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(Photo by Rebecca Blackwell ©2003 Town Topics) caption: WASH OUT: PHS senior running back David Mostoller gets corralled by a Trenton High defender last Saturday as the Little Tigers fell 27-0 in the season opener. Princeton is scheduled to play its first game on its new artificial turf field this Saturday when it hosts Lawrence High. With it appearing that the field may not ready in time, the game could be moved to Princeton Day School.d of caption

PHS Football Swamped By Trenton; Will Renew Focus on Fundamentals

by Bill Alden

It didn't take long during last Saturday's season-opener for Princeton High football coach Steve Everette to realize that he was in for a long afternoon.

The second-year head coach had just finished adjusting his headphones on the Trenton High sideline when Tornado running back Quason Pitman sprinted by the Little Tiger defense for a 74-yard touchdown run on the game's first play from scrimmage.

Things didn't get any better for Everette and his crew as the Tornadoes went on two more scoring marches in the first half to build a 20-0 lead by the time the teams headed through the raindrops to the dressing room.

While the Little Tigers showed some fight in the second half, ripping off some hard runs and forcing a fumble, the outcome was never in doubt as Trenton cruised to a 27-0 win.

Afterward, a glum Everette refused to see the tighter second half as any consolation. "We're not happy," said Everette. "The time for improving and getting better is one thing. We want to come out and win games."

The normally upbeat Everette pulled no punches as he analyzed his team's performance. "We made mistakes early and turned the ball over," said Everette, who is looking to improve on last year's 1-9 mark.

"Trenton is a good team and they capitalized on the mistakes. The guys from Trenton are very athletic and they made our guys miss. They've got lots of wiggle. We had people in the right positions we just didn't tackle them the way we should have."

Indeed, the Tornadoes rushed for 268 yards on 38 carries in the afternoon, gaining seven yards an attempt. Trenton also hit on a 41-yard touchdown bomb during their first-half barrage.

PHS did show some signs of life on offense as Dave Mostoller rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries and powerful Cory Curtis bulled for 30 yards on three attempts. The Little Tigers, however, lost three fumbles and quarterback Vince Giacolone was only 4-for-11 passing for 23 yards.

"We're a little bit better on offense than we've been in the past so that's a good thing," said Everette straining to draw something positive from Saturday's effort.

As PHS looks forward to hopefully christening its new artificial turf this Saturday against visiting Lawrence, Everette said the team will focus on basics.

"We've just got to work on tackling and make sure we control the ball," maintained Everette, who said that the school's new field may not be ready by next Saturday which could force the game to be moved, possibly to Princeton Day School. "We just need to work on getting better. It doesn't get any easier for us."