LOVE STORY: Princeton University quarterback John Lovett carries the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, junior star Lovett rushed for three touchdowns and threw another to help Princeton defeat Georgetown 31-17. Lovett, who passed for 13 yards, rushed for 44, and made one reception for 17 yards, was later named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his heroics. The Tigers, now 3-1 overall and 1-0 Ivy, host Brown (1-3, 0-1 Ivy) on October 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Playing at Georgetown last Saturday, the Princeton University football team had to weather a couple of storms.

First, Princeton had to deal with the steady rain hitting the Washington, D.C. area, courtesy of Hurricane Matthew.

Then midway through the first quarter, the Tigers were hit with a jolt as the Hoyas blocked a Princeton field goal attempt and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

“On our first two drives we moved the ball real well and we had a few errors lately, which we haven’t been doing, we have been finishing drives really well,” said Surace.

“To have a protection error on the block is really disappointing. They took advantage of it and made a really good play and it turned into a 10-point swing.”

Princeton swung back, marching 69 yards in seven plays with junior quarterback John Lovett scoring on a one-yard touchdown run to make it 7-7.

“We responded well, we got a score to tie it but that is a really hard thing to live with as a coach,” said Surace.

“We have got to get the message through that if you don’t do your job on a given play, it can go back the other way for seven points.”

Lovett kept doing his job, rushing five yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter and then hitting Graham Adomitis for a three-yard TD pass as the Tigers took a 21-7 lead.

Princeton never looked back, pulling away to a 31-17 win before 2,263 at Cooper Field, improving to 3-1 overall.

Expecting rain, the Tigers kept things simple offensively. “We do a lot of ball handling and we took some of those things out or didn’t run them as much because of that,” said Surace.

“The weather report in the beginning of the week ranged from no rain to heavy winds, heavy rain. It ended up being a steady, all-day rain. I think it affected both teams it always does a little bit in the passing game, throwing and catching it.”

While it wasn’t an easy day to pass, Princeton spread the wealth as 14 players had at least one reception.

“Look at it, every running back who played caught a pass,” added Surace. “All three quarterbacks caught a pass, both tight ends caught a pass and five receivers caught a pass.”

The Tiger defense also featured contributions from a number of players as five members of the unit got turnovers with Luke Caterius coming up with an interception and Connor Grogan, James Gales, Birk Olson, and Henry Schlossberg each recovering fumbles.

“They were third in the nation in turnover margin; we emphasized it all week,” said Surace, whose defense held the Hoyas to 82 yards rushing on 28 attempts.

“On the first turnover, Chance Melancon had a great strip to cause the fumble. We have a really good pass rush and the quarterback got hit when he was throwing and it bloops over to Luke Caterius, who makes a really good running catch. It was one of those days where we really rallied to the ball. I thought we did a really good job throughout the game.”

In the third quarter, Princeton took care of business as Lovett ran for a third touchdown and Tavish Rice booted a 22-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 31-14, effectively snuffing out Georgetown’s hopes of a rally.

“They got the ball and we stopped them,” said Surace, who got 13 yards passing, 44 yards rushing, and 17 yards receiving from Lovett on his way to earning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“We take the ball down and we get in. We have been good in the red zone. We ended up kicking a field goal and that went from a 7-point game to a 17-point game. As the game wore on, it was going to be tough for them to score twice.”

Utilizing some smash-mouth running, the Tigers made things tough for the Hoyas.

“It was very much like the Lafayette game, the last five minutes and 15 seconds, we had a drive where we ran the ball every play and ended the game,” said Surace. “I thought we really wore them down. I think our time of possession was 37 minutes, that is a really big number.”

With the Tigers off to a 3-1 start, Surace can point to a number of positives. “I think we are really playing hard,” asserted Surace.

“We have so many guys who are contributing in so many ways, on special teams, on offense, and defense. We are getting really great efforts. Our JV team is 3-0 and they have given up zero touchdowns on defense, they had a fumble and that is the one touchdown we have given up on the season. I think we are really getting good practice looks as well so those things are good.”

As the Tigers head into the heart of their Ivy League schedule, they need to look better through the air.

“I think we have to improve our pass game,” said Surace. “It is an entire thing; it is not just quarterback play, it is not just the route running and catching the ball, and not just the protection but we are a little inconsistent in the pass game. Against Columbia, it was a beautiful day and we were on fire. It was a tougher weather day on Saturday but you have to fight through it. I thought our protection was, at times, not good enough. We didn’t always catch it, we made two or three drops. We made some throws that weren’t the right decisions.”

Princeton knows it is in for a big fight when it hosts Brown (1-3 overall, 0-1 Ivy) on October 15.

“This is going to their Super Bowl, it is going to be our Super Bowl; we know the importance of this game,” said Surace.

“We had some guys who were borderline good enough to play last week and we held them out and I am sure they did the same. The Ivy League games have an even added importance that way. The records are ignored going into it. I have not watched them yet but I can’t imagine that they are not a physically tough, smart team. They are year in, year out. That is what a Brown team looks like, that is the model when we took over, getting coach Perry (former Brown star quarterback and assistant coach James Perry) here and really knowing how they organize so that their team achieves at a high level every year.”