October 28, 2015

Sophomore Mahiri Produces Breakout Game As PHS Football Cruises Past WW/P-S 34-7

HOLY MOSES: Princeton High running back Moses Mahiri heads upfield against WW/P-S last Friday. Sophomore Mahiri had a breakout game against the Pirates, rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown on three carries to help PHS to a 34-7 win. The Little Tigers, now 3-4, host Robbinsville on October 31. (Photo by John Dowers)

Moses Mahiri was pumped up as the Princeton High football team got ready to play at WW/P-S last Friday evening.

“I was hyped before the game,” said PHS sophomore running back Mahiri.

“The whole team together was trying to get up our energy because coach (Charlie Gallagher) has always been talking about getting your energy up before the game, during games and after games and keep it going.”

Mahiri ended up providing plenty of energy at tailback, rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown on three carries as PHS posted a convincing 34-7 win over the Pirates in moving to 3-4 and snapping a two-game losing streak.

With PHS clinging to a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter, Mahiri got things going, taking off on a 44-yard run to the WW/P-S 9-yard line. On the next play, senior star Rory Helstrom bolted nine yards for a touchdown as PHS increased its lead to 14-0.

“I was going for it; I made a move on the safety,” recalled Mahiri, whose older brother, senior center Kiki, helped spring him for the big gain.

“I cut to the left and I thought I had it but then he got me and that just kind of set me off like I could have had that touchdown.”

In the third quarter, Mahiri got that touchdown as he broke loose down the sidelines and sprinted 76 yards for a score as PHS increased its lead to 34-0.

“I saw the safety coming down and I didn’t know where to go so I just went right and then I stiff-armed him and my thought was oh crap, that might be a flag but I kept going,” said Mahiri, recalling his scoring jaunt.

“Then I saw my two receivers blocking and I thought OK, I will take it outside and I will run as hard as I can. I will run my heart out. It is going on my highlight reel.”

Mahiri will remember his performance on Friday as a major highlight in his career.

“I think it is a breakout game for me,” said Mahiri, noting that he had a big run at WW/P-S last year in a JV game. “It felt good.”

It felt good for PHS to snap a two-game losing streak. “Our mindset was that we have got to get back to .500; we are just working on it slowly,” said Mahiri. “We came together really nicely today, offensively and defensively.”

PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher liked the way things came together for Mahiri.

“He had two huge runs, 44 and 76 yards, he was pretty juiced,” said Gallagher.

“It was good for the line. It is a couple of kick-out blocks, a couple of down blocks, and when that all clicks, you get a big run so we are excited for Moses. I was telling him every time he was about to run the ball, are you ready for this. It was good to see that he has a little bit of wheels so he got down the field nicely.”

The other Mahiri, senior Kiki, is making a nice contribution on both sides of the ball for the Little Tigers, playing center on offense and linebacker on defense.

“We thought he could fit in at a couple of spots on the offensive line, we have had him at guard and center,” said Gallagher, noting that Kiki is a three-year varsity player for PHS.

“We have moved him from the line to linebacker. He moved well as a defensive lineman, so of all our linemen I thought he would be the best fit at linebacker. He has got nice size too. He has done a really good job at linebacker for us so we have been really happy with that.”

Gallagher was happy with his team’s defensive effort against the Pirates as they didn’t give up a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter long after the game was decided.

“I don’t think they crossed the 50-yard line until later in the game, maybe they were at our 40 or something like that,” said Gallagher.

“We kept them out of the red zone. Defensively, we did a really nice job. We have to keep it up.”

As PHS looks to end the regular season on a high note, it will have to keep doing a nice job on both sides of the ball.

“We have two really tough games in front of us, even before the consolation game or playoffs,” said Gallagher, whose team hosts Robbinsville on October 31.

“Robbinsville has got three wins on the season, they are much better and then you have North. They are dangerous, they have a lot of speed. We have got our work cut out for the next two weeks.”

In Gallagher’s view, the win over WW/P-S should give the Little Tigers a lift as they come down the homestretch.

“Momentum is huge in football, like any other sport,” said Gallagher. “They don’t have to do anything on Saturday and they can come back fresh on Monday, They will be a little rested and winning cures all. We were back and forth with a win and a loss a win and a loss and then had another loss on top of that so I know they weren’t happy. It is good to get back into the winning column.”

Mahiri, for his part, feels that PHS has what it takes to keep winning.

“We are a strong football program; the coaches work on us nonstop and get us to keep moving and doing what we need to do,” said Mahiri. “I feel like we can get to .500 and even pass that with our remaining games.”