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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Tiger Football Takes Care of Business in San Diego, Takes 2-0 Record Into Ivy Opener at Columbia
By Bill Alden
Boarding a jet bound for Southern California last week, the Princeton University football team eagerly headed off to the University of San Diego for the program's first-ever appearance in California
With the Ivy League precluding its teams from participating in the Division 1-AA playoffs, the Tigers' excursion to the Golden State was the program's version of a trip to a bowl game.
Determined to not let the lush surroundings divert his players' focus, Princeton head coach Roger Hughes did his best imitation of New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin as he declared that the westward jaunt was to be viewed by the players as a business trip.
The Tigers kept their noses to the grindstone last Saturday as they jumped out to a 21-0 lead and held on for a 24-17 win over the Toreros before 3,528 at Torero Stadium.
The victory lifted Princeton to a 2-O mark for the first time since 1995 when it ended up going 8-1-1 in winning the program's most recent Ivy League title.
For Hughes, the performance revealed a character that was missing in 2003 when the team won only two games the whole season.
"I hope the way we played showed a maturity," said Hughes. "We showed more confidence in that situation than we have in the past. Last year, we would have found a way to lose that game. It was good that we found a way to win when we didn't have our A-game."
In the early going, the Princeton defense gave a glimpse of its A-game as it changed the course of the contest in a 13-second period. With 14:55 left in the second quarter and Princeton clinging to a 7-0 lead, defensive lineman James Williams scooped up a San Diego fumble and rumbled 12 yards for a touchdown. On the Toreros' next play from scrimmage, Tiger defensive back Jay McCareins intercepted a pass and raced 36 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
The Tigers, however, lost their focus a bit as San Diego came up with a blocked punt to set up one touchdown and then got another touchdown after recovering an errant snap on a Princeton punt.
With the Tigers leading 21-14 at the half, Hughes was inclined to lace into his team for its lapses. Instead, Hughes opted for a more positive approach.
"I said that fellas we're up by one touchdown on the road at halftime," recalled Hughes. "We have them right where we want them. This is where we want to be. We just need to tighten some things up, especially on the special teams. This is a fist fight."
The Tigers landed the crucial punches over the last 30 minutes as Derek Javrone hit a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to give Princeton at 24-14 lead. Then with just four minutes remaining, star Princeton linebacker Zak Keasey intercepted a fourth down pass to snuff out a San Diego drive and essentially seal the win.
Hughes tipped his hat to his club's defensive effort. "Overall our defense played well," asserted Hughes, whose club outgained San Diego 360 yards to 332.
"We forced four turnovers and turned two of them into touchdowns. Their touchdowns came on a short field. Frankly I don't think they could've scored on us if they had to drive 60 or 70 yards. Justin Stull led us with 14 tackles and Keasey had 11 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery. They have become the type of players we thought they would become."
Princeton senior quarterback Matt Verbit is on his way to becoming one of the top passers in program history as he hit on 12-of 22 passes for 185 yards, thereby lifting his career total to 3,846 yards and going past Ron Beible for third on the Tigers' all-time passing chart. Verbit accumulated 215 yards total offense to move into fifth place on Princeton's total yardage list with 4,123 yards, surpassing the 4,072 yards accumulated by Dave Splithoff.
The foundation of the Princeton offense last Saturday, though, was its productive ground game which netted 175 yards. Jon Veach led the way with 90 yards on 18 carries while Brenden Benson ran for 54 yards on 12 attempts.
"They were productive," said Hughes, referring to his tailback tandem of Veach and Benson. "In the latter part of the game, the offensive line was really moving them off the ball."
Hughes is determined to keep his team's eye on the ball notwithstanding the excitement of the 2-0 start, the program's first winning streak since it won four in a row in the first half of the 2002 campaign. "I look at the season as a series of small steps," explained Hughes, who is now 16-25 in his tenure at Princeton.
"We were shooting to win our opener and we did that. Then we wanted to win our first road game and we've done that. Now the focus is on winning our first Ivy League game."
The Tigers face another tough challenge when they travel to upper Manhattan this Saturday to take on 0-2 Columbia, a team that shocked Princeton 33-27 last year on a 49-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the game's final play.
"Ever since we've been here as a staff, we've had tough games at Columbia," said Hughes, whose club outlasted the Lions 35-31 in 2002 when they last played in New York.
"It's going to be the celebration of the school's 250th anniversary so they will be all jacked up. Their offensive line is a force and their quarterback [Jeff] Otis has made some big plays against us. Their defense plays a lot of different kids and they have a complex system."
For the Tigers, however, keeping on the right track isn't that complex a proposition. "Hopefully there will be no repeat of last year," said Hughes, referring to last year's nightmare loss to Columbia. "I'm just looking at it as the next step. We have to keep a business-like approach."
If the Tigers can keep their focus, they should make their venture to the Big Apple another productive business trip.
