Junior wideout, Tigers host Lehigh 6 p.m. Saturday
By: Justin Feil
An opening-game win over Lehigh served as Adam Berry’s big introduction to Princeton University football fans. And to Lehigh as well.
Berry came off the bench to make a career-best three catches, including the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter of Princeton’s 14-10 win. He went on to catch 17 passes, including recording a reception in nine of the Tigers’ 10 games, over the 2006 season.
"It just gave me confidence to actually go out there and perform," Berry said. "It was my first game action. Getting thrown right in the fire was invaluable for the rest of the season.
"From a team standpoint, that just gave us faith in each other. If you look at that game, we didn’t exactly win pretty by any means, but we did find a way to compete and we did find a way to become successful."
The Tigers and Berry hope to find the same spark when they host Lehigh 6 p.m. Saturday on Powers Field in Princeton Stadium. The Mountain Hawks are 0-1 after dropping a 30-20 decision to Villanova last week.
"I think I’m light years ahead of where I was last year," said Berry, who will start at one receiver spot opposite first-team All-Ivy receiver Brendan Circle. "A lot of that comes from a confidence standpoint. It’s one thing to get reps in practice. Then you go into your first varsity game. The speed picks up and all of a sudden the pressure is on.
"If you’ve been through the battle, you’re a lot more comfortable with how things are going," he added. "Having said that, there’s still going to be those nerves before that first game of the season every year. That’s why you play the game. It’s fun."
The Tigers are again looking for a fast start this year. Bill Foran will debut at starting quarterback. Princeton expects to start three sophomores on its offensive line that will block for the top two rushers who return from a year ago, R.C. Lagomarsino and Rob Toresco. Jake Staser will draw the start at tight end after catching 10 passes a year ago. Gone from the outside are Brian Brigham and Brian Shields, who combined for 54 receptions a year ago.
"For all of us, the entire receiver corps, we have to support Circle because he’s going to get double and triple-teamed," said Berry, a junior from Bel Air, Md. "It’s important for all of us to play well so we can expand the offense. Circle, just being a presence out there, is going to give us the opportunity to catch some balls. None of us are looking for a specific amount of numbers, we just want to find a way to win. We know a lot of teams will focus on Circle, so we just have to go out and do our job and I think we can be really successful."
The Tigers are banking on Berry being a bigger target this year. He figures to have more opportunities with starting and playing opposite Circle.
"He’s tough mentally and probably the most assignment-sound person on our team," said PU head coach Roger Hughes. "He can probably tell you what the left guard is doing on every play, in addition to the tight end and everyone else. His actions and the way he conducts himself motivate others on the team.
"Adam has had an expanding role his whole career. I see it continuing to expand as he gets to become of the premier receivers we have. And thank goodness, we have him for another year after this too."
Berry was surprised by the number of snaps he got in last year’s Lehigh game. He played more than expected after a number of receivers were lost to injury in the opener.
"When the other receivers went down with cramps, there weren’t many opportunities to step out of the lineup," Berry said. "I remember one of the trainers told me, now you can’t be a freshman or sophomore, you have to step up. That was the drive before the go-ahead touchdown. That’s something that really rang true with me. When the team needs you to step up, you can’t waste time saying I’m young, or, I can’t do this, because people are depending on you."
The Tigers will be depending on its experienced skill position players to help Foran in his first career start. The Princeton offense will face a Lehigh defense that surrendered over 400 yards of total offense to Villanova.
"Most of their secondary is back from last year," Hughes said. "They’re very athletic. Their front is somewhat new. There are a couple kids that played on it last year that if they progressed the way we expect they could, they should be pretty good. It appeared they were bringing a lot more pressure."
The Tigers defense also will have some new faces in its lineup. John Callahan steps in at linebacker for honorable mention All-Ivy Brig Walker. Cart Kelly and Wilson Cates join Kevin Kelleher and Dan Kopolovich in the defensive backfield. The Princeton defense will face a Lehigh attack run by quarterback Sedale Threatt, who passed for 302 yards against Villanova. He rushed for 52 yards against Princeton last year.
"He’s a special kid. He’s fun to watch," said PU linebackers coach Don Dobes. "He’s as athletic as we will see all year at that position. They ended up throwing the ball over 50 times which surprised us a little bit. We know he has a great target in (Sekou Yansane). We really like the tight end, Troy Healion. He’s real athletic and can hurt you down the middle. We’re trying to keep some things in mind to keep an eye on (Threatt). Hopefully we’re quick enough to run him down.
"We did a great job second half (last year). We got some hands on some balls and got him sacked a couple times."
Those improvements led to a huge win for the Tigers. Lehigh had won the previous seven meetings. They went on to tie for the Patriot League championship last year, while Princeton used its win over the Mountain Hawks as a springboard to a big season.
"I definitely think it set the tone for the entire season," Berry said. "If you look at it, look at the close games we played and look at all the games we had to come from behind and find a way to win. By having that experience in Week 1, our team became confident that no matter how bad it looked, that we’ve been here before and been successful. It’s something we really relied on as the season went on."
Saturday, the Tigers will find out who they can rely on this year. Figure Adam Berry will be in the mix. After last year’s introduction, Lehigh certainly knows better than to overlook him.