(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: HIGHER LEVEL: Princeton Day School senior star quarterback Clint O’Brien lofts a pass over defenders in recent action. Last Friday, O’Brien ran for 126 yards and a touchdown and passed for another score as the Panthers beat Elkton (Md.) Christian Academy 27-8. The win left PDS with a final record of 6-3.

PDS Football Tops Elkton Christian in Second Chance for Happy Ending

Bill Alden

It’s not often that a team gets a second chance to have a happy ending but that’s what happened for the Princeton Day School football squad this fall.

On November 3, PDS dropped a tough 28-14 decision at Tower Hill in what had been the team’s originally scheduled season finale.

But days before the game, PDS have been invited to play on November 9 in the Crusader Invitational bowl game at Elkton (Md.) Christian Academy.

The Panthers accepted the bid and made the most of the opportunity.

PDS jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter as senior star Mike Shimkin returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown and then senior quarterback Clint O’Brien ran 50 yards for a score.

“Jeff Kowalski made a picture-perfect tackle and the ball bounced up and Shimkin took it and went all the way,” said PDS head coach Bruce Devlin, recalling his team’s hot start. “Then Clint had one of his 50-yard runs.”

With the Panthers clinging to a 12-8 lead in the fourth quarter, O’Brien, Shimkin and classmate Andrew Ojeda stepped up again to ensure that PDS would end the fall on a high note.

“We drove the ball 62 yards and had fourth and goal on the nine,” said Devlin.

“We were up and the field was sloppy so we decided to go for it. Clint threw a perfect touch pass to Andrew Ojeda in the corner of the end zone and he caught it. We got a fumble after that and Mike just ran it down their throat and we got another touchdown.”

The 27-8 victory left PDS with a 6-3 record, a fine turnaround from the 1-6 season the team suffered through in 2006.

Devlin credited improved play in the trenches with keying the team’s turnaround.

“We knew coming into the season that the offensive and defensive lines had to be better,” said Devlin.

“They had gotten experience last year and they were bigger and stronger. Even if you have playmakers, you need to have a good line. We’re only losing Brian Fishbein and Patrick Murphy from the lines so I feel good about that.”

Devlin doesn’t feel so good when he thinks about losing playmakers O’Brien and Shimkin.

The duo sparkled in their finale as O’Brien rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown and threw for another score while Shimkin rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown.

“They are going to be hard to replace,” said Devlin, who has now finished five years at the helm of the Panther program.

“Clint makes the ship go, he’s the leader. Other coaches have told me after every game that No. 8 kills you. He runs people over, he’s quarterback but he runs like a fullback. He’s improved his throwing; we spread everybody out and that allows him to make plays. Mike is a little guy but he runs hard. I think he ended up with more than 3,000 yards rushing in his career which is just terrific.”

It was a terrific experience for Devlin and his assistants to get to work with their core of seniors. “We had a lot of fun as a coaching staff,” asserted Devlin.

“It was great to see the seniors smiling at the end of the season. They got to bring a trophy home which is great. It brought a tear to my eye. It’s sad to see them go, not from the perspective of losing football players but because they are such great boys.”

A group of boys that got a happy ending that they richly deserved.

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