FLYING SOLO: Princeton High football payer Alex -Solopenkov races up the field in action last fall. Senior receiver -Solopenkov figures to be a key target this fall for PHS. The Little Tigers start their 2016 season when they host Pemberton on September 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Charlie Gallagher acknowledged that his Princeton High football team has been feeling the heat over the last few weeks.

“Preseason was hot, one of the worst preseasons as far as humidity, heat index, and all of that stuff,” said PHS head coach Gallagher.

“But overall I thought we got a lot of good stuff in; I think the kids persevered.”

Saying goodbye to more than 10 seniors from last year’s squad that went 4-6, including such standouts as running back Rory Helstrom and quarterback David Beamer along with star linemen Noah Ziegler and Matt Toplin, PHS will be featuring a number of new faces who will be under fire as they assume starting roles.

“We have some guys who are unproven sophomores and really haven’t gotten a chance to play and they will really have to step up,” said Gallagher, whose team kicks off its 2016 season as it hosts Pemberton on September 10.

“I think they are good football players; they really do a nice job. We need guys to step up in spots where they haven’t played.”

In Gallagher’s view, the young players proved something with their performance in the team’s final preseason scrimmage as it handled Cherry Hill East, building a 35-0 lead at one point.

“We did what we needed to do, I think we forced five turnovers,” said Gallagher.

“We took all of their turnovers and put them into points. We threw the ball in the end zone, we rushed well. There were great defensive plays by some of our guys. It was a great momentum builder and I think it was important because we struggled in the first couple of scrimmages.”

One of the bright spots of the scrimmage was the play of junior quarterback Vince Doran, who has the task of filling the big shoes of the graduated Beamer.

“Vince Doran is taking the helm; he is doing a really nice job,” said Gallagher.

“He had a really solid scrimmage too. It was good to see Vince play well. He stepped up into the pocket really nicely. He throws the ball on the run, he is just a good athlete. We are actually going to run him a little bit here or there as well.”

The trio of sophomore Carson Giles, senior Matt Hawes, and junior Moses Mahiri will try to make up for the void left by star running back Helstrom.

“It is a little bit of running back by committee right now, we have Carson, who is going to help us out at tailback,” said Gallagher.

“We also have Matt, who played defensive end for us last year. He has turned out to be a nice surprise at running back. He is a very good athlete, he is a lacrosse player. He is coming off some knee injuries but he moves real nice in the backfield for us. We also have Moses, who was our fullback last year and did a real nice job for us. He is actually more of a flex guy right now because he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He is tall and lanky but also has deceptive speed.”

At receiver, the Little Tigers have several guys who can catch the ball in junior Jakob Green, sophomore Aiden Sarafin, senior Alex Solopenkov, and sophomore Issac Webb.

“We are going to end up spreading it out a little bit more; we have four guys that have really stepped up at wide receiver,” said Gallagher.

“Our No. 1 is Jakob, he will be a split end along with Aiden. We have got Issac who did a nice job last year at the freshman/JV level for us. Alex was a starter for us in the defensive backfield and now he is playing a strong safety and our slot back. We like these guys. I think that is the crux of the team; that is where we are going to score points. I am excited about that. Vince is doing a nice job getting the ball out to those guys.”

Along the offensive line, Gallagher is looking at a group that includes senior Ethan Guerra, junior Marqui McBride, junior Adam Musa, senior Will Wright, sophomore Paul Brennan, and sophomore Jaylen Johnson.

“The line is relatively inexperienced; we have Ethan coming back for his third year,” said Gallagher.

“Marqui did a nice job last year, he filled in for us in some spots but now he is a permanent starter at the guard spot. Adam is playing tackle for us and Will might play a little center. We have Paul and we have a big guy in Jaylen. We are just trying to get a good rotation, seeing what the best fit is and whoever can man that line. With the offensive line, you have to get that practice every day.”

That corps of linemen will see double duty as they will be manning the trenches on defense as well.

At linebacker, junior Dave Hurlin along with Mahiri and Green will look to be in on the action.

“We have Dave, he is coming over from Hun and is doing a real nice job for us,” said Gallagher.

“Moses will be in one of the backer spots and we are moving Jakob from free safety down to outside backer. Jakob is a good tackler, we just want to get those tacklers up there. He is rangy, he can get out there. He does a good job of reading the quarterback and knowing where the ball is going to be.”

In addition to strong safety Solopenkov, the secondary will include Webb, junior Will Smith, senior Aaron DiGregorio, and Sarafin.

“We have got a mix of guys; we have Issac back there and we have got two men vying for a corner spot right now in Will and Aaron,” said Gallagher.

“At a free safety spot, we have Aiden. We really like him at the wide receiver spot too. We are long in the secondary, most of the guys are 6-foot plus, which is nice, and they have some speed too. I think it is a fast secondary. I am hoping they will come up and they will get to the ball carrier quickly.”

As PHS girds for its season opener against Pemberton, Gallagher knows that his team needs to be up to speed on the staples of the game to do well.

“In high school, you still have to be able to run the ball really well and as much as we might be a little more inclined to throw the football, I still think we need to be able to run successfully,” said Gallagher.

“In our last scrimmage, our defense really did a good job of getting to the offense and getting the ball. Last year was the first year that coach (Steve) DiGregorio put in his defense and this year, they have all gravitated to it. He likes to send guys and put pressure on the quarterback and force the quarterback to make hasty decisions. Pemberton has a really talented quarterback who threw 29 TD passes last year so we have our work cut out for us.”