HILL TO CLIMB: Princeton University football defensive back Nasir Hill tracks down a Dartmouth ball carrier last Friday night. Junior defensive back Hill made 12 tackles in the game as the Princeton defense battled hard in a 27-16 loss to the Big Green. The Tigers, now 2-6 overall and 1-4 Ivy League, play at Yale (5-3 overall, 2-3 Ivy) on November 16. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

On paper, it looked like a mismatch when the Princeton University football team hosted Dartmouth last Friday night.

Ivy League frontrunner and once-beaten Dartmouth entered the evening tied for first place in the league standings while Princeton was mired in a three-team tie for last, having been routed by Harvard (45-13 on October 26) and Cornell (49-35 on November 2) in its last two contests.

Looking to get back on the right track, Princeton junior defensive back Nasir Hill and his teammates were determined to produce a spirited effort against the Big Green.

“We knew it was going to be a hard 60-65 minutes,” said Hill. “It all goes back to what coach [Steve] Verbit says, don’t flinch, trust in our technique, trust in the little things, and play fast, physical ball.”

Princeton got off to a fast start as it forced a fumble on Dartmouth’s first drive recover by Jackson Proctor. The Tigers cashed that in as quarterback Blaine Hipa connected with Connor Holstein for an eight-yard touchdown pass as Princeton took a 7-0 lead.

Dartmouth responded by outscoring Princeton 21-0 in the second quarter to go up 21-7 at halftime. Showing resilience, the Tigers clawed back to narrow the gap to 24-17 with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter but yielded a late safety to lose 26-17 and move to 2-6 overall and 1-4 Ivy.

The defeat clinched the program’s first losing campaign since 2011 and left the Tigers alone in the Ivy cellar while Dartmouth improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 Ivy, tied with Harvard atop the league standings.

Hill was proud of how the Tiger defense stepped up in the second half.

“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game for the entirety of the game and it was make sure that nobody ever gave up on a play,” said Hill, who made 12 tackles in the game. “It was constantly be physical each and every down and not giving up, that is why we played so well.”

Hipa, for his part, liked the way the Tigers started as they converted the early Big Green turnover into points.

“It was huge, that is complementary football as we say,” said Hipa. “Our defense gets a big turnover on the first drive of the football game and we take it down and score. That is a great way to start the game. We just have to keep that momentum going.”

In the third quarter, the Hipa helped Princeton gain some momentum as he hit Luke Colella for an 18-yard TD pass.

“That was a great designed play, we worked it all week,” said Hipa, who connected in 11 of 18 passes for 137 yards and two TDs with no interceptions. “We ran it, just how we thought it would work .and I just got the ball to a playmaker and he ended up finishing it in the end zone.”

Reflecting on the strong second half performance by the Tigers, Hipa saw a lot to build on.

“That is our culture here, we don’t give up, we keep fighting,” said Hipa. “It is football, things aren’t going to go your way all of the time but if we keep fighting, we will be good. We always have to get better, no matter win or loss. I thought we improved but we just have to keep getting better.”

Princeton head coach Bob Surace credited his short-handed squad with showing a lot of grit.

“Our guys are fighting,” said Surace. “We have 15 guys in the two-deep that are out and we are just struggling with that. One of them you lose Thursday at 4:45. I couldn’t be more proud of them.
We are just a little short and the ball is not bouncing great for us.”

The bounces went against Princeton in a pivotal sequence at the end of the first half when Dartmouth scored with 5:16 left in the second quarter to go up 14-7 and then blocked a punt and added a late TD to take a 21-7 lead going into halftime.

“You have these little opportunities, we didn’t end the first half well,” lamented Surace. “These swings that we have given up in the last two, three weeks have been tough.”

Surace liked the way the Tigers bounced back in the second half as they outscored the Big Green 10-5 over the last 30 minutes in the contest.

“I told them at halftime, take a deep breath,” said Surace. “I am frustrated, you guys are frustrated. We are doing enough good, we just have to tighten it up this much and we will execute on offense. The reality was that was better but then we had some special team mistakes.”

Princeton executed a lot better on defense as they tightened things up after getting gashed the last two weeks.

“I just thought we played really tough defense,” said Surace. “We tackled so much better against a really good team. We got out of contain a couple of times and they hurt us on it a couple of times. But on the whole, I thought on defense we were this close to playing about a perfect game. They didn’t play a perfect game, but they played really well.”

While Surace is seeing progress, he acknowledged that the Tigers have been plagued by inconsistency in key moments.

“I feel that we have made progress, it doesn’t always show in the result,” said Surace. “We have made some really good progress at times but we are shooting ourselves in the foot on winning plays. I look drive by drive and when I look at the offensive drives that didn’t score, there are usually 10 players doing it right and we have a bust. We are not consistent enough for 60 minutes.”

Playing at arch rival Yale (5-3 overall, 2-3 Ivy) on November 16, Surace is hoping to have more players on hand.

“We have got to get our health back; tomorrow, they have to be off, getting treatments,” said Surace. “You can’t have 35 guys on Tuesday against Dartmouth missing practice. We can’t come out against Yale with 35 guys not practicing so hopefully that number is diminished. If it is 25 we will be OK. It is just frustrating; it is presenting some challenges we haven’t overcome and that is tough.”

Hill, for his part, believes the Tigers must show attention to detail no matter who is on the field.

“Everything is the same, it is just preparing for them the right way,” said Hill. “It is doing the little things, doing the things that we know best, just making sure we follow the details, the fundamentals, and play fast, physical with effort.”