Three plays — one resulting in a broken hand and two ending in fumbles — not only cost the sprint football team any chance it had for a win against Penn, but were also indicative of the team's entire season.
Senior captain and tight end Mike Piazza sustained a broken hand on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage. The offense, even without Piazza at full strength, managed to put together two impressive drives — only to see those drives end in fumbles.
Sometimes an entire season is summed up in a single play. For a team to have a successful year, it's fate can come down to a timely catch or penalty call against the opposite squad. If the team suffers through a difficult season, as the 2000 Princeton sprint football team did, then the telling play is more likely to be an injury to a key player or a missed opportunity to score at a key moment.
The Tigers (0-6 overall, 0-4 Collegiate Sprint Football League) struggled with missed chances on offense and injuries to key personnel on both sides of the ball all season — Friday's 21-0 loss at Penn (6-0, 4-0) featured more of the same.
"We were not as resilient as we could have been," Piazza said. "This game really followed the pattern [of our season as a whole]."
Primetime performers
As with the majority of the season, there were some standouts for Princeton in this game. Sophomore defensive lineman Brian Mickus, for example, recorded a game-high 11 unassisted tackles — three of them coming on sacks of Quaker quarterback James Donapel. Senior captain Jeremy Green also played a strong game for the overmatched Princeton defense. Their tremendous effort was overshadowed, however, by Penn's overall offensive performance.
"Our defense played well for a time and then gave up several big plays," Piazza said.
The Quakers, for example, began their scoring on a 60-yard touchdown run by Robert Reeves in the second quarter. That would be all the scoring Penn would need to defeat a Princeton offense that struggled all day.
The injury to Piazza handcuffed the Tiger attack, but it was not the only reason for the shutout. Two fumbles deep in Penn territory killed potential scoring chances for Princeton, and a stingy Penn defense gave up only 54 yards to a Tiger ground game that had been relatively successful at times this season.
"Offensively, our performance was not very good on the whole," Piazza said. "[Senior running back] Robin [Clarke] had a rough first half, but picked it up in the second. The fumbles really took the wind out of our sails."
Rough start
The loss brings head coach Keith Wadsworth's first season to an end. The team had hoped that the new coach and a new attitude would turn around a program that went 1-5 overall last season. Despite the team's last-place finish in the CSFL, some of the captains' goals for the season were accomplished.
"We came into the season with two goals: build a successful football team, but also one that was a cohesive unit," Piazza said. "We accomplished that second goal. Overall, it was a very fulfilling season."
This was the last game for a host of seniors who had led the team throughout the season. The Tigers will lose 13 players to graduation, which could present problems for a team already short on experience.
"This last game was extremely emotional for all of us," Piazza said. "The onus all season has been on the seniors and, for the most part, they really stepped up when we needed them."
This year's senior class certainly had to deal with more than its fair share of bad breaks — including Piazza's hand in the final game. The Tigers can only hope that the character developed by the younger players on the team will translate into wins in coming years.
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