senior class; if I didn’t have guys like Clint [O’Brien], Andrew [Ojeda], Patrick [Murphy], and Jake [Lipkin] there wouldn’t have been holes open for me.”

Other coaches, though, recognized that Shimkin’s skills had a lot to do with his record, naming him to the West squad for the 12th annual Sunshine Football Classic, which is being played on July 2 at the The College of New Jersey’s Lions Stadium.

When Shimkin joined the PDS team as a freshman in 2004, he certainly didn’t see himself as blazing a record-setting path.

“You never know what to expect; I wasn’t sure if I would be on JV or varsity,” recalled Shimkin, who finished with more than 3,000 yards rushing in his PDS career in passing the old mark of 2,490 yards set by Bill Martin in 1976.

“Coach [Bruce] Devlin thought I was a good fit at running back so I ended up splitting carries with Alex Kowalski on the varsity. The players were bigger but it really wasn’t that much different. The seniors really helped me; it’s always important to have senior leadership.”

That senior leadership played a big role in Shimkin’s sophomore year as PDS went 7-1, tying a program record for most wins in a season.

“That was the best blend of upperclassmen leaders and young talent,” said Shimkin.

“Clint, Andrew, and I did well. Kowalski and [David] Blitzer were great leaders. I think Blitzer had something like 120 tackles at linebacker.”

The Panthers, though, plummeted to a 1-6 mark the next season, hurt by a lack of veteran leaders.

“One reason we didn’t have a good season my junior year was that we had only one senior and a lot of freshmen,” said Shimkin, who struggled with injury that fall. “I was one of the captains; I could have done a better job of being a leader.”

Going into the 2007 season, Shimkin and his fellow seniors were determined to lead PDS back to its winning ways.

“We just really wanted to rebound; junior year was tough, we didn’t want to go to practice after a while,” said Shimkin.

“You have a good time by winning; we wanted to start off fresh. We came into this season wanting things to be different.”

With Shimkin keying the PDS ground attack, the Panthers achieved that goal as they posted a solid 6-3 record.

PDS ended things on a high note, topping Elkton (Md.) Christian Academy 27-8 in the Crusader Invitational bowl game.

“We don’t have playoffs in our league so it was good to have the bowl game,” said Shimkin. “It was nice to win something for the seniors.”

As he looks forward to the Sunshine Classic, Shimkin is happy to get to play with the best seniors in the area.

“It’s nice playing in that, you know you are playing with the top players in the area,” said Shimkin, who is headed to Dickinson College this fall where he plans to play both football and baseball.

“You are playing for your school one last time. It will help me to get into shape for college. Being able to play an extra game is great. It’s an opportunity to go against the best.”

Maybe the best part of the Sunshine Classic for Shimkin will be the chance to play one last time with O’Brien and Ojeda and for Devlin, who won’t be coaching at PDS next season.

“It’s great to be playing with Clint and Andrew again,” asserted Shimkin. “Coach has been great in both baseball and football. It will be fun.”

Shimkin is looking forward to having fun at Dickinson. “When I went there, it had a different feel, it felt like the right place for me,” said Shimkin, who also considered Gettysburg, Franklin and Marshall, Johns Hopkins, Trinity, and Tufts.

“Coach [Darwin] Breaux and the guys in the team were great. I also had a friend’s brother who played football there and he had a great experience.”

For Shimkin, having a great experience at PDS meant a lot more than breaking a rushing record.

“PDS is really tough academically, you can’t slack off,” said Shimkin.

“I structured my time more; I developed better study habits. It’s been good for me. I think it will really help me with college.”

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