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 (Photo by Bill Allen) caption: |
Terrell Makes Sparkling Debut at QB As Tiger Football Edges Lafayette
By Bill Alden
By all rights, Jeff Terrell should have been the most nervous guy at Fisher Field last Saturday when the Princeton University football team opened its season at 2-0 Lafayette.
After nudging out three others in a heated derby to emerge as the Tigers' starting quarterback, Terrell took the field having never thrown a pass in a college game.
Instead of fighting off butterflies in his stomach, the 6'3 220-pound junior from Chagrin Falls, Ohio adopted a carefree attitude reminiscent of grizzled NFL gunslinger Brett Favre.
"I've waited for two years to be the starting quarterback," said Terrell. “I decided to just go out there and play and have fun. That was my goal from the start."
Terrell achieved that goal in the early going as he coolly led Princeton on a 5-play, 41 yard drive that resulted in a Cleo Kirkland touchdown run late in the first quarter and gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
But early in the second quarter, Terrell's debut turned rocky as he was slammed to the turf on a roughing penalty and was knocked out of the game.
"I got popped pretty good; I was seeing stars," recalled Terrell, who hit on 7-of-12 passes for 99 yards in the first half as Princeton built a 20-0 lead highlighted by a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior cornerback Jay McCareins.
"I was ready to go back with seven or eight minutes left in the second quarter. The trainers didn't want me to and I probably wasn't ready because I screwed up some of the memory things. They thought it might be a concussion so they were being pretty cautious."
In the second half, Terrell returned to the field and created some memories that he won't soon forget.
With Lafayette having rallied to cut the Tigers' lead to just 20-14 early in the fourth quarter, a clear-headed Terrell engineered one of the most impressive scoring marches in recent Princeton history as the Tigers took 9:25 off the clock in a 16-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with a 37-yard field goal by Derek Javarone. The slick lefty hit on eight-of-nine passes for 61 yards on the decisive drive.
After Lafayette closed the gap to 23-21 with 3:26 remaining, Terrell then went back to the controls and calmly ran the offense as Princeton ran out the clock and salted away a sweet 23-21 triumph.
Terrell, who went 19-for-28 passing for 197 yards with two interceptions, got to end his debut by taking a knee on the last two snaps as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Princeton head coach Roger Hughes, who had deliberated long and hard on the quarterback choice, was understandably happy with Terrell's debut.
"I thought Jeff played well," said Hughes, who now has a 20-30 record in his six-year tenure guiding the Tigers.
"I think the result of the game bears out what we saw in fall camp. It's a credit to Jeff; he not only worked hard last spring but through the summer and fall. I thought his confidence grew as the game went on. He wasn't rattled; he didn't put the ball where it shouldn't be."
While Hughes was pleased with Terrell, he went out of his way to praise the work of his offensive line.
"It's always good to have the guy upstairs on you side," said Hughes, managing a grin. “But it's nice to have those five guys up front on your side."
Terrrell certainly was glad to have the line on his side. “The fourth quarter was all them," said Terrell referring to the Princeton line which included seniors Ben Brielmaier, Paul Lyons, Andrew Aurich, and Dave Szelingowski together with freshman Adam Flynn. “We had some passes to complete but only because they were expecting run."
Another beneficiary of the line's work in the trenches, fullback Rob Toresco, who rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries, also lauded their role in the victory
"My part is easy," said a grinning Toresco. “They make the holes and I try to run through them."
The final statistics reflect the line's dominance as Princeton possessed the ball for 35:36 and outgained Lafayette 333-290.
While the offensive line's play was a major highlight, maybe the most important aspect of the win was the character shown by a Princeton team who has been on the wrong side of several close games in recent seasons.
"We're excited to get out of here with a win," said Hughes, whose club will look to keep on the winning track when it hosts the University of San Diego this Saturday in its home opener at Princeton Stadium.
"We got lucky and got on them quickly. Lafayette is an outstanding football team and it wasn't surprising that they didn't fold their tents. We expected a fistfight and I was very proud of our team."
Defensive star McCareins said the seeds for the victory were sown on the practice field.
"We work hard at conditioning," said McCareins, who had two tackles and 69 yards on kickoff returns. "Everyday at practice we do sprints in our last period. I think it showed today. I think the whole team has been competitive since camp. The seniors are real serious and the freshman, sophomores, and juniors coming up believe we're a good team."
One of those key juniors, Terrell, believes the win could be the harbinger of a special fall for the Tigers.
"When you win a close game in the fourth quarter, the guys get confidence that they can do it," said Terrell. "A win like this can set the tone for the entire season. The guys aren't going to get nervous in the close ones; they are going to step up."
With Terrell stepping up at quarterback, Princeton certainly has reason to be confident in the close ones.
