BEARING DOWN: Princeton University football stars Dorian Williams, left and Kurt Holuba get ready for a play in 2015 action. Last Saturday against visiting Brown, senior safety Williams and junior tackle Holuba keyed a big defensive effort in a 31-7 win over the Bears as they both made interceptions. The Tigers, who improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 Ivy League with the victory, host three-time defending Ivy champion Harvard (4-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy) in a crucial league showdown on October 22. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For Dorian Williams and the rest of the defensive unit on the Princeton University football team, a disappointing 42-28 defeat to Lehigh in late September proved to be a wake-up call.

“Losing to Lehigh definitely let our defense know that we have a lot of work to do so after that loss we went back to the drawing board, we looked at ourselves in the mirror and made sure that we didn’t let that happen again,” said senior safety and tri-captain Williams, reflecting on the setback which saw Princeton yield 464 yards passing and 621 overall.

“We are just focusing on fundamentals and our technique a lot more. In that Lehigh game, we made a lot of mental errors. We weren’t in the spots that we needed to be, we didn’t have our eyes on the right people we were supposed to have them on.”

In the next two games, the defense tightened up as Princeton drubbed Columbia 48-13 on October 1 and then defeated Georgetown 31-17 a week later.

Last Saturday against visiting Brown, the Tigers were looking to take things up a notch.

“We knew that Brown was going to have a better offense so we had the same mentality going into this week,” said Williams.

“We knew we couldn’t get complacent with what we have been doing. We definitely focused on coming in and making sure that we made a statement.”

Williams got it done early for the Tigers, making an interception on Brown’s first possession that the Princeton offense cashed in for a touchdown when Chad Kanoff hit Isaiah Barnes for a 33-yard scoring strike.

“All week we were practicing double slants on one side and double outs on the other,” said Williams, reflecting on his interception.

“We saw the slants coming; I was dropping and I saw the ball and I felt like I was waiting forever. When it finally came down, I noticed there were a 100 guys behind me, it was awesome. I really do think it set a tone.”

The Tigers never looked back from there, jumping out to a 28-0 lead by halftime on the way to a 31-7 rout of the Bears before 5,881 at Princeton Stadium.

It marked the third straight win for Princeton, which improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 Ivy League, setting up a showdown with three-time defending Ivy champion Harvard (4-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy) coming to town on October 22.

“I think our defense played awesome today,” said Williams, who made five tackles to go with his interception.

“Our offense did a great job, they were moving the ball. We have an explosive offense so the more times they are on the field, the better chance we have of making a big play and I think we did that today.”

The Princeton defense held Brown scoreless for the first 59 minutes of the contest, holding the Bears to 52 yards rushing and 200 yards total offense with 62 yards of that coming on the Bears’ last possession when they were facing the Tiger reserves.

In assessing Princeton’s defensive progress since the Lehigh loss, Williams believes it is a product of attention to detail.

“We are trying to build off our previous weeks so each week there is more chemistry being built,” said Williams.

“We are more precise in our alignments and our assignments in everything we are doing. We are just working on improving from the week before. That Lehigh loss is probably a blessing in disguise because it really helped us humble ourselves and focus on what we really need to do well and work on.”

The Tigers also brought a little extra motivation to the contest, fueled by the memories of a 38-31 defeat to the Bears in 2015.

“I think that was one of our worst losses that we had last year,” said Williams.

“Coach (James) Perry played at Brown, he just tells us how they don’t think very highly of us so that was something we used as a chip on our shoulder to help us going into this game. We definitely had that when we went out there and played today.”

Princeton head coach Bob Surace liked the intensity he saw from his players, beginning with that opening sequence when Princeton turned the Williams’ interception into a 7-0 lead.

“It was great to start the game like that; we talked about getting off to a strong start and playing with passion,” said Surace. “To have those turnovers and get good field position and to finish drives really led to the victory.”

Surace tipped his hat to the Tiger defensive front seven, who had put the heat on Brown quarterback Thomas Linta throughout the contest.

“I thought we really did a good job on defense all day,” said Surace. “We were able to really force their QB into some tight, tight windows. He completed some and he is a good player but sometimes there wasn’t even a chance because we knocked it down. We didn’t get a lot of sacks but disruptions are more important than sacks. At the end of the day, the more times you can hit him, knock the ball down, the better chance you have to win.”

Princeton got good play from its quarterbacks as senior Kanoff hit on 16-of-23 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown while junior John Lovett connected on 6-of-7 passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another TD as he was named the Ivy Offensive Player of the Week for a second straight week.

“I thought if we got man-to-man, we are going to throw it to Isaiah or Trevor Osborne or James Frusciante,” said Surace.

“Chad was told he is throwing it and he put it right on the money. Isaiah beat the guy and that is what you want to have, those guys in an aggressive mindset.”

With powerful Harvard invading Princeton Stadium this Saturday, Surace is  looking for his players to maintain the winning mindset they have displayed this fall.

“Since I have been here, Harvard has been a tremendous team,” said Surace.

“I am sure when I watch them tomorrow, I am going to leave thinking this is a tremendous, talented team, well coached and everything else. It is not going to change, that is how they are going to be. We have to continue to prepare and practice hard and control what we control and that is going to be a key. You love the mindset of the team and how they approach practice, how they approach meetings, and how they approach the locker room. Those are things you
really enjoy because some of these guys have five weeks left to be in this type of atmosphere and you want to enjoy every moment. There are only 10 more physical, hard practices and we have got to enjoy it.”

In Williams’ view, the Tigers will be committed to working hard for their clash with the Crimson.

“Two years we had kind of the same dynamics and they came in here and rocked us (49-7),” said Williams, noting that Harvard also beat Princeton handily (42-7) last year.

“That is something that we are going to use, that is going to be a chip on our shoulder and the mentality we have going into practice this week. We are excited; it is the homecoming game so it should be a good one.”