Healthy Miller helping Little Tigers
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Jack Miller did everything that he could to heal his injured back for his senior year at Princeton High School.
It’s a good thing since he is part of a defense that will be asked to carry the Little Tigers this season after massive graduation losses on the attack and in the midfield.
”Last year, we had a cushion,” Miller said. “We could afford to make mistakes and not have it be as dire a consequence because we had crazy talent on the offensive side. This year, we’re the focus of the team instead of Allen (Bryant) and Mike (Olentine). The roles have been reversed.
”We were strong last year. It was a little frustrating always having the offense get all the attention. I felt like we were a little overlooked and ignored. We were kind of the unsung heroes. This year, we’re going to get a lot more exposure.”
It started with the season opener, a 6-1 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Friday. The Little Tigers will win a lot of games if they can keep opponents to one goal.
”I’m hoping that’s what it is,” Miller said. “I’m going to try my hardest not to let my man score. I trust Dean (DiTosto), Michael (Irving) and Robby (Dowers) to do the same. I know they trust me.”
The Little Tigers weren’t quite sure how much they could depend on Miller, a senior with a senior citizen’s back. He has five herniated discs that hampered his play last year, though he still was a starter.
”It was always creeping up on me, and I’d always feel it,” Miller said. “The coaches have prepared us well. We do a lot of abs and core muscles and stabilizing. They’re looking out for us.”
Miller’s return gives the Little Tigers another veteran defender, someone who makes them deeper and more versatile.
”We didn’t know if we’d be able to get a lot out of him,” said PHS head coach Peter Stanton. “We were concerned about his health. He’s really dedicated himself to it this year. He’s focused on having a great senior season of lacrosse.
”He’s a really strong character in terms of being a funny, amusing guy that kids like to be around and he’s someone we can rely on to do the right thing.”
Miller helped his own cause with aggressive physical therapy. He added 35 pounds of muscle since last season, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg in his improved play.
”I’m just a lot more physical now,” Miller said. “I’ve been working on my stick skills and trying to get everything together. I have a stronger core. Everything turned out for the better. I’m faster, I’m stronger, and I’m just a smarter player in general, as are all our defensive players.”
Playing a year in the system after transferring from Peddie after his sophomore season has helped Miller feel more comfortable in the Little Tigers defense. Last year helped him develop into a more complete defender.
”We had great defensive midfielders, and playing in every game, it really taught me how to keep my composure and act as a leader and not get stressed out or frantic on the field,” Miller said. “That’s the one thing we have that a lot of teams don’t — we have poise and control. And we have communication. It’s all coming together this year.”
Said Stanton: “One of the things that’s a little unusual is the depth we have. We have Robby, Dean and Jack starting at close defense. Mike Irving is at longstick middie, but Mike can play any position on the field. Tom Sacchetti, who’s just returning from injury, is also a capable longstick middie and close defender. Nate File, he’ll be able to contribute to us. We have six guys that can play different positions, so we’re deep and versatile.”
The Little Tigers defense flexed its muscles in the season-opening win over the Knights. Coleman Preziosi scored the first goal of the Little Tigers’ season, and Kirby Peck scored three of the next four goals to build a 5-0 lead. Irving finished with a goal and three assists. That was more than enough offense for PHS, which maintained a shutout with Griffin Peck making 12 saves until one got by with six minutes left.
”That’s what we’re going to have to do to win this year,” Stanton said. “Last year, we could win a game by scoring a couple touchdowns. This year, we’re going to be involved in pitching duels. We’ll win by baseball scores, rather than double digits.
”We were able to generate enough offense and able to get enough transition going. Kirby Peck stepping up and having three goals was big. It’s going to be surprising guys and at different times they are going to have their moments. We don’t have one person that’s going to carry us. It’s going to be everybody is going to have to pull a little bit at different times.”
On defense, though, the Little Tigers expect to get consistency. They showed their capabilities against WW-P North to set up a big week that begins with Hopewell Valley today.
”Hopewell Valley, they’ve improved a lot,” Stanton said. “We have Notre Dame on Thursday and they beat us twice. Then we have Lawrenceville on Saturday. As encouraged as we are, we might be really depressed by the end of the week.”
Friday’s win was encouraging enough for the Little Tigers, who needed something concrete to see how good they can be.
”The scrimmages in the preseason didn’t help me gauge what the season would be like,” Miller said. “After playing North, it gave me the confidence to know we can keep other teams from scoring tons of goals, and can keep it to an extremely low number. I have confidence this season that we’ll make it really far. It’s just whether we can continue to work as a unit. That’s really what we have going for us. As a full team, everyone needs to play their part. That’s what our coaches are trying to get us do now.”
Jack Miller is just happy to have his back healthy enough to carry his weight for a PHS defense that got off to a promising start.