Tigers jump out to early lead, hold on vs. Cornell

The football team (2-5 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) nearly shut out Cornell (1-6, 0-4) on Saturday at Princeton Stadium, 28-6. The performance was even more dominating than the score might indicate.

The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead after forcing Cornell to punt from its seven-yard line. Big Red punter Mike Baumgartel, who led the Ivy League in punting coming into the game, only booted the ball 32 yards, and a seven-yard return set Princeton up at the Cornell 32-yard line.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, junior running back Jon Veach went in motion out of the backfield past the left side of the formation. When the ball was snapped, he was all alone, and junior quarterback Matt Verbit tossed the ball to him easily. Veach ran down the left side of the field for a touchdown, and a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes, 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

Princeton kept the momentum coming when senior defensive end Joe Weiss recovered a fumble by Cornell quarterback Mick Razzano on the very next snap.

Verbit went right back to work, hitting senior wide receiver Blair Morrison in the endzone. Just like that, Princeton led, 14-0, with 10:53 to go in the first quarter.

The Tiger offense cooled off a little after that. Princeton was playing near its own endzone on its next few drives and could get nothing going running the ball. Both defenses were getting the job done, and neither offense had a drive last more than five plays. Cornell safety Neil Morrissey intercepted a Verbit pass that should have been a touchdown to junior wide receiver B.J. Szymanski. In any case, neither offense could capitalize on its opportunities.

The story changed late in the second quarter. With 8:24 left in the first half, Verbit, Veach and Co. took over at the Princeton 12-yard line. Veach ran for consecutive eight-yard gains to move Princeton to its 28-yard line. The offense continued calmly down the field, even after a penalty that forced a first-and-15.

On third-and-four from Cornell's 16-yard line, Verbit went to his favorite clutch receiver, sophomore tight end Jon Dekker. Verbit squeezed the ball into the perfect spot, low and away from the defensive back, as Dekker hauled in the ball in the endzone. This put Princeton up 21-0, the halftime score. The rest of the game was an exercise in running out the clock.

The last Princeton score was set up by an end-around fake to freshman wide receiver Eric Walz. When the Cornell defense saw he was not getting the ball, they did not cover him out of the backfield. Verbit hit him open on the right sideline for a 37-yard gain. Four plays later, Veach ran for four yards, putting Princeton ahead 28-0 with 8:44 left in the game.

Cornell's lone score came with a lot of clean jerseys on the Princeton side of the field. The subs were in when Cornell quarterback D.J. Busch — who rotated nearly every drive with Razzano — hit his slot receiver, John Kellner, on a quick out pattern to avoid a Tiger blitz. Kellner broke a single tackle raced down the numbers on the right side of the field until he hit the goal line. Cornell failed on a two-point conversion attempt, making the score 28-6, Princeton.