By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
When Mike Fossati looked around the football field on Saturday, he saw a lot of new faces with him on the Princeton University defense.
Those new faces merged together quickly, which was a big factor in the Tigers’ opening the season with a 27-17 victory over San Diego at Princeton Stadium.
“I loved it,” Fossati, a senior linebacker, said of the way the Tigers played defense in the victory. “Everyone out there was working their tail off and we all gelled together perfectly. I thought we had a few mistakes, but we will correct those for next week. I was happy with the way our defense played.”
Fossati came into the game as one of the more experienced players on a Princeton defense that had eight new starters.
“I don’t want to think about it differently,” said Fossati, who played in all 10 games at linebacker last season and was eighth on the team with 27 tackles. “As a linebacker, you always have to be vocal and make sure everyone is on the same page. I just try to get out there and get everybody up and ready to play.”
The defense did its part to back up an offense that was led by senior quarterback Chad Kanoff, who passed for a career-high 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Kanoff, who will handle the position full time while John Lovett is sidelined with an injury, connected with Stephen Carlson on three touchdown passes. A year ago, Carlson caught two passes for the season.
On Saturday, he hauled in six passes for 94 yards to go with his three touchdowns. Also contributing to the offense was Jesper Horsted, who caught 12 passes for 108 yards.
“It was an unbelievable win,” Fossati said. “Our defense played a great game and our offense, those receivers really know how to go up for the ball. When it is third and long, you’re praying for them to get the first down. But you know it is elusive when it is that long. They did a great job going up for the ball and coming down with it.
“(San Diego) already had two games under their belt and this was our first game. We were so excited to play and we were all jacked up and happy to come out of here with a win.”
Princeton forced three turnovers in the game, but the outcome was still in doubt in the fourth quarter as the Tigers were clinging to a 20-17 lead after San Diego scored with 7:10 left to play.
But Kanoff engineered a 66-yard scoring drive that included a pair of acrobatic receptions by his talented receivers, as Horsted and Carlson each made a great catch on third and long plays.
The touchdown iced the victory for Princeton and left San Diego with a 1-2 record for the season.
“Some of those catches were ridiculous,” Kanoff said. “We had really good protections the whole way through. I think the one I threw to Jesper, I threw with my eyes closed and he caught it. I don’t know if that was my best decision, but he made me right.”
Princeton coach Bob Surace wasn’t surprised by the performance of Kanoff, who will handle all of the quarterbacking duties while Lovett is out with an injury.
“He’s been doing it every day in practice,” said Surace, whose team will play at Lafayette on Saturday at 6 p.m. “You trust your eyes and every year he has made a big growth in his development. To do this as a fifth-year senior, you can see his confidence. He has the whole offense aligned and he is putting the ball in tight zones to big receivers.”
Princeton opened the 2014 season with a game at San Diego. That team, like this one, was coming off an Ivy League title. But after losing that game, 39-29, Princeton got the better of the Toreros this time around.
“I thought it was a great test,” Surace said. “I don’t want to get into the habit of playing a game that doesn’t matter. It’s not fun for the fans or our players. And you want to get a test right away. I knew we were young on defense and when I saw the schedule I knew they were experience on offense and this would give is an amazing opportunity to get ready for the rest of the year.”
Kanoff, a rare fifth-year senior in the Ivy League after missing the 2014 season with an injury, was in San Diego the last time these teams met and remembers the game well.
“I went to San Diego and they smoked us,” Kanoff said. “We were coming off a championship year and they smoked us. This year we were ready to play and came away with a win. I thought we played well on offense and the defensive guys did a great job.
“It’s the same offense. For the time being we are without our best player, but we have other great players. The coaches do a great job of making sure we get the ball to the right players.”
Surace was happy with the way his entire team responded, particularly the young defensive unit.
“That is a very good offense,” Surace said of San Diego. “They return almost all of their starters. Their quarterback played a great game as well. I thought we had a few moments where we were a little bit soft on the coverage. I knew they were going to take shots. They challenged us and we came through.
“I thought our veterans gave us that calming presence. Guys like Kurt Holuba and Chance (Melanin). And I though Mike Fossati played a great game. They were all over the field.”
So Princeton heads to Lafayette with a 1-0 record after finally getting out onto the field to play. As is the case every year, the Ivy League teams open against teams that have already played one or two games to start the season.
“We’re used to it by now,” Fossati said. “Especially as a senior, I am used to it. But it is fun because you get to see everyone else play. We got to see San Diego play two games. It was fun to go out there and see how we match up. This will help us stop the run. I don’t think any Ivy League team runs the ball as much as they do.”
