Princeton football (0–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) struggled across all fronts in their opening day loss to Lehigh (3–1 overall, 0–0 Patriot League) despite some moments of brilliance. In turn, the Tigers snapped their opening week win streak which stretched back to 2015.
Princeton also broke their three game win streak against Lehigh, which dated back to 2018. It’s important to note, however, that it was the Tigers’ first game while it was Lehigh’s fourth — and that disparity in the respective teams’ game experience this season was certainly evident.
Princeton had a shaky first half to start the season. Despite a few flashes by the Princeton offense in the first quarter, including a 36-yard pass from junior quarterback Blaine Hipa to senior receiver Matthew Mahoney, Lehigh dominated on both sides of the ball. On defense, Lehigh stopped the Princeton rushing attack, forcing the Tigers to lean on the pass.
Additionally, Lehigh defensive coordinator Richard Nagy dialed up the blitz, putting lots of pressure on Hipa and the offensive line. On the other side of the ball, running back Luke Yoder led a very effective Lehigh run game. The Princeton punting unit also struggled, with several wayward snaps and a few short punts.
“Our guys fought hard,” head coach Bob Surace ’90 told The Daily Princetonian. “But the week one inconsistency showed on all three sides, especially against a good team in their fourth game.”
“We had a few exceptional offensive, defensive and special teams plays, but unfortunately we had too many errors that led to big plays on offense and turnovers on defense for Lehigh,” Surace continued.
Lehigh started the game with a three-and-out, capped off by a sack by senior linebacker Carson Irons. Senior wide receiver AJ Barber fielded the punt and had a nice return to the Princeton 35-yard line. However, the Tigers’ inaugural drive was cut short by an interception. On 3rd and 19, following a sack, Hipa rolled out to the left and threw a pick, giving the Mountain Hawks good starting field position. From there, Lehigh capitalized with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Yoder.
Princeton’s following drive showed promise. Despite the interception on the previous possession, Hipa kept composure and went after the secondary. On a 3rd and 9, the junior quarterback threw a deep dart to star senior receiver Luke Colella for a fresh set of downs.
Two plays later, the Tigers drew up a play action pass, allowing Hipa to hit Mahoney on a deep crossing route for a gain of 36, putting Princeton in the red zone. From there, senior running back John Volker demonstrated poised and patient running, finding the end zone on a first and goal carry.
The rest of the first quarter was scoreless, with both teams’ defenses coming up with big stops. Princeton forced a three-and-out following their touchdown, but after an electric punt return by Barber, turned it over on downs to a blitz-heavy Lehigh defense.
On the final drive of the first quarter, Lehigh quarterback Dante Perri threw a lofty pass right into the waiting hands of sophomore defensive back Torian Roberts, giving the Tigers possession for Roberts’ first ever career interception.
In the second quarter, Princeton’s punting unit struggled. Following the interception to end the first, the Tigers were forced to punt. Lehigh’s offensive unit marched down the field without much resistance, their drive culminating with a touchdown rush by first-year running back Jaden Green.
On Princeton’s following possession, the Mountain Hawks contained both the run and pass, forcing another punt. Clark received a hard snap and ended up with a shorter punt that didn’t cross the 50-yard line. With the short field, Lehigh once again drove down the field, capitalizing with a rushing touchdown from Yoder, making the score 21–7.
Although Princeton started the next drive from the 35-yard line thanks to an illegal kick, they were forced to punt once again after just three downs. Building on an already distressing quarter for special teams, the snap on the punt was off. This time, however, it sailed over Clark’s head, forcing the sophomore to kick the ball into the back of his own end zone to try and prevent a Lehigh scoop-and-score.
The Mountain Hawks accepted the ensuing penalty for an illegal kick, giving them a short first and goal. However, Princeton’s defense wasn’t ready to just roll over. On four consecutive runs, the Tigers, led by junior linebacker Marco Scarano and senior defensive linemen Jack DelGarbino and Collin Taylor, swallowed up Lehigh’s rushers, preventing a score and forcing a crucial turnover on downs.
Princeton, backed up deep in its own territory, was unable to put together a drive and was forced to punt following their huge defensive stop. On the final drive of the half, Lehigh looked to be within field goal range when senior linebacker Nicholas Sanker and sophomore linebacker Chase Christopher combined for a big sack, forcing the Mountain Hawks to attempt a 44.5-yard field goal that ultimately went wide right.
The Tigers had 33 total offensive yards (including -33 rushing yards) compared to Lehigh’s 201, and they were certainly looking to rally after a poor first half offensively. Princeton simply had no answer for the Lehigh blitz, and could not establish their own run game.
The Orange and Black started the second half with the ball, and a series of crucial plays, including a 4th-and-2 conversion as well as a quarterback run from first-year quarterback Asher Weiner, brought the Tigers to the Mountain Hawks' 36-yard line.
On 2nd and 15, the junior quarterback sat patiently in the pocket before darting the ball downfield to a diving Colella, who snatched it up in the endzone. With this 36-yard grab, the Tigers cut the lead down to seven and the score was now Lehigh 21–14.
On the following drive, a sack from senior linebacker Jackson Ford on 3rd-and-6 forced a Lehigh punt which trickled into Princeton’s half and kept the momentum with the Tigers.
The teams traded possessions, however, as Princeton surprisingly decided to go for the 1st down on 4th-and-8, and ended up with Hipa on the turf after the pocket collapsed. With 6:09 left in the third quarter, the Tigers were once again on defense.
Within a minute of the fourth quarter, the Mountain Hawks marched into the Tigers’ endzone after two missed tackles by Princeton allowed a 17-yard touchdown on a seven minute drive to make it a two-score game once again.
The Orange and Black weren’t giving up hope though, as several key plays showed the experience of this squad even under the helm of a new quarterback. 2nd-and-4 saw Colella prove once again why he’s the Tigers’ No. 1 receiver, as a toe-tap reception out of the left sideline took Princeton into 1st and goal territory.
In the most unusual play of the game, luck was on the Tigers’ side at 4th-and-goal. Princeton needed a touchdown to keep them in this game, and that’s exactly what they dialed up.
Hipa took the snap, fired to senior wide receiver Tamatoa Falatea, who couldn't get to it as the Lehigh defender batted it out the way. But senior tight end Tyler Picinic was there, and he dove down to grab the ball and managed to take it into his chest on the far edge of the endzone for a touchdown.
With this miraculous grab, the Tigers took the score to 20–28, and kept it there after Hipa had nowhere to go on a two-point conversion attempt.
The rest of the game didn’t go Princeton’s way, as Lehigh were quickly able to get yet another rushing touchdown on a drive lasting just 2:58, and with less than seven minutes on the clock, Princeton could feel the game slipping away.
Things went from bad to worse for the Tigers’ offense, as they saw a turnover on downs after a 4th-and-10 attempt, followed twice over by a Lehigh punt and Princeton interception which ran down the clock.
“The often used adage in football is that you make your biggest improvement between week one and week two, and then another jump the next week,” coach Surace told the ‘Prince,’ reflecting on the game. “I’m looking forward to seeing our team improve our consistency this week.”
There is a lot to take away from this game for the Tigers. They saw positives on defense as some big stops in the red-zone, and prevented some key touchdown opportunities for the Mountain Hawks. Offensively, Hipa looked really strong on many long range throws, ending up with 219 yards, and Colella was reliable yet again.
Nevertheless, there are many issues which Princeton needs to sort out if they are going to have any hope at the Ivy League title this season. In particular, they struggled against blitz and the offensive line often made it very challenging for Hipa to make plays despite flashes of brilliance — resulting in him rushing for 37 yards across the game. Running the ball was also an issue for the Tigers in general, as they ended on negative yardage and never got the run game underway.
On the defensive side, Princeton’s losses at linebacker were clear, and the defensive system hadn’t yet adjusted to these changes. Throughout the game they had no answer for Lehigh’s running backs, and the Mountain Hawks ended the game with 153 total rushing yards, incomparably better to that of Princeton’s.
Lastly, the special teams unit looked shaky at best. The long snapping was poor and resulted in several difficult punt attempts for Clark, and arguably forced the Tigers to go for so many fourth downs, many of which resulted in turnovers.
Princeton has plenty of opportunities for redemption, however. Their next game will be their first at home on Sept. 28 against Howard University (2–2 overall, 0–0 MEAC) who are coming off of a loss.
Doug Schwartz is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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