Football looks to reverse recent history against Lehigh

Historically, Princeton has owned Lehigh on the gridiron. Since the teams began playing each other back in the 19th century, the Tigers have amassed a 36-8-2 record against the Mountain Hawks.

As most football buffs know, however, the recent history of the series has been anything but the rivalry that the Old Nassau faithful would like it to be — Lehigh has won six of the last nine games.

The question of whether or not the Mountain Hawks have the ability to continue their recent dominance will be answered this Saturday at 1 p.m. when Princeton and No. 10 Lehigh kick off at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa.

Last year, en route to a perfect regular season record, Lehigh managed to drub everyone on its season schedule — save one team — make it to the playoffs and advance to the second round. That one team who played them close, surprisingly enough, was Princeton.

In that game, the Tigers played like the team they could be. If only for a short period of time, they played like a top-notch Div. 1-AA football team — a team like Lehigh.

On Saturday, the Tigers will again discover what they are made of. This game could possibly set the tone for the rest of the season. A good showing could establish a high level of play and lead to success, whereas a poor one could break the hopes and lead to a poor season — something that happened in 1999.

"I think that we've advanced psychologically beyond where we were at the end of last season, and a win at Lehigh would get us to where we would expect to win each game," head coach Roger Hughes said. "Lehigh expects to win whenever they step on the field. They've won more Patriot league games than any other team in the 1990s."

But the Tigers do have a chance to take the next step forward. If players in a number of key positions step up and play great games, Princeton may be able to keep the Mountain Hawks within range.

One of those positions, or group of positions, which will need to shine for Princeton will be the defensive line. Due to the awesome athleticism and abilities of Lehigh quarterback Brant Hall, the Tiger line will need to give him as little time as possible to keep him from performing his magic.

"If we don't hold them to 20 points, we're going to lose the game, probably," Hughes said. "The defensive line is the question mark. I like Tim Kirby and Joe Weiss and how they've improved, but it still remains to be seen how the tackle position develops. We have a few freshmen working in there and we'll just see how it goes."

Should the defensive line not do its job, though, the secondary will have to step in and play outstanding football. If Hall starts running, the secondary will have to step up and make the tackle before he takes off for the races. More than that, though, the secondary will have to keep their marks for a longer period of time due to Hall's ability to avoid incoming traffic.

"Their quarterback is outstanding," Hughes said. "Hall is probably just as good running with the ball as passing. On defense, we'll have a tough choice deciding between blitzing or staying back because if we blitz, he can run and go 60 for a touchdown. If we just play coverage, he can hit (WR Josh) Snyder."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

On offense, the Tigers will need few mistakes from its skill positions, and even fewer from its young, inexperienced line — feared to be the weakest link of a chain that will need all the strength it can muster.

"The linemen have been inconsistent at times," Hughes said. "We're trying to put them as under pressure as we can, put them in as rough of a position as we can so that the game will be easy — what they're doing now will be the hard part. Matt Peluse is really the only one with any experience and he's doing a nice job. The other guys are learning, although inconsistent, and we hope that they get better and better."

"We have a great offensive line coach in [Stanley] Clayton," sophomore quarterback David Splithoff said. "They've got him yelling in their face all the time, and it's getting them going, getting them better."

Their one-month training session has certainly given them a good amount of time needed to improve. However, with last week's cancellation, the Tigers have had no one to hit but themselves.

"You wish you had a game under your belt so you could make the necessary adjustments against Lehigh," Hughes said. "Our kids haven't really ever been in a game. This is their first chance to be under game situation and their ability to adjust will be crucial to our success.

"We're just anxious to play again."