Turnovers are the bane for sprint football, drops one to Penn

For the second straight week turnovers plagued the sprint football team. Princeton (0-2) fumbled seven times on Friday, en route to a 36-15 loss to Penn (2-0) in the Tigers' home opener.

After being embarrassed by the Quakers 56-12 last season, the Tigers entered the contest with a lot to prove.

Failing to score on its first drive of the game, Princeton was forced to punt.

The potent Penn offense wasted no time finding the end zone, scoring shortly after receiving the Tiger punt.

Quakers' sophomore wide receiver Patrick Monaghan drew first blood with a seven-yard touchdown run, capping a seven-play, 60-yard drive that took three minutes and 16 seconds.

At this point it looked as though Princeton was in trouble. The offense looked less than stellar on its first campaign, and Penn was looking to shut the door on the Tigers early.

Princeton, however, refused to die in the first quarter. Following the Quakers' quick first strike, the Tigers did not let their heads drop for too long.

With 5:22 remaining in the first quarter, senior running back Rikki Racela rumbled into the end zone from four yards out. After a PAT from freshman kicker Sam Hancock, the score was tied at seven all.

The Tigers looked very sharp on the nine-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Racela's score. The offensive line held its blocks well, enabling Princeton's halfbacks to find running room.

As the first quarter came to a close, the Tigers were in good shape. After Racela's touchdown the defense managed to do its job, holding Penn scoreless for the rest of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, with the game still tied at seven, the Princeton defense stopped the Quakers in the red zone on a crucial fourth and seven.

Unfortunately, any psychological boost the Tigers received from this stand was short-lived.

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Following the turnover on downs, Princeton began its drive from about their own twenty-yard line. The Tigers decided to run a lateral play to the right side of the field, but the pass sailed over senior running back Shane Stevenson's head.

This was the game's turning point.

Penn recovered the lateral and was in the end zone in less than 20 seconds. Quaker quarterback James Donapel hit Monaghan for a twenty-yard touchdown, giving Penn a 14-7 lead with 10:52 left in the half.

From this point on, things started to slowly unravel for Princeton. On the Tigers' ensuing drive, the Quaker defense was stifling. Once again, Princeton was forced to punt, only this time the exchange between center and kicker was botched.

The ball was snapped well over Hancock's head and landed just in front of the goal line. Hancock attempted to sweep the ball out of the back of the end zone but to no avail, as Penn recovered it on the one-yard line.

The Quakers scored on the next play from scrimmage with a quarterback sneak by Donapel, stretching their lead to 14.

"Like in the Cornell game, we made too many mistakes to win. We didn't have a great week in practice and while we came out and played a tough first quarter, we got sloppy starting in the second quarter with four straight turnovers. You can't win when you turn the ball over that many times," senior captain and defensive end Christian Gomez said.

Towards the end of the second half, Penn threatened to score yet again, but the Tigers held the Quakers on a fourth and one deep in red zone.

When the second quarter finally ended, Princeton was down 21-7. The Tigers never really recovered from their disastrous second quarter.

In the third quarter Penn's sophomore kicker Evan Nolan added two field goals, while Princeton failed to add any points.

Sophomore quarterback Dennis Bakke finally managed to halt the 29-point Quaker onslaught with a gutsy 27-yard scamper that came off of a busted play.

This second Tiger touchdown came with 27 seconds left in the game, but by then the outcome had already been decided.

Sophomore wide receiver Adam Farren added the two-point conversion with a great catch.

Bakke finished with 92 yards through the air, and led the team in rushing with 65 yards. Farren had six catches for 74 yards in the loss.

"I felt that we were evenly matched with Penn, but weren't disciplined enough to win. Our first two games have showed us that at times we are capable of playing with anyone in this league, but we consistently beat ourselves," Gomez said.

Next week Princeton will look to rebound into the win columnagainst the Army Cadets on the road in West Point, NY.