Sprint Football: Zachariah shows his progress in home loss

What a difference a year can make.

Last October, then-sophomore sprint football quarterback Jaison Zachariah of the sprint football team did not complete a single pass in 13 attempts against Army. Not only was the team shut out in a 55-0 loss, but Zachariah was shut out as well, ending the game with zero total passing yards. The Army defense was too much to handle.

But in Princeton’s home opener on Friday, Zachariah emerged anew, tossing for 197 yards and a touchdown. Though the Tigers (0-4 overall, 0-3 Collegiate Sprint Football League) lost 57-13 to the Black Knights (2-1, 2-0), their 214 total yards was the Tigers’ best offensive performance of the season.

Zachariah showed a lightness of foot and clearness of vision as he led several long drives deep into Army territory. On the Tigers’ sole offensive scoring drive, Zachariah placed the ball in the proximity of junior wide receiver Kees Thompson, allowing Thompson to make an impressive leaping catch against man coverage for a 29-yard gain. The reception moved the Tigers to Army’s 4-yard line, eventually setting up Zachariah’s touchdown toss to junior tight end John Wolfe.

Junior wide receiver Nick Lulli — who was the target for 93 of Zachariah’s passing yards — said that the offense entered the game seeking to capitalize on the Black Knights’ man defense through choice routes and by sending receivers in motion before the snap. The strategy worked, for the most part.

“We didn’t try anything particularly fancy or anything difficult, we just executed what we were repping in practice well,” Lulli explained.

Lulli added that a big part of Zachariah’s success could be attributed to the strong pass protection provided by the Tiger offensive line.

“Their pass protection was very good, and it gave Jaison the time he needed to find his guys downfield,” he said.

The Tigers dominated the time of possession battle, holding the ball for more than 42 minutes as they engineered healthy drives and earned 16 first downs. Yet the split belies the nature of Friday’s game — it wasn’t that the Tiger defense clamped down and continuously forced short three-and-out drives, but rather that the Army aerial offense struck quickly on drive after drive.

The Black Knights gained 345 yards and scored seven times through the air as the Tigers’ pass defense missed tackles and coverage assignments. Army wide receiver Cody Nyp scored five touchdowns, all on throws of longer than 20 yards.

Junior captain and safety Ned Moffat — who had one of the Tigers’ two interceptions — said that the Tigers could improve their pass defense with some hard work in practice.

“Our pass defense can be as good as anyone’s in the league; it’s just a question of getting all our guys on the same page for every snap,” he said in an email.

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The Tigers’ other interception came on a fluke play as the first half drew to a close. In a shotgun formation in their own red zone on a third-and-four, the snap flew over the head of Army quarterback Javier Sustaita and bounced around in the Black Knights’ end zone. Sustaita recovered the ball and, under pressure from a Princeton defense eager for a safety, threw it errantly into the hands of senior linebacker and captain Atray Dixit. Dixit then ran the football seven yards for the Tigers’ first score.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Dixit said.

The Tigers will travel to Waterbury, Conn., next week to take on second-year opponent Post University.