NEW YORK — Perhaps head coach Roger Hughes is on to something.
All year, Hughes has preached the importance of "the next play." Standing all alone on the sideline, waiting to attempt a 24-yard field goal in the first overtime, the next play was the only thing junior kicker Taylor Northrop could think about.
"That's something coach Hughes has brought to this program — the ability to focus here and now," Northrop said. "It's been a huge part of our turnaround."
Northrop cooly nailed the kick to give Hughes his first win, an improbable victory over Columbia Saturday in New York.
The Tigers, down by 10 with two minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, got a 37-yard field goal and a perfectly executed onside kick from Northrop to set up senior running back Kyle Brandt's seven-yard touchdown run that tied the score with under a minute remaining.
After two consecutive final-minute defeats, this win might have changed the course of the season.
"There's no superlative to describe how important a close win is," head coach Roger Hughes said. "It's a huge win. I tried to downplay it all week, because if you do lose you can't bag the whole season."
The game's storyline was remarkably similar to the first two games of the season. Princeton's offense, which has yet to score a first-half touchdown this season, started slowly again Saturday.
The statistics almost tell the story of the first half. Columbia's offense was on the field for 24:08, while Princeton's played only 5:52.
The Lions ran 53 plays, the Tigers ran 16.
Columbia piled on 340 yards, Princeton managed 45.
However, the game remained scoreless until Columbia tailback Jonathan Reese — who carried the ball 37 times for 109 yards — brought along a pair of Princeton defenders on his way to the end zone for the game's first score.
The defense, already weakened from prolonged exposure to the Lions, brought the Tigers back. Columbia quarterback Jeff McCall took off on a nearly wide-open bootleg left. Sophomore strong safety Kevin Kongslie sagged from his man to defend the run. McCall tried to loft the ball, but Kongslie leaped and tipped the ball up. He grabbed his own tip, and 48 yards later he had tied the score.
Columbia responded with a six-minute drive for a field goal to reclaim the lead, and stretched that lead to 10 when McCall hooked up with junior Jarel Cockburn in the end zone on the same fade route sophomore defensive back Paul Simbi had intercepted in the first quarter.
Turnaround
On the first play of the second half, Princeton's offense gained more yards than it had the entire first half. Junior QB Tommy Crenshaw found sophomore Patrick Schottel for a 49-yard touchdown. Schottel, a member of Princeton's 4x100 meter relay team, lined up at tight end and smoked his defender along the sidelines for the score.
For a time, it seemed as if the momentum had shifted. But it did not last long. First, Columbia responded with a touchdown after a fumble by Brandt on Princeton's 36. Then Crenshaw left the game after injuring his thumb. Crenshaw was taken away for X-rays, and his status for the next few weeks is uncertain.
With the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, the Tigers found new life when freshman defensive end Joseph Weiss forced a McCall fumble that was picked up by junior defensive end Michael Long.
Senior backup quarterback Jon Blevins, in place of the injured Crenshaw, led the team into Northrop's range, finding senior fullback Marty Cheatham on a fourth down and four from the Columbia 35 for a gain of six yards.
After putting the 37-yard kick through the uprights, the pressure increased for Northrop. With 2:18 remaining, and still down seven, Princeton had to go for the onside kick.
Once again, the Northrop kick was perfect. After taking two short hops on the artificial turf, then skipping high in the air, it fell into the arms of senior backup cornerback Taylor Smith.
"I think the momentum picked up as the game went on," Blevins said. "When we got that onside kick, I think there was no doubt in our minds we were going to score."
Blevins, starting at his own 49, found sophomore Chisom Opara for a gain of 21 along the right sideline. Cheatham, who had five catches for 50 yards on the day, turned his defender and caught a 15-yard pass on a sideline route to get the Tigers to the Columbia seven-yard line with just under a minute remaining.
Then Brandt, frustrated most of the game, found his way through for a seven-yard score. After Northrop's extra point, the score was tied at 24-24, with 47 seconds remaining.
In overtime, when teams trade possessions beginning at the 25-yard line, the pressure was on Columbia.
Facing a fourth and seven from the 11, the Lions needed a field goal to put the pressure on the Tigers. From 27 yards out, Dany Berghoff missed wide left.
The pressure then shifted back to Northrop. He responded.
Northrop is one player who believes Hughes' mantra. When the game is on the line, only one thought goes through Northrop's mind.
"Stay here, stay now, let go and let God," Northrop said. "That's it."
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