Friday night lights set the stage for sprint home opener

The sprint football team will return to Princeton Stadium for the first time this season in their home opener on Friday night. The Tigers (0-2) play host to Cornell (1-2) at 7 p.m. The squad will hope that home turf will buoy them to an ever-elusive first victory.

For newcomer coach Sean Morey, this game will be a mixture of new experience and old memories. The skipper is no stranger to big games — he won a Super Bowl ring, after all — yet this will be his first home tilt at the helm of Princeton’s sprint football program. Morey has squared off against his share of Ivy League foes, though, as the 1995 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year for Brown’s football team has played against both schools that will meet on Friday.

After an inauspicious start to the 2014 season, the Tigers showed signs of improvement last week in New Hampshire against Franklin Pierce University (1-2), playing a stronger first half before the Ravens broke away in the last two periods, scoring 28 unanswered points. Though the score line tells a tale of a blowout (45-7), the Tigers' performance at times showed the potential of this team. Most notably, sophomore quarterback Chad Cowden and senior co-captain wide out Chris McCord linked up on a 55-yard touchdown throw-and-catch to register the Tigers’ first points of the 2014 campaign. If the Tigers are to compete with Cornell, the Cowden-McCord connection will once again have to provide a jolt for the Tiger offense.

Between the Tigers and a slump-busting win stands the Big Red. Cornell started off their season in impressive fashion, with a decisive 28-7 victory against Franklin Pierce. Since then, however, they have cooled off considerably, losing to Penn and Army by a combined score of 85-26. In their lone win, Cornell efficiently blended a strong ground game with proficiency through the air to rack up 321 yards of offense, while its defense effectively squashed most Raven threats. However, the team from Ithaca is reeling, its defense seems vulnerable and it will have to travel far from home to take on a hungry Tigers team.

While some may doubt the perennial underdog Princeton side’s ability to compete on Friday, there should be no doubt that they can win this game. If McCord and the offense execute their game plan and take care of the ball, they can score against what has been a porous Cornell defense of late. Similarly, if the Tigers' defense starts strong and limits big plays, Friday’s matchup could be a tight one. With a small roster and a number of injuries, however, the Tigers do not have any room for error. Senior co-captains McCord, Kyle Douglas and Bob Dougherty, playing in their final home opener, will no doubt set the mental tone for the team on Friday.

The men of sprint football fight on this weekend, hoping to taste victory for the first time this century. The battle will be tough and the goals tougher, but this Tigers team is as determined as ever, and if the team can withstand Cornell’s attack, perhaps this week could be the week, this game the game.