NO ORDINARY JOE: Princeton High football star Joe Hawes grabs some water during a game earlier this season. Hawes has made an immediate impact for PHS, taking up football this fall after spending last year as the backup goalie for the Little Tiger boys’ soccer team. The senior has emerged as a go-to receiver and ball-hawking defensive back for undefeated PHS. Last Saturday, he made four receptions for 55 yards and a game-sealing touchdown as PHS topped Steinert 28-14 to improve to 5-0. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Joe Hawes didn’t want to spend the fall of his senior year sitting on the bench for the Princeton High boys’ soccer team.

Realizing that he had hit a dead end as a little used back-up goalie for the PHS squad, Hawes decided he would get more action on the gridiron.

“I hadn’t tried football; my parents never really wanted me to,” said Hawes.

“This year, they were like you can’t do anything else why don’t you try football. I wasn’t getting playing time in soccer so I was — why not.”

Having never played organized football, Hawes underwent a crash course in the game over the offseason.

“I went to some summer league stuff,” said Hawes. “Defense wasn’t necessarily a problem but the offense was tough, learning routes, learning where you are on the field.”

Starring at lacrosse helped Hawes pick up his new sport. “The footwork and the physical play of lacrosse was a help,” said Hawes. “Knowing that you have a set play and doing what you have to do.”

The lanky Hawes has been doing well this fall for the Little Tigers, emerging as a go-to receiver and ball-hawking defensive back for the undefeated squad.

Last Saturday, he made four receptions for 55 yards and a game-sealing touchdown as PHS topped Steinert 28-14 to improve to 5-0.

On the TD, Hawes showed how quickly he has picked things up, changing his route to be an option for PHS quarterback Dave Beamer.

“I was just supposed to run down the field and I saw Beamer scrambling,” said Hawes. “We are taught to run across where he is and he just hit me.”

Against Steinert, the Little Tigers ran out to a 21-0 lead in the first half only to see the Spartans narrow the gap to 21-14 as the game headed into the fourth quarter.

“Personally I was concerned, it was 21-14 and one more score and then you are tied up and it is a whole new game,” said Hawes. “We just couldn’t let that happen.”

Executing on both sides of the ball, PHS held off the Spartans. “It was our offensive line blocking and our defense communicating and marking up correctly,” said Hawes. “Our O-line really won the game.”

Hawes got the sense early that he could make a mark on the football field.

“I think it was the Ewing game, our homecoming,” added Hawes, who made an 80-yard TD reception in the PHS’s opening day win over Hamilton. “I was just super confident. I knew in my mind what I had to do and I got it done.”

With just five games under his belt, Hawes acknowledges that he hasn’t mastered the fine points of the game.

“I am still working on it, there are still some things I need to do better,” said Hawes.

PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher was proud of the way his team got things done in the victory over Steinert.

“A lot of credit goes to coach [Dan] Caruso and the Steinert ball squad because they grinded it out, they took it one touchdown at a time to cut it to 21-14,” said Gallagher.

“But you know that when you look at the four games we have played so far, we are talking about Hamilton being up by a point in the first game. We are talking about being in a stalemate in the Ewing game at halftime. We are talking about a slugfest, a heavyweight fight against Hightstown and then we are down a point in the fourth quarter against Lawrence. It is a resilient team, we are just battling through.”

Along with that resilience, PHS boasts a number of weapons to help it win battles. In addition to getting a big game from Hawes in the win over Steinert, PHS got 102 yards rushing and a 57-yard punt return for a TD from junior star Rory Helstrom with junior quarterback Dave Beamer passing for 155 yards. Sam Smallzman returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown and Colin Buckley added a one-yard touchdown run.

“Joe is doing well, we would like to call his number more often,” said Gallagher.

“What is great about the squad right now is that we have a lot of playmakers, whether it be Rory Helstrom or Sam Smallzman or Joe Hawes or Colin Buckley or Dave Beamer or the special teams. Tad Moore made a great play today on that punt, he seals Steinert’s fate. He just wanted that ball and it pops out. Special teams is a third of the game, just as important as offense or defense. The offense or defense might be out there longer but special teams can win the game. We had a punt return for a TD. We are scoring in a variety of ways, which is great.”

There is a great feeling around the program as it has made a stunning turnaround from a 0-10 campaign last fall to its undefeated start this season.

“They have jelled from the very beginning,” asserted Gallagher. “It is great team chemistry and we are just happy to be coaching them up.”

Hawes, for his part, is very happy to have made the switch to football. “I couldn’t get this excited about a soccer game any time of the year except maybe a state championship,” said Hawes.

“This has been the best. I think the thing is that we just all want it. We are making history here, bringing football back into Princeton. We are all working for the same goal and we want it in our hearts.”