Football crushes Columbia as Splithoff throws for two touchdowns and runs for two others

In a game rife with big plays on both sides of the ball, the football team caged the Columbia Lions, 44-11, Saturday night in Princeton Stadium. The Tigers put on an impressive performance in their home opener — the first-ever evening Ivy League game — in front of a crowd of 13,559.

The last time these two teams met, Princeton managed a last-minute drive to force the game to overtime, where the Tigers managed to win, 27-24. After the frustrations of last week's loss to Lehigh, Princeton's emotions were running high in this much-anticipated match-up with Columbia.

"I'm so proud of this team," head coach Roger Hughes said nearly in tears at a post-game press conference. "The emotion and frustration of all last year and this year at this point, and you keep telling the kids believe, believe, believe and to work hard."

Whatever the team believes in now, it can certainly bank on its scoring prowess. Once Princeton started rolling, it tore through Columbia, scoring 10 in the second and fourth quarters and 17 in the third. The Lions' defense could not find the elixir to quell the Tigers' high-powered offense, spearheaded by junior running back Cameron Atkinson, junior wide receiver Chisom Opara, and sophomore quarterback Dave Splithoff. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Princeton's defense proved to be a brick wall to Columbia's running game.

To start the game, Columbia made good on a Princeton turnover. The Lions marched down the field on the strength of star running back Johnathon Reese's runs and quarterback Jeff McCall's passes to wide receiver Doug Peck, who on a number of receptions made the Tigers' defensive coverage seem nonexistent. As the Lions moved into the red zone, though, the Princeton defense woke up, knocking Reese back on a run from the nine-yard line. Columbia settled for a From that point on, the Tigers were in command. Starting from their own territory, the offense staged a 15-play, 60-yard drive in which the tandem of Splithoff and Atkinson shredded the Lion defense using the quarterback option. The drive culminated in a Splithoff run from within Columbia's five-yard line, making the score 7-3. For the Lions, the score would only get worse from there.

After a Princeton punt gave the Lions great field position, McCall dropped back and found an open receiver downfield — only to have the pass picked off by Princeton senior linebacker Chris Roser-Jones, who returned the interception to the Lions' 24-yard line before he could be brought down by three Columbia players.

A few plays later, Splithoff again scrambled into the end zone for a 12-yard score.

Princeton got three more points to end the first half on a 38-yard field goal from sure-footed senior Taylor Northrop, who is 4-for-4 on the year.

The second half unfolded in much the same fashion.

After another Northrop field goal and a Columbia punt, the Tigers started at their own 22-yard line, and in one pass put the game out of reach for the Lions. Splithoff connected with Opara on a 78-yard touchdown pass, breaking the stadium record set last year by Splithoff for the longest touchdown pass.

To finish its spectacular third quarter, the Princeton offense engineered another short touchdown drive, as Splithoff connected with junior wide receiver Brendan Dillon for the six.

Reese broke loose on the ensuing Columbia possession to score the Lions only touchdown of the game from one yard out, but it mattered little in the grand scheme of things. Columbia was already defeated.

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After a Princeton punt, Columbia took to the air, which proved to be a mistake. Roser-Jones came up with his second interception of the night and, with the help of senior defensive end Phil Jackman's block, scored his first touchdown of the year.

With the game well in hand, Hughes began sending in his second and third teams in order to get them game experience. A final Northrop field goal ended the scoring for both teams, with the Tigers coming out victorious.

"Our kids played a full 60 minutes for the first time since I've been here," coach Hughes said.

The team showed vast improvements from last week. The defense was on the same page when changing fronts holding the Lions to 308 total yards, 93 on the ground. They also managed to contain Reese, the Lions' All-Ivy League running back. In good pursuit, the defensive squad gang-tackled Reese on nearly all of his rushes, holding him to only 66 rushing yards.

"We knew we had to try to stop Reese, which is easier to say than to do," Roser-Jones said. "The defense just did a great job stopping him and holding him down a little bit."

Meanwhile, the offensive line met its goal of being "more physical," which showed in the 191 rushing yards Princeton earned — 116 of which were earned by Atkinson. Splithoff was only sacked twice for a loss of nine yards, yet he completed 11 of 19 attempts for 204 yards.

"When you get that week's experience under your belt, it makes a big difference," Splithoff said. "Our preparation was good this week, and we executed what we needed to execute."