Football: 3rd-quarter flurry dooms Tigers in Philly

PHILADELPHIA - The football team’s first series on Saturday could not have been scripted any better. At the onset of the game against Penn, the two-time defending league champions, Princeton had an energy that could have foretold a memorable road upset.

Following a superb defensive effort that featured junior defensive lineman Caraun Reid swatting down Quaker quarterback Billy Ragone’s pass on second down, the Tigers’ special teams unit came through when freshman tailback Will Powers blocked a punt and recovered the ball, setting up Princeton at the 11-yard line.

But the momentum did not last, and Princeton (1-7 overall, 1-4 Ivy League) lost 37-9 at Franklin Field behind a flurry of third-quarter scoring from the Quakers (5-3, 4-1) that blew the game open.

“I thought we came out with a lot of energy,” head coach Bob Surace ’90 said. “We had some chances early in the game with the blocked punts and didn’t turn them into seven points, unfortunately ... From the eight-minute mark to the 12-minute mark in the third quarter, we gave up an explosion of points, and that’s not good.”

The Tigers, in a microcosm for the rest of the game and season, could not capitalize on the short field following the blocked punt. After two rushes from freshman tailback Chuck Dibilio gained two yards, senior quarterback Tommy Wornham sent a pass into the end zone that sailed beyond junior receiver Tom Moak. As he has done all season when the offense stalls in the red zone, senior kicker Patrick Jacob came out and connected on a 25-yard field goal, and the Tigers led 3-0.

Later in the quarter, Ragone responded. Even though the Princeton defense largely contained the Quakers’ strong ground game, Ragone found success through the air to many different receivers, completing a 24-yard pass to Tommy Eggleston and a 42-yard pass over the middle to Ryan Calvert before floating up a ball to Joe Holder in the right corner of the end zone, putting the Quakers up 7-3.

“I thought we did a good job defending the run for most of the game,” Surace said. “We’ve got to do a better job, obviously, defending the pass. We’ve got to do a better job against the explosive plays.”

Later in the first quarter, lightning struck twice as the special teams unit blocked another punt, this time by freshman wide receiver Seth DeValve. Sophomore wide receiver Roman Wilson recovered, setting the Tigers up again at the Quakers’ 11-yard line. But once again, Princeton could not find the end zone, and Jacob made good on a 31-yard field goal, narrowing the deficit to 7-6.

“We’ve been able to apply some pressure on the punter and change field position,” Surace said. “I would’ve loved to have gotten a [touchdown] opportunity there. There were big plays early — momentum plays that helped us.”

Penn opened up the second quarter with a drive sustained by a strong aerial attack from backup quarterback Ryan Becker, who came out instead of Ragone. Despite the change, the Penn passing attack drove down the field, reaching the Tigers’ three-yard line after a 27-yard completion from Becker to Calvert. On the next play, tailback Jeff Jack punched the ball into the end zone on a three-yard run.

On Princeton’s next drive, the coaching staff sent out freshman quarterback Quinn Epperly to lead the offense. Epperly was flanked by a strong rushing attack from Dibilio, who broke off 15-yard and 22-yard runs to help move the Tigers to Penn’s 9-yard line.

The offense sputtered again in the red zone, but when the field goal unit came out, senior punter Otavio Fleury — the team’s kick holder — ran a fake, attempting a pass to Jacob that fell incomplete. Princeton came up completely empty from the drive.

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“We thought we had a numbers thing on that, and we worked on it,” Surace said. “We’ve been struggling to score touchdowns in the red zone, and I had my mind made up during the game. We had the numbers. If we had the chance to do it, we would do it.”

A strong defensive effort held the Quakers deep in their territory and Epperly looked sharp on the next drive, completing a 20-yard pass to junior receiver Shane Wilkinson to reach the Penn 34-yard line. Three consecutive runs from Dibilio set up fourth-and-three, and Jacob nailed a career-long 44-yard field goal, making the halftime score 14-9.

The Tigers received the ball first and opened the second half with Wornham back under center. Despite a long 23-yard completion to Wilkinson, Princeton again found itself faced with fourth down and two to go at the Quakers’ 34-yard line. Penn defensive end Kameron Jones reached up and blocked Wornham’s pass on fourth down, giving the Quakers the ball.

Ragone, back in the game, drove his offense down the field, connecting with his receivers or taking the ball with his own feet. Penn kicker Connor Loftus eventually matched Jacob with a 44-yard field goal, putting the Quakers up 17-9.

“There [were times] when we blew pass rush lanes and [Ragone] was able to run,” senior defensive lineman Mike Catapano said. “So we got to be more consistent. At times, I thought it was good, but we have to be more consistent.”

On Penn’s next possession, Ragone needed only two plays, a 12-yard pass to Calvert and a 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Mitchell; after only 35 seconds, the Quakers were up 24-9. Moments later, Wornham tried to needle a pass down the right sideline but was picked off by Penn defensive back Matt Hamscher. Hamscher ran all the way back to the end zone, and though Princeton blocked the extra point, the Quakers were in control with a 30-9 lead.

Penn finished off the Tigers at the beginning of the fourth quarter with another touchdown pass to Mitchell, this time for 23 yards, and the Quakers were up 37-9. That score held for the rest of the game as both coaching staffs finished off the game getting reps for many of their younger players.

“They stopped us, they go down and kick a field goal, make it 17-9,” Surace said. “Next series, that’s the ball game right there. [Then] they go down, hit a big play, 24-9. And then we throw a pick for a touchdown. It would have been a close game but ends up being a blowout on really those three plays.”

The Tigers return to Princeton Stadium on Saturday for their last home game of the year, facing Yale for homecoming.