BEAM OF LIGHT: Princeton High quarterback Dave Beamer gets ready to throw a pass in a game last fall. This past Saturday, junior Beamer passed for 273 yards and four touchdowns as PHS edged Hightstown 36-29 to improve to 3-0. The Little Tigers will look to keep on the winning track when they host Lawrence High (2-0) on October 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Although the Princeton High football team had won its first two games this fall, junior quarterback Dave Beamer hadn’t gotten into a groove yet with his passing game.

“I was talking to the coaching staff and we said we are trying to get him to have that breakout game,” said PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher of Beamer.

As the Little Tigers played at Hightstown last Saturday afternoon, Beamer wasn’t on target in the early stages of the contest. “He didn’t start out great, I think he was 0-for-2 or 0-for-3 on his first few passes,” recalled Gallagher.

But with PHS trailing 8-0, Beamer found Rory Helstrom for a touchdown and some great things ensued from that point as he passed for 273 yards and three more TDs to help the Little Tigers pull out a 36-29 thriller.

“He connected with Rory on our first touchdown; I think that was his first completion,” said Gallagher, reflecting on a performance which saw Beamer go on to hit scoring strikes of 80 yards to Helstrom, 19 yards to Jack Cook, and 8 yards to Nick Fliss, the last of which broke a 29-29 tie in the fourth quarter.

“He was about 50 percent on his completions (10-for-21) which was great. On the 80-yarder to Rory in the second quarter, he took a huge hit. He had to throw it over their defender and he did a really good job getting it to Rory.”

The Little Tigers certainly needed Beamer’s breakout day as the contest turned into a shootout that saw five lead changes.

“We knew they had weapons and we have weapons,” said Gallagher. “It was 21-15 at half and I said to the guys I thought we need to get three more touchdowns to win the way the game was going. It was a slugfest, both Hightstown and PHS were throwing haymakers.”

As has been the case all season, junior star Rory Helstrom proved to be a lethal weapon for the Little Tigers, scoring two touchdowns on pass receptions and rushing for a third TD.

“Rory had five receptions for 170 yards, rushed for around 60 and had some good kick returns,” said Gallagher.

“He went down after his last TD, he was dehydrated and had cramps. With all of the things he can do, you just hope you get one of those guys. He’s that player for us.”

Senior inside linebacker and back-up running back Smallzman is also a special player for the Little Tigers.

“Sam Smallzman came in for Rory at running back on that last drive and we fed him the ball,” said Gallagher. “We gave it to him six times in a row right up the middle and we ran out the clock.”

Coming on the heels of a 0-10 campaign last fall, PHS’s 3-0 run to start the season has been heartening for Gallagher.

“To say I am proud of the guys would be an understatement,” said Gallagher, who is in his second year at the helm of the program.

“You don’t get to do this every year. I think the last time we were 3-0 was in 2009 when we went to the playoffs. To be 3-0 is special where we are coming from.”

While Gallagher is proud of his team’s record, he doesn’t want his players to get ahead of themselves.

“We are going to take it one game at time,” said Gallagher. “I think the kids are really selling out. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on them but Hightstown was a huge game. It was a division game, a group game, and I told the kids that is a game we have to win. We are in the thick of things. The kids are excited and we are in a rhythm.”

With PHS hosting Lawrence on October 2 in a short turnaround from Saturday, the focus is on maintaining the winning rhythm.

“Lawrence is a brand new team from last year with a new coach, they are 2-0 and they had a bye last week,” said Gallagher.

“We have to take a lot of mental reps this week. The guys need to get their rest. We want to keep the kids healthy and fresh. We want them to come out Thursday, ready to jump out again. We want to keep playing and keep winning.”