McCareins' defense, special teams play carry Princeton to victory

The Princeton football team picked up just nine first downs Saturday, compared with the University of San Diego's 22. The Tigers possessed the ball for only 21 minutes, 10 seconds, while their opponents were on offense for 38:50.

But thanks to one 99-yard interception returned for a touchdown by senior cornerback Jay McCareins with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Princeton (2-0 overall) finished the day with the only numerical advantage that matters: the score, winning 20-17.

"[McCareins] was just remarkable, fabulous, marvelous, whatever superlative [you want]," head coach Roger Hughes said.

And it wasn't just that one play. McCareins, who finished the game with a career-high three interceptions against the Toreros (3-1), found himself in nearly all the right places on the field Saturday.

"He stepped in and took on multiple roles with [senior kick returner] Greg Fields out this week with a hamstring pull," Hughes said. "The nice thing is, we had no drop-off in our special teams play, and clearly Jay elevated his defensive back play [as well]."

If Hughes' comments don't speak for themselves, McCareins' numbers certainly do. Returning seven kicks and punts, McCareins had a total of 116 yards. But even more impressively, he amassed 113 yards on his three interceptions.

While two of those picks came in the first half, it was during the second half that McCareins shone the brightest. As the Tigers' offense struggled, going three-and-out time and again, McCareins anticipated plays extremely well, making it seem like he had been listening in on the San Diego huddle.

On one second-and-10 play, McCareins found himself behind his man by about half a strides as the two streaked down the field and across the center. As the ball sailed towards the intended receiver, though, McCareins used his strong recovery speed to get just close enough to knock the ball out of the air around the 20-yard line, saving what likely would have been a touchdown.

McCareins was similarly in the mix on the very next play, this time gaining an extra step on his man and ensuring that the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.

"For the most part, I'm glad they attacked me," he said afterward. "They probably shouldn't have, but I'm glad they did."

When it counted most, though, McCareins made San Diego wish it had never thrown the ball anywhere close to him.

Attacking Princeton's end zone from the Tigers' 13-yard line, the Toreros made their final fatal mistake when they ran the same passing play twice in a row. McCareins said afterward that he recognized the play from the formation, allowing him to play slightly off his man to bait a throw. Once San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson put the ball in the air, McCareins stepped in front of the receiver and brought the ball down on the one-yard line at the right corner of the field and then sped up the field to the opposite end zone, dancing between the sideline and his teammates' blocks much of the way.

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"The quarterback threw it ... a little bit behind, and I capitalized on it," McCareins said.

It was the second straight game in which McCareins made a game-turning play — he also returned an interception for a touchdown against Lafayette a week earlier in Easton, Pa. That defensive production is just what Hughes had in mind when he made the decision to limit McCareins to defense and special teams only this season after playing him both ways last season.

Even so, McCareins spent so much time on the field Saturday that while fielding questions from reporters after the game, he sat on an exercise bicycle, too tired to be on his feet any longer. But that's par for the course for McCareins, who noted that he felt better on the field both in terms of energy level and overall comfort in the defensive scheme.

"In spring ball I got to really understand how our defense works," he said. "The fact that I know where the safeties drop, that I know where the linebackers are going, that I know what the coverages are — that helps me in making sure I'm efficient in my movement [and that] I'm not just bouncing around."

McCareins' level of play was the key to a game that devolved into a grueling test of Princeton's defense in the second half. As the Tigers' offense went three-and-out drive after drive, McCareins led the defense in frustrating San Diego's offense, breaking up passes and making the tackles he had to make to keep the game from getting out of hand.

"You have to hope the offense goes three and out, you have to hope they throw your way, you have to hope ... you get a chance to make a play," McCareins said, echoing what has become the Tigers' defensive credo.

No one could say that there weren't mistakes made on Saturday — McCareins was whistled for two first-half pass interference penalties, and the defense gave up over 300 yards through the air on the day — but nonetheless, Princeton found a way to win.

Without question, the Tigers would prefer not to rely on one player's superhuman feats to win football games, but when they needed such heroics Saturday, Jay McCareins provided them without a flinch.