72c55a3d72a3d05ccbcdb8d351fdc473.jpg

Grenis into position to aid Little Tigers

PHS football defense stellar again

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Billy Grenis knew his time would eventually come.
   Now he’s trying to make the most of it.
   Grenis spent the last three years learning the linebacker position at Princeton High. Now, as a senior, he’s stepped in and helped keep a traditionally strong position for the Little Tigers as a strength again this year.
   ”This is my first year starting varsity,” said Grenis, who had an interception and helped the Princeton defense post a shutout in a 31-0 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Saturday. “I’ve been in the weight room every possibility I get and I’ve really been working towards this to help the team and have a good senior year.
   ”We had some great linebackers last year with Doug Borchert and Joey Cifelli. It’s hard to fill their shoes. But after today it looks like we’re doing it so far.”
   The linebacker position has been a solid one at Princeton for several years. It’s become a source of pride for the Little Tigers.
   ”We’re getting to that point where we’re not just a team, we’re a program,” said Princeton coach Steve Everette, whose team improved to 2-1 with the win. “The kids that watch the Ben DeRoosis and the Doug Borcherts and the Luke LaVoies, they watched how hard they worked. They see how hard they worked and they take a great deal of pride in our defense. They watched those kids have a great deal of success and they want to have successes like them.”
   ”We’re trying to be a program where our kids watch each other and the younger kids learn from the older kids and then they go to take their place.”
   After a disappointing loss in its opener, Princeton has bounced back with impressive wins over Ewing and WW-P North. In retrospect, the opening loss may have been a learning experience for the Little Tigers.
   ”After the first week we switched around the defense a little and since then we have been pretty solid,” Grenis said. “Last week we only allowed one touchdown, so we’ve only allowed one touchdown since that first week.
   ”Everyone was upset after that first game. We had hard practices the whole next week and we did not want that to happen again. We learned from our mistakes to not let that happen.”
   WW-P North played a solid first half against the Little Tigers on Saturday. The game was tied with just under a minute left in the half when Josh Gordon broke free for an 88-yard touchdown run that turned the momentum the Little Tigers’ way.
   ”It was a huge lift,” Everette said of the run. “It took the wind out of their sails. They thought we were going to throw the ball and we were just trying to kill the clock. Josh saw a seam and he is a pretty talented kid. By no stretch of the imagination did we think we would get a touchdown run right before the half.”
   In the second half, Princeton used the running of Gordon, Trevor Barsamian and Tom Borchert to score on two straight possessions, then added an interception return for a touchdown by DeQuan Holman for a 28-0 lead.
   ”The kids are playing really well,” Everette said. “The Nottingham game left some salt in the wound and so we still like to taste that salt every now and again. It helps to get us flying around a little bit. We’ve had a renewed effort with our defense.”
   The Little Tigers had a big day running the football as Gordon finished with 184 yards rushing, while Barsamian had 80 and Borchert added 38. It was the second straight week PHS ran for more than 250 yards.
   ”Geoff Chrisman, who was in my first class here at Princeton, he takes a great deal of pride in coaching the running backs,” Everette said. “I think he’s had the leading rusher three out of the last four years. He works those guys super hard. Not only does he work them hard, but they’re willing to share carries and share information with each other. He does an excellent job and our running backs are not selfish.”
   The WW-P North defense played well in the first half until surrendering that long Gordon run. But the offense generated just over 150 yards as the Knights slipped to 0-3. Rob White completed seven of 21 passes for 87 yards, with three of the receptions coming from Tyshaun Chandler.
   In other games involving Packet-area teams this weekend, WW-P South improved to 3-0 with a 44-13 win over Trenton. Connor Farrell threw three touchdown passes and David Twamley scored a pair of touchdowns as the Pirates built a 44-0 lead after three quarters.
   The Hun School improved to 2-1 with a 17-6 win at Penn Charter. Brian Leffler scored on a pair of touchdown runs. Leffler and Donald Coleman each ran for 83 yards to pace the offense.
   Princeton Day School fell to 1-3 with a 32-18 loss at George School. Dennis Cannon had a big game for the Panthers, running for one score and passing for another in the loss.
   Montgomery slipped to 1-2 with a 33-7 loss at Immaculata. Connor Oltmans threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to J.T. Tartacoff for the Cougars’ lone touchdown.