LOCKING HORNS: Princeton High star lineman Noah Ziegler, left, battles a Hightstown blocker last Friday night. Senior tri-captain Ziegler starred at defensive end and offensive tackle in a losing cause as PHS fell 35-21 to the visiting Rams under the lights at Harris Field. The Little Tigers, now 1-2, play at Lawrence on October 3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As a three-year starter for the Princeton High football team, senior lineman Noah Ziegler strives to set a daily tone for the squad.

“I have a lot of urgency, I am ready to get up and go in practice,” said tri-captain Ziegler, who starts at offensive tackle and defensive end.

“I try to be the first one out on the field after school. I try to keep the guys together, I try to keep them pumped up, happy, and intense.”

Entering its Homecoming clash last Friday night against Hightstown, Ziegler was confident that the team’s work over the week would pay off against the Rams.

“We had a decent week of practice this week and I thought we were going to come out and put up points right away,” said Ziegler. “We didn’t but we were moving the ball.”

PHS took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a six-yard touchdown run by Rory Helstrom. After Hightstown knotted the game at 7-7, Helstrom found the end zone again, scampering 11 yards for a TD to give the little Tigers a 14-7 lead with 2:10 left in the half.

Then came what turned out to be a pivotal sequence in the game as a PHS drive deep into Hightstown territory ended with an interception. In the waning moments of the second quarter, the Rams hit a long pass to advance to the PHS 35. On the last play of the half, Hightstown scored on a 35-yard TD pass to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.

The Rams increased their lead to 28-14 early in the third quarter. PHS, though, kept fighting and narrowed the gap to 28-21 on an 11-yard scoring strike from Dave Beamer to Jakob Green.

“I definitely did think we were going to have a rally, we have a really good team right here,” said Ziegler, who had helped key a 34-27 comeback win at Ewing on September 18.

But the Rams responded by marching 80 yards for a score with 2:25 left in regulation to seal a 35-21 win.

While disappointed by the result, which dropped PHS to 1-2, Ziegler believes the Little Tigers are primed to get back into the victory column.

“I feel like we are right there, we are ready for another win,” said Ziegler. “We are ready to go up against the next opponent. We get tomorrow off and Sunday off, I am going to tell the guys that you shouldn’t take it off. Rest, relax but watch film, you have to get better every day.”

Ziegler acknowledges that PHS has to get better on both sides of the ball to get on the right track. “Last week (the win over Ewing) was a big step forward, we changed up our line actually,” said Ziegler.

“We moved a couple of guys besides myself; I stayed in my position, I have been starting left tackle for three years. We are definitely making progress. This week, we did well on offense but we have to work on defense.”

PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher acknowledged that Hightstown quarterback Ryan Conlon caused a lot of problems for the Little Tiger defense as he hit on 19-of-23 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns.

“We couldn’t stop their QB, he is a good quality player,” said Gallagher. “He was throwing the ball nice, he was running the ball nice. He was definitely a lot better than he was last year. He was hitting the mark; they had some well designed screens that they ran. Those guys run hard. They got the ball and moved down the field on us.”

While the PHS offense had some nice moments, it misfired at critical times.

“We moved the ball but we didn’t capitalize on a few things,” lamented Gallagher, who got 143 yards rushing from senior running back Helstrom while senior quarterback Dave Beamer completed 17-of-28 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

“Early in the game we had a few opportunities to punch it in. We fumbled the ball on our first drive. We have done that before and that puts you behind the 8-ball and you start playing catch up.”

In Gallagher’s view, the Little Tigers need to focus on getting better starts.

“We have got to get out to a lead early, we have to stop playing catch up,” said Gallagher. “If we get out ahead early, I think we will be in much better shape and put the other team on the defensive. We need to put the pressure on those guys and let them play catch up. You make mistakes when you are trying to catch up. That is how we cause turnovers and we haven’t gotten many turnovers. We have gotten close but we have to find a way to get some turnovers.”

Gallagher likes the play he is getting for Ziegler all over the field. “Noah is just doing a really great job, we are glad that he is a captain,” said Gallagher.

“He is acting like a captain. He is going both ways, he is non-stop. He is on a lot of special teams. He is batting the balls down and getting after the quarterback with pressure. He has done a great job of run blocking and pass blocking. We are happy he is where he is at. He is doing everything you could ask from a guy who has been playing varsity for three years.”

With PHS playing at Lawrence (0-3) on October 3, Gallagher knows that his team has to start doing a better job in order to make a second straight playoff appearance.

“We only have six games left now so we have to start putting wins in that column and hope for the best,” said Gallagher.

“We have tough teams still to play. Lawrence is strong, they have talent and then we have to go to Steinert. We have got Winslow, they are playing pretty well. Hopefully we can make some hay and try to a find a way into the playoffs.”

Ziegler, for his part, is confident that PHS will find a way to make it a big fall.

“We have a lot of returners from last year, I feel that we have a great season ahead of us,” said Ziegler. “I have no doubt that these guys will rally together and fight hard.”