Third-down failures in first half doom football

Long before junior Derek Javarone pushed a 41-yard field goal wide right with 23 seconds left to play on Saturday afternoon, allowing Penn to escape New Jersey with a 16-15 win, the football team blew its best chances at victory.

If the Tigers (4-4 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) had taken advantage of their first-quarter opportunities — five possessions with an average starting position of the Quaker 38-yard line — they wouldn't have needed any last-second heroics. Princeton's first-half struggles were the result of a familiar Achilles heel: an inability to pick up third-down conversions — they were 0-for-7 in the first 30 minutes.

As a result, despite controlling the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter — most of that in Penn territority — the Tigers only scored six points. As a result, even though it took Penn (7-1, 5-0) over 25 minutes to pick up its first first down of the game, the Quakers never faced a deficit too daunting to overcome.

Princeton's first failure on third down set the tone for the day. The Tigers had driven 50 yards and faced a third-and-one on the Penn 32. But senior running back Jon Veach was stuffed for a one-yard loss. After a false start backed the ball up five more yards, Princeton was forced to punt.

"The third-and-one, we should have gotten" head coach Roger Hughes said. "They slanted their linemen in and brought a linebacker and safety off the edge that they hadn't shown before."

It wasn't the only time the Tigers failed to pick up a short-yardage conversion. Veach was also stopped on a fourth-and-one early in the second quarter, ending another promising drive in Penn territory. But the vast majority of Princeton's third-down stumbles were in longer yardage situations, which have plagued the team all season. Two weeks earlier, the Tigers were 0-for-13 on third down against Harvard.

"Again, a lot of our third downs were third and eight or more," Hughes said. "We've got to get it to manageable third downs."

Twice in the first quarter, the Princeton offense stalled inside the Penn 20. On third down, needing eight yards and 11 yards, respectively, Verbit dropped back to pass and found his receivers tightly covered in the clear passing situation. His throws, intended for junior Jay McCareins and freshman Bill Foran, could have been better, but even a perfect pass would likely have been batted away given the circumstances. Each time, the Tigers settled for a Javarone field goal.

They did even worse on two other first-quarter possessions, turning the ball over to the Quakers. First, junior Greg Fields — who otherwise had a magnificent game — fumbled at the Penn nine, just two plays after the Quakers had suffered a potentially costly fumble of their own.

A few minutes later, on the first play of the second quarter, Verbit was picked off, wasting another good opportunity. After Fields' second big punt return of the day gave the Tigers the ball at the Penn 32, they quickly faced a third-and-seven. Under pressure, Verbit threw the ball almost directly to Quaker linebacker Chad Slapnicka.

Princeton wasn't alone in struggling on third down — Penn failed to convert their first five attempts. But the Quakers got their act together when it counted, picking up four of their final six. All four conversions came during Penn's three scoring drives.

The Tigers also fared a bit better in the second half, finally picking up short third downs on their two third-quarter drives. Not surprisngly, those two posessions produced the best results of the day: 10 points.

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On its final march downfield, Princeton converted both a third down and a fourth down to keep the drive alive. But the penultimate play of the game — another blown third down — foreshadowed Javarone's miss.

After a Penn personal foul gave Princeton a first down at the Quaker 19 with 70 seconds remaining, the Tigers went backwards on their next two plays, setting up a third-and-15. Penn blitzed and Verbit had no time to find an open target, hurriedly overthrowing Fields.

Javarone missed the ensuing chance to be a hero. In his defense, it was a chance his Tiger teammates never should have given him.