Little Tigers fall late to Ewing
By: Bob Nuse
As far as Steve Everette was concerned, his Princeton High football team played its first game the way he expected a team with newcomers at so many positions to play.
At times, the Little Tigers looked like a team with a lot of potential. At other times, they looked like a team with juniors and sophomore starting at key positions. In the end, Princeton played Ewing even until a touchdown as time ran out gave the Blue Devils a 24-18 win before a big opening-day crowd.
Princeton led 10-0 early in the third quarter, fell behind, 18-10, in the fourth quarter, then rallied to tie the game with just over three minutes left. The Little Tigers had a chance to win the game with a field goal with seven sevens left, but the kick was blocked and after some initial confusion, Ewing’s Tiray Silvas returned the ball 85 yards for a touchdown as time ran out.
"That’s what happens when you’re young," said Everette, whose team will play at Lawrence on Saturday. "It was a roller coaster. That’s why I don’t like amusement parks. Crowds are too terrible and the rides just give you a headache. I knew our defense would be good. I don’t think they did too much against us defensively. We turned the ball over and they got points. We can’t do that."
Princeton had the better of play in the first half, grabbing a 7-0 lead when Alexz Henriquez ran 58 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. The Little Tigers made it 10-0 in the third quarter on a 33-yard field goal by Doug Borchert.
But five second-half turnovers wound up costing Princeton, as Ewing scored three times to grab an 18-10 lead with eight minutes left. Princeton then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but the defense held Ewing and the Little Tigers still had life.
Junior quarterback John Mitko moved Princeton down the field, capping off an 83-yard drive by connecting with Tyler Moni for a 9-yard touchdown pass. The same two players hooked up on the two-point conversion pass and the game was tied with just over three minutes left.
"We were down almost two scores and we came back in the fourth quarter," Everette said. "That’s a great drive by a first-year quarterback. That’s a great drive. So I have nothing but optimism. We’re getting a step closer to where we want to be.
"We got a little tired in the third quarter and we made some mistakes. But I thought we showed our resiliency and we were able to get back into the thing. We made a heck of a comeback in the fourth quarter."
Princeton’s defense held again and after a great punt return by Moni, they had the ball inside the Ewing 20 with under two minutes left. They set up for the winning field goal, which turned out to be a chance for Silvas to steal the show.
"He was a good player on film and he made the play to beat us," Everette said. "You have to give him credit there for making a good football play. Everyone else thought we were going to overtime and he picked the ball up and scored."
Even with the loss, Everette had reason to be pleased with his team. Mitko, in his first game as a starter, completed nine of his 25 passes for 118 yards and led a fourth-quarter rally. Henriquez rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown. And the defense looked like a veteran unit in spite of its youth.
"Mitko is a tough kid," Everette said. "I said it all summer, what we lost at the position in height we make up for in athleticism. And the kid is gutsy. I thought we moved the ball well most of the day. We squandered some chance. But we’re young. We lost some veteran guys and now we have to learn.
"We lost on a non-veteran play. Hopefully we’ll learn from it. Next week we’ll be a week older and we get to go and play again. We have to not turn the ball over and when we have the opportunity to make plays we have to take advantage of it."