Football outplays Georgetown, prepares for Ivy League play

Junior quarterback John Lovett rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another as the Princeton Tigers (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) rolled over Georgetown (3-2, 2-1 at home), 31-17.

Though Princeton would come out on top, Georgetown was the first on the scoreboard. The Hoyas blocked a field goal midway through the first quarter and returned it 51 yards to go up 7-0. However, the Tigers responded almost immediately, with Lovett engineering a long drive and punching into the end zone to tie the game.

After the Hoyas failed to answer on their ensuing drive, Lovett struck again. Georgetown had no answer for the Tigers’ attack, and the junior quarterback had a five-yard run into the end zone that put Princeton up 14-7 to close out the half.

The Tigers picked up right where they left off to open the third quarter, putting together another scoring drive that culminated with Lovett tossing a pass to sophomore tight end Graham Adomitis for the latter’s first career touchdown at Princeton. However, Georgetown quickly responded with a touchdown of their own, cutting the Tigers’ lead back to seven. Both teams failed to penetrate each other’s defenses for the remainder of the quarter, leaving the score at 21-14 as the final period of play began.

At the outset of the fourth quarter, Lovett came through one final time for the Tigers, leading his fourth scoring drive and scoring a third rushing touchdown that gave Princeton a 28-14 advantage. Less than three minutes later, the Tigers tacked on another field goal to stretch their lead to 17. From then on out, the Hoyas never quite threatened, adding on a final field goal in the game’s closing minutes, but finally falling, 31-17.

The game was a revelation for Lovett, who proved his worth as an integral component of the Tigers’ multi-dimensional offense. Also contributing to Princeton’s attack this game were senior quarterback Chad Kanoff, who went 18 for 37 and amassed 168 passing yards, and sophomore running back Charles Volker, who lead the Tigers in rushing with 88 yards on the ground. Together, these individuals look to continue overwhelming defenses throughout the season.

With the victory over Georgetown, the Tigers complete non-conference play and now look forward to the heart of their season. Princeton will face off against the remaining six teams in the Ivy League in the coming weeks, beginning with Brown on Oct. 15 and continuing against Harvard the following week. The Tigers have already routed Columbia, 48-13, and will hope for similar success against these perennial rivals in the coming days.