Sprint football's losing streak reaches record 35 games

Bolstered by the strongest corps of returning players and veteran leadership in recent memory, the sprint football team reasonably hoped to accomplish something the Tigers haven't done in a while — win a game.

In spite of much improved play, however, Princeton (0-6 overall) continued to be outmatched by the four other schools that compete in the Collegiate Sprint Football League. Including this winless season, Princeton has now endured 35 straight losses over the past five years, a men's Division I record — for any sport — of dubious distinction.

In comparison with the other schools that routinely field teams of more than 60, the Tigers are hampered by their small roster — just 44 players this season — forced to play many of them both ways against teams that had the luxury of substituting offensive and defensive specialists.

After losing 35-0 to Army in the season's third game despite controlling the ball for 42 minutes and 17 seconds, the Tigers posted their best performance in their next game against Cornell at Frelinghuysen Field.

After sophomore running back Matt Francis capped a 74-yard drive with a flying leap across the goal line on a one-yard touchdown run, the Tigers' defense stuffed Cornell's running back on fourth-and-goal. Francis then capped the Tigers' first drive of the second half with another one-yard push, cutting Princeton's deficit to 17-12.

But the Tigers fumbled inside their own 10-yard line soon after, and the Big Red returned it for a touchdown to go up 25-12, reclaiming the momentum and dashing Princeton's best shot at a win in several years.

The Tigers had three representatives on the CSFL First Team: sophomore offensive lineman Bennett Graham, senior linebacker Matt Worley and junior punter Neil Swami. Senior quarterback Dennis Bakke, freshman wideout Lon Johnson and sophomore defensive lineman Zach McKinney were named to the Second Team.