On the very first play of the game, only a few short feet separated senior quarterback Matt Verbit from the vicious leap of Leopards barreling towards him.
But moments before the Leopards could grasp Verbit in their paws and pound him into the Princeton Stadium grass, Verbit calmly dumped the ball off to junior wide receiver Greg Fields, who scampered 16 yards for the first down behind a wall of screening offensive lineman.
The play — and the ensuing four quarters — went exactly the way the head coach Roger Hughes had drawn up. All night long, it seemed, the Tiger football team knew exactly what was coming and exactly how to respond.
"On the opening play, we knew they were going to blitz," Hughes said after the game, with the beaming smile of a man who knew he had just outsmarted his opponent. "We put Fields in at tailback to make them understand if they're going to blitz, they're going to pay."
Indeed, throughout the game Princeton made Lafayette pay, taking advantage of every opening. On that play, and in this first game, the Tigers were ready, perhaps more so than they have been at any point during Hughes' five year reign.
Considering Princeton was playing against a Lafayette team with two games already under its belt, it turned in a remarkably mistake-free offensive performance. The Tigers turned the ball over just once, late in the game once the outcome was no longer in doubt. And just as important, they minimized the impact of penalties, which stalled only one drive.
Defensively, Princeton turned in an effective bend-but-not-break performance. While the Leopards had some success running the ball up the middle, standout running back Joe McCourt was mostly neutralized, being held to 53 yards. He had rushed for over 100 yards against the Tigers each of the past two seasons.
The results validated Hughes' decision to switch from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4 base. The move, which Hughes kept secret by not employing the 3-4 in scrimmages or open practices, was designed to take advantage of the Tigers' wealth of talent at linebacker. It paid off, as junior outside linebacker Justin Stull made 14 tackles and senior middle linebacker Zak Keasey accounted for 12 stops, including two sacks.
As a result of the solid fundamentals on both sides of the ball, Princeton didn't just win a game few expected them too — they dominated by a margin even greater than the 35-18 final score.
"I really felt our kids were well prepared," Hughes said. "It's a tribute to our coaching staff and a tribute to our team. It started last spring and summer, and we're seeing the effects of all that."
No player was more ready than Fields. After spending his first two years languishing on the bench, buried on the depth chart at both running back and wide receiver, Fields finally got his chance to prove himself as a playmaker.
"I was excited," he said afterwards. "I knew I'd get an opportunity to do something and I was looking forward to it. I'm not surprised [how well I played]."
With his pass-catching ability, on display on the critical opening screen play and once more later in the first half, Fields helped fill the Tigers' receiving void, perhaps their biggest worry heading into the game.
He carried the ball too, three times for 35 yards. Thirty four of those yards came on two runs in which Fields, split wide right, took the end-around hand off and found an opening along the left sideline. On the first such play, Fields found the end zone to put the Princeton up 7-0; the second picked up key yardage in the drive that put Princeton ahead 21-6 just before halftime.
"We absolutely had certain personnel groups where we wanted to get him the ball," Hughes said. "Clearly, when he touches the ball, things are going to happen." On this night, Fields was so good that he made things happen without even touching the ball on offense during the second half. Just the threat of the end-around left the Lafayette defense susceptible to play-action fakes, opening up the downfield passing game for Verbit and setting up draws up the gut for senior tailbacks Jon Veach and Branden Benson.
Just as importantly, Fields continued to shine on special teams, sparking the Tiger offense with dazzling punt and kickoff returns that accounted for 165 of his 230 total yards. Mostly due to his quick feet, Princeton benefited from superior field position throughout the game. On average, the Tigers took over at the 40 yard line, while the Leopards began drives at their own 27.
Thanks to that superior starting position, which was especially pronounced in the second half, Princeton was able to employ a variety of play-calling strategies.
Late in the third quarter, after taking over on the Lafayette 37, the Tigers ran the ball nine consecutive plays. That included eight rushes by Veach, who ran right tackle to pound the ball into the end zone from two yards out, giving Princeton a commanding 28-6 lead.
If that drive was disheartening for Lafayette, then the Tigers ripped out the Leopards' heart on the next. Taking over at midfield, Princeton immediately went for the big strike. Verbit hit sophomore Eric Walz in stride inside the two with a beautiful rainbow, and Walz waltzed into the end zone for the 35-6 advantage.
"It was based on how they were playing the inside run and the reverse," Hughes said. "They started bringing the safeties down, so we had to make them pay deep."
On that play, like many others, Verbit had all the time in the world to make his throw, thanks to solid blocking by his offensive line and a play-action fake to Fields. One Lafeyette defender broke through the pocket, but Verbit calmly stepped by the lunging arm-tackle and got off the picture perfect throw.
The play was one final show of the futility of the Lafeyette pass rush. Despite repeated blitzing, the Leopards failed to sack Verbit even once. The several times they did collapse the pocket and pressure Verbit, he happily rolled out and either threw accurately on the move or ran the ball himself.
One shining example of his playmaking was the final play of the first half, when Verbit looked right, saw his primary target covered, scampered to his left, and dove into the corner of the end zone just under three converging defenders, giving Princeton the 21-6 halftime lead.
For the night, Verbit was 18-of-26 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. After hooking up with senior wide receiver Clint Wu seven times in the first half, Verbit had no trouble spreading the wealth in the second, as an injured Wu stood in street clothes on the sidelines.
"[Verbit was] phenomenal," Hughes said. "He did not miss one check, he directed the team, he handled the clock, he put the ball where he needed to. I can't say enough about Matt's performance. The guys really rallied around him."
In truth, it wasn't Verbit or Fields or Stull or Keasey who alone carried the Tigers on this night. The victory was the result of a team superbly prepared for its first game.
The Tigers were ready, alright, both for the challenges posed by Lafayette and the task of making last year a distant memory.
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