Scarborough's Dawson makes NFL pre-season debut
Runs for seven yards rushing, catches 14-yard pass for Indianapolis Colts
Fresh off four seasons with Harvard University where he set just about every rushing record in the prestigious Ivy League, Clifton Dawson's first taste of NFL game action came in the Indianapolis Colts' first pre-season game on Thursday night against the host Dallas Cowboys, in a game that was shown nationally throughout the U.S. on Fox TV.
With starting QB Preston Manning and the rest of the regulars on the bench, the longtime Scarborough native, who split his high school years between Birchmount Park and West Hill and who played for the Scarborough-based Toronto Thunder "since I was eight or nine years old", got into the game statistics on the first play from scrimmage in the second half at the Indianapolis 22-yard line
... C.Dawson up the middle to IND 27 for 5 yards.
A few minutes later, on another Colts drive he was handed the ball on second down and it was ...
... C.Dawson right end to IND 30 for 2 yards.
The next carry came with just more than five minutes left in the third quarter on second down ...
... C.Dawson up the middle to IND 26 for no gain.
He wouldn't carry the ball again, but his biggest play of the game was yet to come, in the Colts' final drive of the fourth quarter (which would ultimately lead to the Colts only touchdown of the game)...
... pass to C.Dawson to DAL 30 for 14 yards
The final line for Dawson was three carries for seven yards, one reception for 14 yards.
The final line for the defending Super Bowl champion Colts: a 23-10 loss.
Dawson, whose family still lives in Scarborough, went to elementary school at Morrish Public School in the Ellesmere and Meadowvale roads area.
Dawson was drafted last year by his hometown Toronto Argos but, understandably, said he is hoping not to come "home" any time soon.
In a previous interview prior to training camp, he told The Scarborough Mirror he's not looking beyond trying to make the defending Super Bowl champion Colts.
"Right now I'm thinking only Colts, I'm thinking only NFL."
And while his football exploits have generated the headlines, Dawson said he's just as proud - if not more - of his Harvard education.
"It's been a very difficult and enjoyable four years. A lot of studying, a lot of hard work. That's by far the thing I'm most proud of."
Ironically, his Harvard education allows him to concentrate 100 per cent on football, knowing he's got something to fall back on, perhaps even grad school.
"Right now I'm going to play football for the foreseeable future. If that doesn't work out, I'll still be extremely fortunate because I'll have a good degree and a lot of options."
Dawson departs Harvard as the Ivy League's all-time rushing leader, a mark that had held up since 1971 until Dawson broke it this past season. He also holds Ivy League marks for rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, points and all-purpose yards.
