AIRING IT OUT: Princeton High football quarterback Travis Petrone fires a pass in a game last season. Senior star Petrone, who threw for 564 years and six touchdowns in 2023, is primed to trigger the Tiger offense this fall. PHS opens its 2024 campaign by playing at Lawrence High on August 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Princeton High football team having gone 5-4 last year to post its first winning season since an 8-2 campaign in 2014, the bar has been set higher this year.

PHS will be facing much stiffer competition this fall as it will be resuming matchups against such local foes as Allentown, Trenton Central, Hamilton West, Ewing, Nottingham, and Robbinsville.

“The schedule has changed, I think this schedule will be more challenging,” said Tiger head coach Charlie Gallagher, whose team has been moved to the West Jersey Football League Valley Division this fall. “It does renew some rivalries. We haven’t played Trenton in who knows how long, we haven’t played Nottingham in a while.”

In Gallagher’s view, PHS has the manpower and mindset to hold its own as it battles that gauntlet of foes.

“Right now, we are roughly at 60 players, we will field a very healthy varsity team and a very healthy JV team,” said Gallagher, whose team faced Brick Memorial, Central Regional and St. John Vianney in its first scrimmage and then played Hopewell Valley in a second practice contest. “There are a lot of positive vibes, we have had some really great and tough scrimmages. It was great to compete against really high caliber players and coaches. We fared well but at the same time we learned a lot.”

PHS features a high caliber quarterback in senior Travis Petrone, who passed for 564 yards and six touchdowns last fall.

“Travis is ready to start week one, we are excited to roll with him,” said Gallagher, whose team plays at Lawrence High on August 30 in its season opener. “He had a good season last year, we are real happy with where he is at right now. He is a heck of an athlete, he is a three-sport guy. He leads the pack. He should do really well this year, he has a good supporting cast. I think he is going to have a really successful season.”

The Tigers have some depth at the QB spot with senior Brady Collier serving in the backup role.

“We are trying to find different ways to get him on the field, he is excited,” said Gallagher of Collier who passed for 165 yards and four TDs in 2023. “I think he might play a little running back and safety. We won’t be surprised if he has a few touchdowns throughout the season.”

The PHS rushing attack will be spearheaded by juniors Carmine Carusone and Andrew Foreman. “We have got Carmine, who is having a really great preseason,” said Gallagher. “He is going to be one of our two running backs with Andrew. Both of these guys are just top-notch guys.”

Junior star Ellington Hinds has emerged as a top wide receiver and superb defensive back. “Ellington is back, he looks really sharp,” said Gallagher of Hinds, who made 13 catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns last season. “He did a great job in the offseason. He went to football camps. He learned a lot about the craft of wide receiver and free safety. He is a much better tackler this year, which is awesome. In the scrimmage at Brick, he pulled down some really amazing acrobatic catches. He is also a returner, he had two punt returns for TDs last year. He is a smart football player. Couple that with the talent level, the size, and the speed, he should be a problem for a lot of teams.”

Hinds’ younger brother, sophomore Langsdon, along with sophomore Zach Nelson and junior Jaxon Jones could also pose problems for PHS’s foes as additional targets in the passing game.

“Langsdon has the wing span of a condor, he is a great kid and he has come into his own,” said Gallagher, noting that senior Wyatt Arshan is currently sidelined but has been helping to coach the younger receivers on a daily basis. “He is at a spot where he can play some varsity football. Zach and Jaxon are two guys that we are going to rely on at tight end position.”

Gallagher will relying on the trio of senior Sean Wilton, senior Leo Sarett, and junior Zyair Mackey-Wright to anchor the offensive line.

“Sean is at left tackle, he is a three-year guy,” said Gallagher. “Leo is at center and has been there for a while. Zyair is at right tackle, he had a great offseason.”

Senior Elisio Moncada will be shoring up the O-line. “One of our linebackers from last year, Elisio, is going to play linebacker and guard for us this year which is awesome,” said Gallagher. “He is a senior and sometimes you have to ask guys to step up.”

As for the other guard spot, Gallagher is looking for sophomores Ajay Coulianidis, Dimiter Petrov, and Rio Giamarese to step up.

“We have a little bit of a rotation with Ajay, Dimiter, and Rio,” said Gallagher. “They are three really solid guys, did a great job in the weight room, they are big and strong. They are young but they all played last year and they are figuring it out.”

On the defensive line, Wilton and Mackey-Wright will be leading the way along with senior Richard Jean-Pierre and junior Tihir Russell.

“Zyair and Sean will be there and we have Richard playing some defensive tackle,” said Gallagher. “Tihir is a junior: we are excited for him, he has done a nice job for us.”

Senior linebacker Joe George, who had a team-high 64 tackles last fall, figures to be in the middle of the action again.

“Joe is doing a great job, he was an All-Division linebacker last year,” said Gallagher, whose linebacker group will also include Moncada, junior Simon Obregon, and junior Truman Arshan. “He is a little nicked up at the moment so we are hoping to get him ready for Friday. He is another great leader, like Travis.”

The Tiger secondary features the Hinds brothers, Carusone, and Petrone along with junior Anderson Potter and junior Sam Raymond.

“Ellington, Carmine, and Travis will be back there,” said Gallagher. “Anderson will be back there as well. We also have Sam there. Langsdon will be back there.”

In Gallagher’s view, PHS has the pieces in place to build on last year’s progress.

“It all starts at quarterback, the success of Travis and the supporting cast around him is critical,” said Gallagher. “With him playing three years now and with a group of wide receivers led by Ellington, we will be throwing the ball more. On top of that, in order to win football games, you have to be able to run the ball. I think Andrew, Carmine, and our three returning offensive linemen will be really big. Defensively, Carmine had four picks last year, one for a touchdown. Ellington had four picks. Joe and Elisio are some of our best linebackers in probably the past seven or eight years, they were tackling machines. They have speed, they know the game.”

PHS will be looking to get up to speed as it kicks off its season under the lights this Friday at Lawrence.

“I put it on my calendar the day after; they have a beautiful field and Rob Radice is a good coach,” said Gallagher, whose team topped Lawrence 20-0 in last year’s season opener. “It was a good night last year. We were only up a few points at the half, it was a tight game overall. We are watching a lot of film on Lawrence, they have some playmakers. I hope we have a few more playmakers that can make positive plays.”