FEELING LOW: Princeton High football player Ben Danis carries the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, senior Danis had five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown in a losing cause as PHS fell 48-29 at Winslow, suffering its first defeat of the season. The Little Tigers, now 5-1, will look to get back on the winning track when they host WW/P-S on October 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Even though the Princeton High football team brought a 5-0 record into its clash at 1-3 Winslow last Friday evening, PHS was geared up for a dogfight.

“Despite the record, we knew they were a good program,” said PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher. “They had talented kids on both sides of the ball.”

That talent showed early on as Winslow took a 12-7 lead into intermission.

Having battled through plenty of adversity in its magical run this fall, PHS wasn’t fazed by the deficit. “The message at half was that we had put a lot of points on the board in the second half this year,” recalled Gallagher.

While the Little Tigers ended up putting up 21 points in the second half, it wasn’t enough as Winslow pulled away to a 48-29 win.

“We moved the ball up and down the field,” said Gallagher. “We had some turnovers that hurt us. We were right there, we had back-to-back touchdowns to make it 36-29. For the most part, it was a pretty even game. It got a little out of hand, they tacked on two TDs at the end.”

Junior tailback Rory Helstrom gave the Little Tigers some touchdowns and a large dose of character.

“Rory had a really good game, he showed his leadership at the end of the game,” said Gallagher of Helstrom, who rushed for 113 yards and made two touchdown receptions in the loss.

“We look to him as a playmaker. When the going got tough at the end, he stepped up and kept the guys going.”

The combination of junior quarterback Dave Beamer and senior running back Ben Danis helped keep the PHS offense going as Beamer passed for 208 yards and three touchdowns while Danis made a number of key catches.

“Dave made a lot of good plays but we need to help him manage the game better and make better choices,” said Gallagher.

“He has 11 TD passes and 11 interceptions so far, that is not where he wants to be. We really like him; he is still young. He has only had 11 or 12 starts. Ben Danis had a big game, he made five catches for 67 yards and a TD. He made a couple of big catches. On a 4th and 5 late, he had a 6-yard catch. It was good to get him involved.”

On defense, the Little Tigers got a number of good efforts. “Defensively, Sam Smallzman did a nice job and Tommy Moore had a good game,” said Gallagher.

“Jack Cook was back from a broken finger and did a good job at corner, shutting things down. He is 6’3, he is a tough guy to get around.”

While tasting defeat for the first time this fall was tough for PHS, Gallagher put things in perspective for his players afterward.

“The first thing I said afterward is the bottom line is that to be 5-0, after where we were last year (0-10), was a great accomplishment and no one can take that away from us. We were looking to go 6-0. People were saying if Princeton got two or three wins the whole season, that would be great.”

The Little Tigers are determined to get that sixth win this Saturday when they host local rival WW/P-S.

“They are from just across the tracks, so to speak, and there is a lot of familiarity,” said Gallagher.

“It is our Senior Day and we want to get back on track. We will be amped up. I hope it’s a good game, we will work hard this week to be ready.”