The football team leapt out to a 24-6 lead by the time the first half was over on Saturday night in Princeton Stadium against Lafayette. Most people would think that the Tigers had the game well in hand. But anyone who has watched Princeton football knows that the second half has plagued the Tigers both last season and last game.
Not this time.
Princeton (1-1 overall) handed the Leopards (2-2 overall) their second loss, 34-19, this season, which also happened to be their second loss to an Ivy League opponent.
The second half did, however, start off a little shaky.
In the first offensive series of the second half, the Tigers barely moved the ball, going three downs before having to punt. Sophomore punter Joe Nardello came in to kick it away. Nardello, who made his first shaky start last week at Lehigh, improved on his numbers yesterday, averaging 44 yards on his four punts.
On the ensuing Lafayette offensive drive, the Leopards went to a two-minute style offense with quarterback Marko Glavic calling the plays from the line.
Although the Tigers tipped three passes on the next four plays, Glavic managed to move his offense 81 yards in ten plays, draining only two minutes, 24 seconds off the clock. The touchdown was scored on a 20-yard pass to tight end Tim Walsh. The two-point conversion was no good, but that did not stop Lafayette's momentum.
On their next possession, they managed to once again march the ball down the field, and on the power of tailback Joe McCourt's two-yard touchdown run, the Leopards found themselves within five points of the Tigers, and it looked like it might be a repeat of last week.
Things looked bleak for Princeton, but head coach Roger Hughes looked to the leg of freshman place kicker Derek Javarone. He nailed a 39-yard field goal, his career longest, to give the Tigers a little breathing room at 27-19.
Lafayette tried to maintain its momentum, and Glavic started the long march for his team down the field. But this drive was stopped cold. In a superbly timed blitz, junior cornerback Brandon Mueller stormed Glavic as he threw the ball, and Mueller knocked the ball into the air. It was headed for the big pile and looked like it might fall incomplete when junior linebacker Zak Keasey reached up and grabbed the ball, giving the Princeton offense excellent field position.
The Tiger offense went to work, orchestrating a touchdown drive on the power of accurate passing from junior quarterback David Splithoff and junior running back Cameron Atkinson. Atkinson helped carry the team offensively, as he put in his third touchdown of the day, this one from one yard out. Atkinson finished with 121 yards.
Lafayette tried to put together two more drives, but were denied by the Tiger defense, with both drives ending in interceptions — one by Mueller and the other by sophomore cornerback Jay McCareins. Those interceptions were the final nails in the coffin for the Leopards, as Princeton took the game, 34-19.
A surprising aspect of the Princeton offense was the change in strategy of running back Atkinson. Normally a back who tries to out run the defenders to the corner, Atkinson on several occasions cut up the field, squaring his shoulders and running over Lafayette defenders. His first touchdown of the day, an 11-yard run, exhibited this exactly. While pushing for the corner, Atkinson broke up into a hole, taking one hit, but because his shoulders were squared, he ran the defender into the endzone with him.
Saturday's win was Princeton's first against a non-Ivy opponent since beating Lafayette in 1999. Princeton next steps onto the field this Saturday at Columbia.
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