DRIVE TIME: Princeton University quarterback Blake Stenstrom fires a pass in a game last year. Last Friday night, senior Stenstrom engineered a 20-play, 81-yard fourth quarter drive against visiting Columbia that related in the game-winning touchdown as Princeton prevailed 10-7. The Tigers, now 2-1 overall and 1-0 Ivy League, host Lafayette (4-1) on October 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Princeton University quarterback Blake Stenstrom could have hung his head when he threw a screen pass that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by a Columbia defender last Friday night as Princeton found itself trailing 7-3 in the third quarter.

“That was a tough one because it was kind of a weird play in football, it doesn’t happen very often,” said senior star Stenstrom. “It was so sudden, they were up. All of the offensive coaches always talk about next play mentality so that was the thought right away — next play, just move on.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Stenstrom got Princeton moving, engineering a 20-play, 81-yard scoring march that culminated with a one-yard touchdown plunge by John Volker as the Tigers prevailed 10-7 over the Lions in their Ivy League opener, battling though rain, wind, and a tough rival before 5,843 at Princeton Stadium.

“All night we had been really close on a lot of our drives; we had shot ourselves in the foot a number of them so on last drive we put it all together,” said Stenstrom of the drive which lasted more than 10 minutes as Princeton improved to 2-1 overall. “The whole team across the board did a great job, the offensive lineman blocking, the receivers made some amazing catches. Ultimately we came down to get one yard and John Volker ran through somebody and made a great play and a touchdown.”

Despite Princeton’s offensive struggles, which saw six possessions end with a punt and another on the interception after a Jeffrey Sexton field goal in the first quarter, Stenstrom sensed the Tigers would ultimately come through.

“Our guys believed the whole time, they didn’t get discouraged,” said Stenstrom. “That is the thing I think you look for in a team is that they still have the fire in their eyes late in the game. Things weren’t going great offensively. It was just awesome to see the guys keep believing and put together one final drive to win the game.”

Junior receiver Luke Colella has emerged as a key guy for the Tigers, making five receptions for 53 yards against Columbia, including a crucial fourth down reception late in the game-winning drive.

“Luke has done a great job stepping up this year and all offseason,” said Stenstrom, who ended up connecting on 26-of-41 passes for 191 yards. “I knew he would have a great year, he has shown up in the first couple of games. He made some amazing catches. That one on the fourth down and seven where he reached out and plucked it barely off the ground was amazing. He has done a great job as well as the rest of our young receivers. They are just truly stepping up and I am proud of them.”

Stenstrom was proud of the way the Tigers bounced back from a 16-13 overtime loss to Bryant a week earlier which saw them squander a 13-3 fourth quarter lead and fail to convert on a fourth and inches in overtime.

“It was punch in the gut last week it was a wake-up for a lot of guys on the team, myself included,” said Stenstrom. “We did a really good job this week in practice. We had a great week of practice with great attention to detail.”

The Tigers produced a great defensive effort on Friday, holding the Lions to 179 yards total offense and recovering two fumbles as they gave up no points.

“They did an amazing job tonight, they stuffed them the entire game,” said Stenstrom. “It was similar to last year’s game, it was a defensive score for Columbia as well.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Bakari Edwards helped key that effort, making a key sack to help snuff out the Lions as they tried to rally after the Princeton touchdown.

“Our goal is always turnovers, turnovers, turnovers; an elite defense wins championships,” said Edwards. “Like Liam [Johnson] and Ozzie [Nicholas] always say, it is about us. We had to go out there and do our part and get some turnovers. It was just a great win overall. I am happy for the team.”

In reflecting on the program’s sustained defensive excellence over the years, Edwards credited it to the bonds developed among the players across classes.

“It is the culture, we are a brotherhood,” said Edwards. “We have great leaders. We have younger guys always looking up to the older guys and older guys always mentoring the younger guys.”

Taking that mentoring to heart, Edwards has developed into force on the front seven, having recorded a team-leading four sacks this fall.

“My role has always been a little ambiguous, trying to find myself trying to find where I could fit in and just getting right with coach [Steve] Verbit,” said Edwards, a 6’1, 225-pound native of Homestead, Fla. “He got me right and helped me find who I was and it turned out it was a pass rusher. That is my role. Whenever they need me, I go out there and do it for my guys. We all have each other’s back. I just have to do my part and do my role.”

Princeton head coach Bob Surace liked the way his team got it done against Columbia, showing progress from the Bryant defeat.

“I told them it was growth, we were in a similar game last week against Bryant, we were up late and just didn’t make the key plays,” said Surace. “I think it is one of the best games Blake has played. The stats aren’t going to show it — there were dropped balls, balls that were an inch out of bounds, and penalties — but he played really well.”

Surace credited Stenstrom with keeping his cool after the pick six.

“That was on us, we have run that play before,” said Surace. “They saw it and jumped it. They are a well-coached team and well coached teams are going to see those things. I felt like we were in the fringe red zone, we couldn’t get it until that last drive. It just felt like we are close, we are close and at some point, we just had to break through.”

While the offense scuffled, the Tiger defense held the fort.

“The defense is playing lights out, they didn’t give up a touchdown,” said Surace of his defensive crew which is holding foes to 194.0 yards game. “Blake is just doing a great job. I think the speed on our rush is doing really well, whether it is him, Sekou Roland, Nick Sanker or it is the linebackers. We are showing a lot of looks. Verbs (Verbit) is doing a great job with some tremendous, unique athletes, blitzing, dropping and making it hard for a quarterback to hit his first read.”

With Princeton hosting a Lafayette team off to a hot 4-1 start on October 7, Surace believes that the rally against Columbia bodes well for the future.

“It was composure, attention to detail in the fourth quarter — we had every reason to splinter,” said Surace. “It is a young team. I am looking at body language and they were up the whole time. We all need to self-reflect — what I can do better, what they can do better. Because we are young, there is hopefully going to be growth each week.”

Stenstrom knows that the Tigers will have to keep growing to overcome a tough Leopard squad.

“We take the whole season one week at a time; next week we have Lafayette, they are always a good out of conference opponent,” said Stenstrom. “We are going to watch this game film, get corrected and then get ready for Lafayette. That is the mentality, one week at a time. If you keep focused on one week at a time, good things happen at the end of the year.”

Edwards, for his part, is confident that there are some good things on the horizon for Princeton.

“This was a great bounce back, this is just the beginning,” said Edwards. “We have a lot of things to fix. At the end of the day, I trust the coaches, I trust my teammates, I trust our leaders. We are going to come back stronger and better every week.”