Lehigh's balanced offense will give fits to football's secondary

"Finally we play."

So said head football coach Roger Hughes in eager anticipation of this Saturday's match-up with Lehigh (2-0), broadcast on WPRB 103.3 FM.

All of Princeton's game experience so far this year has been in two scrimmages — against Yale and against itself.

On the other hand, the Mountain Hawks will be playing their third game of the year.

There are two schools of thought about the advantage in such a situation. The Tigers will be able to see what Lehigh's attack will look like this year, while the Mountain Hawks will be in the dark. On the other hand, Lehigh has had the chance to work out most of its kinks in its first two games and comes to Princeton Stadium without very many question marks, especially after defeating Fordham last week, the ninth ranked team in Division I-AA at the time.

Regardless of who has the advantage in preparation, the game will be won on the field, where the Mountain Hawks have been electric to start the year. Their balanced attack features an efficient quarterback in Chad Schwenk — who threw for over 300 yards against Holy Cross in the opener — and a lightning quick running back in Jermaine Pugh — who ran for 238 yards against Fordham last week. Dave Wilson has also recorded a significant number of carries.

From play to play, it's anyone's guess who will be lining up in those positions for the Tigers. Junior Matt Verbit will start the game at quarterback, and it is his job to lose. Senior co-captain Dave Splithoff will be available now that his shoulder tendonitis has subsided, and he could see some snaps.

"We're blessed with two very talented kids," Hughes said, "who add different dimensions to the offense. We really don't have to change the offense [depending on the quarterback]. The nice thing is we can be more aggressive with our quarterbacks because we can ask them to do things knowing we have someone in the wings if he would happen to get a little nicked up." The running back position will be a wilder mix. Junior running back Jon Veach will probably get the bulk of the carries, but junior Branden Benson and sophomore Greg Fields will split the running duties with him.

On the other side of the ball, the Tigers have their own kinks to work out. Hughes has delineated the difference between athleticism —which is pure physical ability — and talent — which involves making the right decisions, according to him.

The defense has plenty of athletic players, but most of them have very little collegiate experience. Outside the defensive line, only one starter is returning from last year.

"When you play good people, weaknesses are exposed," Hughes said. "I just hope they become talented in the middle of the second quarter instead of three games down the road."

Lehigh's head coach Pete Lembo said a letdown was "certainly a possibility," while invoking usual pre-game niceties about the strengths of the other team. With Pugh and Schwenk leading the attack, Princeton must hope that it's own full backfield can win a shootout to protect its young defense.

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Schwenk has shown that he can throw to a wide variety of receivers — including two solid tight ends — which should cause trouble against this inexperienced secondary.

Schwenk is what makes Lehigh such a good team, according to linebackers coach Don Dobes.

"I would rather defend a great running back," Dobes said. "But if you've got a quarterback like Schwenk and then add the balance they have with the receivers, I think that's what makes Lehigh so good."

With Schwenk's passing game in the back of their mind, the Tigers will have another problem in attacking Pugh — finding him! He is listed at five-feet, six-inches. He will be tough to recognize for the Princeton linebackers who will have to find him behind their own defensive line and Lehigh's big offensive line.

Lehigh has already defeated two good teams in the Patriot League and climbed the I-AA rankings to 20th and now heads into the Ivy League primed to continue on a roll or suffer a letdown against a Princeton team that was picked to finish fifth among the Ancient Eight.

Finally, it's time to put the ball on the field and find out whether Princeton will growl or meow against the Mountain Hawks.