Princeton Football (2–3 overall, 1–1 Ivy League) put on a strong defensive display with five turnovers to secure victory against the Brown Bears (2–3, 1–1) over the weekend. Despite having fewer total yards, fewer first downs, and less time on the ball, the Tigers offense capitalized on the defense’s strength to secure them the 29–17 win at home.
In particular, it was the defensive-back room who were key for the Tigers’ success. Sophomore defensive back Torian Roberts added his third interception of the season, running with the ball for a 43-yard gain and crucial field position. Junior defensive back Nasir Hill had an interception whilst junior defensive back Tahj Owens had two fumble recoveries.
“Tahj played physical and executed his responsibilities very well,” Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “Most importantly, he is growing into a leader with his communication.”
“Brown plays with one of the fastest tempos in the country, and they really test the safety and linebacker’s ability to process a lot of information quickly and communicate to the rest of the defense,” coach Surace continued. “It may seem easy, but I think it [is] a great challenge versus that pace of play. Tahj was near perfect on Friday in this area.”
The Tigers set the tone for the game in the first quarter, scoring two touchdowns within the first ten minutes of the quarter and forcing a Brown punt in between. Senior running back John Volker scored on both plays, executing them to perfection to put the Tigers ahead.
Volker’s first run saw him dive through the Brown defensive line and linebackers at pace, cutting back between Brown players before cruising into the endzone for a 66-yard touchdown run. His second touchdown of the game saw him sprint out right on a 2nd-and-goal, sneaking into the endzone despite late hits from the Brown secondary.
Credit goes to the offensive unit on both of these plays, however, in giving the Princeton running backs the gaps they need to score. The offensive line (OL) particularly goes unnoticed in their role, but they played a huge part in Princeton’s 179 rushing yards for the night.
“To be successful on an offensive play, it almost always takes all 11 to execute,” coach Surace wrote to the ‘Prince’ about the running game. “Friday night we had our best perimeter blocking by our [wide receivers] (WRs) and [tight ends] (TEs) in quite some time. The OL has been solid all season, and having an athletic QB forces a defense to account for him. Those other 10 players truly make a difference.”
Misses on the first touchdown’s extra point and the two-point conversion on the following touchdown kept Princeton at 12–0; however, Roberts’ interception and a rushing touchdown by junior quarterback Blaine Hipa on the following drive meant it didn’t stay this way for long.
Roberts taking the ball to Brown’s 13-yard-line set Princeton up in a perfect position for points. On a key 3rd-and-10 Hipa showed his mobility as he found the endzone for another Princeton touchdown with a successful extra point taking the Tigers up to 19–0.
The teams continued to trade points as Brown marched up the field in less than four minutes to score a touchdown before the Tigers came right back with a field goal to take the score to 22–7 until the half.
Brown scored their second and final touchdown of the game on the opening drive of the second half. Despite several third downs and a fourth down, the Tigers’ defense didn’t have an answer for the Brown offense as their running game propelled them to the endzone.
The Bears’ final points were scored in a 33-yard field goal attempt to make the game a one-score contest, 22–17. With a Tiger three-and-out on the following drive, the Bears now had the chance to take the lead for the first time since the start of the game.
“There are [four] ‘statistics’ we emphasize that have the highest value towards winning,” coach Surace ’90 wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Turnover margin is certainly one of them, and it was nice to ‘ring the bell’ [five] times against a terrific offense.”
The defense had to come up big in this drive and they did. Owens’ secured the Tigers’ penultimate turnover as he got his second fumble recovery of the night at the Princeton 25-yard-line.
Sophomore running back Ethan Clark kicked off the Princeton drive with a 44-yard rush to the Brown 31. The Tigers continued to march up the field and found themselves on 3rd-and-8 at the Brown 12-yard-line.
Off a quick snap, Hipa looked up and threw out right to senior wide receiver Luke Colella on a wide receiver screen. Colella took the ball and danced through the secondary and dived into the endzone for the final score of the night. Colella ended his day with 96 yards and took the Tigers up 29–17.
Hill’s interception sealed the game for Princeton as they took a knee in the final few seconds to claim the win.
Along with their five turnovers, the Princeton defense made plenty of tackles in the game. Both junior linebacker Marco Scarano and senior defensive lineman Jack DelGarbino ended the game in the double digits for tackles with 14 and 10 respectively. Owens also added eight tackles to his two fumble recoveries.
The Tigers will need to carry this form into next week’s matchup against Harvard (4–1, 1–1) on the road. The Crimson have started the season well, and a victory here for Princeton would keep their bonfire hopes alive.
“Our veteran players know, and new ones have been told (and found out against Columbia) how strong our league is,” coach Surace told the ‘Prince.’ “Harvard is playing incredibly well on all [three] sides of the ball. We have to have laser focus on the things we control, most importantly our preparation starting Sunday and practice on Tuesday.”
Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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