Tigers top Lehigh for first time since 1993
By: Justin Feil
The Princeton University football team answered some of its most pressing questions in a 14-10 win over Lehigh University on Saturday.
"I didn’t know how we were going to react," said PU head coach Roger Hughes. "We had a coaches’ pool yesterday and asked everyone, what do you think is going to happen? To a coach, we said, we don’t know.
"We just hadn’t seen these guys under fire, especially a whole new offensive line and a whole new linebacking corps essentially. I just couldn’t be more proud of how our team came through and got the win."
The Tigers, with questions concerning how they would handle their first game of the season with 15 new starters, fought back from a 10-0 halftime deficit on the road in front of 8,667 fans at Goodman Stadium. Rob Torresco scored the first touchdown of the season in the second half, then Jeff Terrell found Adam Berry for the game-winning touchdown with 6:56 left in the third quarter. The defense did the rest with a scoreless second half.
"I said it all preseason. We’ve been in the battles at the end of the games," said Terrell, who finished 16 for 27 for 205 yards and a touchdown. "We know how to win in the fourth quarter now. Even from going through tough losses in the fourth quarter, that gives us some experience how to put the game away late."
Princeton snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series. It won for the first time over the Mountain Hawks since 1993, and the first time at Lehigh since 1992. The Mountain Hawks fell to 1-2.
"The last time I’ve ever beaten Lehigh was at Dartmouth when we were undefeated in 1996," Hughes said. "This is a huge win for us. This is the one team we haven’t beaten as a staff since we’ve been here. I know how difficult it is, and their record at Goodman Stadium. To come in here and win against a very good team is a huge win. I don’t think our kids may even appreciate how tough it was to come in here and win because we have so many freshmen who are part of the team."
Princeton, which hosts Lafayette 6 p.m. next Saturday in its home opener at Princeton Stadium, looked like a rookie team early on as Lehigh, with two games under its belt, jumped out to a 10-0 lead. But even as they were falling behind, the Tigers continued to stay positive.
"Overall, I was pleased with the intensity we played with," Hughes said. "And I was really pleased with no matter what happened during the game there was no letdown, no give up, no here-we-go, we’re-not-very-good. There was a lot of confidence on the sidelines."
Lehigh got on the board first on a Jason Leo 23-yard field goal. Their second possession of the game began with a 69-yard completion from Sidale Threatt to Frank Trovato. Tim Strickland’s tackle saved a touchdown and the Tigers held firm for the next three plays to force the field goal.
"We ended up running down and tackling him," Strickland noted. "That shows a heck of a lot from a young defense to be able to get down there and stop a team and hold them to a field goal."
Threatt opened the deficit to 10-0 with an option run around the right side with 2:13 left in the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks’ moved into the red zone with a third-down 35-yard run by Matt McGowan. Threatt also completed a 16-yard pass on 2nd-and-11.
"In the first half, penalties were killing us on offense," said Hughes as the offense was penalized six times for 53 yards in the first 30 minutes. "We were able to move the ball. We just couldn’t keep on track yardage wise, down and distance wise because we had so many penalties."
The Tigers missed a golden opportunity to get their first points of the season near the end of the first half. Princeton drove the ball 79 yards to the Lehigh 4-yard line but Connor Louden’s first career field goal attempt, a 21-yarder, was wide right to end a 17-play drive that got the Tigers no closer to Lehigh.
Princeton was able to move into scoring position and keep the drive alive when they converted on a 4th-and-3 from the Lehigh 27 with Terrell passing quickly to Brendan Circle for a 6-yard gain. Terrell also completed passes for 14 yards to Brian Shields and for 13 yards to Brian Brigham on the drive. Princeton made things exciting on 3rd-and-goal from the Lehigh 15. Terrell hit Bill Foran on a crossing pass over the middle at the 8 and Foran pitched the ball to Rob Torresco, who was pushed out at the 4.
"We came in at halftime knowing we could move the ball on these guys," Terrell said. "I think that’s a big reason we came out with such confidence in the second half and were able to go right down on that first drive. Again, frustrated we didn’t get points but the guys showed a lot of poise in coming back. They didn’t put their heads down."
Princeton got a lift from its defense just before the first half ended. It came up with a late stop in the final minute of the fourth quarter to keep itself within striking distance for the second half. After a pair of big gains, the Mountain Hawks had a 4th-and-1 from the Princeton 17. Doori Song burst through the Lehigh line to bring down Matt McGowan for a loss of 3 yards.
"This is Doori’s first game," Hughes said, "and as the game went on he became more and more comfortable."
Song finished with three solo tackles, two for losses. The Tigers seemed to ride that momentum as they came out of the locker room and quickly made it a one-score game. Princeton drove 58 yards in four plays to make it 10-7 1:50 into the third quarter. Terrell was a perfect 3-for-3 on the series. He hit Billy Mitchell for 23 yards, Brian Shields for 14 yards and Adam Berry for 14 more yards. Torresco cut through the middle for the 7-yard touchdown run to give Princeton its first points of the season.
"I said, they’ve had your backs to the wall and we punched them back," Hughes said. "If that’s the best they’ve got, let’s go get them in the second half. It’s a credit to Jeff and our offense. They went right down the field and scored."
Princeton got another big play from its defense to lead to the go-ahead score. With Lehigh driving, Tim Strickland stepped in front of a Threat pass intended for Troy Healion at the goal line for the interception. Strickland returned it to the Lehigh 32-yard line.
"I was playing center field," Strickland said. "I really didn’t honestly see where the quarterback was because I was just looking at the two receivers in my area. I saw the ball go up, and honestly I don’t think he saw me either. I made a play and the offense did a heck of a job going down and doing what they had to do to put us back in the game. It was a good play, but it was a better job by the offense to go down and put some points on the board."
This time, the Tigers mixed the run and pass effectively to move down the field. Terrell hit passes to Brigham twice and R.C. Lagomarsino bounced out and down the left side for a 27-yard gain to move the Tigers to the Lehigh 19. After two plays netted seven yards, Berry caught his first career touchdown pass in the front left corner of the end zone to give the Tigers a 14-10 lead with 6:56 left in the third quarter.
"I think it was a double psychological effect," Hughes said of Strickland’s play. "It was an unbelievably uplifting for us. Then on their sidelines, I felt like that may have taken a little wind out of their sails. It’s just what we’ve been preaching to these guys as a coaching staff.
"We didn’t know what the score would be, but just play as hard as you can all the time. Keep doing your job, keep believing in what we’re doing, and good things are going to happen."
Lehigh had a chance to pull within one, but Leo’s 23-yard field goal hit the right upright and bounced out. Princeton failed to capitalize when it had to punt on the ensuing possession, but Strickland’s second interception of the game on Lehigh’s first play gave the ball right back to the Tigers.
"I’m really proud of Tim’s effort," Hughes said. "If you’re looking at our defense, he’s the one guy that’s played a lot over the years. He took the defense on his shoulders and really played well."
Terrell was picked off to end the possession, but the Tiger defense held again as Jon Stem ended Lehigh’s opportunity with a sack of Threatt. Terrell, however, was intercepted again and the Mountain Hawks had another chance. They drove to the Princeton 26 before an offensive pass interference with Dan Kopolovich defending moved them back to the 41. On 4th-and-10, senior cornerback J.J. Artis knocked a scrambling Threatt out of bounds two yards short of a first down.
The Tiger offense took over with 3:05 left in the game and promptly picked up a pair of first downs before finally punting the ball away with five seconds left to end the game. Princeton picked up 30 yards with Torresco running behind its five new offensive linemen, including Mark Paski, the first freshman to start on the offensive line in his first game at Princeton. The Tigers rushed for 108 yards, 87 of them in the second half. The new offensive line also allowed no sacks, making Terrell the biggest benefactor.
"The last drive, I can’t tell you how proud I am of them," Terrell said. "They just came together and Rob ran the ball so hard, but the holes were there too. Those guys took the team on their back."
They were a part of a Tigers win that alleviated several preseason concerns and showed that Princeton is ready to build on its seven-win season of a year ago.