Terrell impresses with poise in first career start

EASTON, Pa. — There's an old adage that though a team with a star player is a good team, a team without a star is a great team.

If it's true, then perhaps the football team (1-0 overall) is already in danger of crossing that line to the latter.

In his first varsity start, junior quarterback Jeff Terrell put on an impressive performance that would have reflected well on even a veteran, leading his team to a 23-21 victory over Lafayette. His play, in the end, was critical to the Tigers' win.

"I thought he had great poise and great confidence, and I thought his confidence grew as he went along," head coach Roger Hughes said.

Except for a short hiatus taken late in the first half after a hit had him gasping for breath and seeing stars, Terrell engineered drive after drive, culminating in a nine-minute, 25-second march to a field goal that ate precious time off the clock and all but sealed the Leopards' fate.

In the first half, Terrell completed passes when he needed to the most, helping Princeton jump out to an early 10-point lead. He made his first major mistake in the third quarter, throwing an interception near the Lafayette goal line as he scrambled out of the pocket. Since the throw came on fourth down, however, the play actually turned out well in terms of field position.

"That [interception] was actually better than a punt, and that's how we've looked at it," Hughes said.

A drive later, Terrell threw another deep pass that found itself in the hands of a Lafayette player. It was the last mistake he would make, as the ensuing Leopard touchdown set him up to regain control.

Terrell took the field with his offense knowing he would have to come up with a score and that running down the clock wouldn't be a bad thing, either. He faced several third-down situations and overcame them all with the help of his offense, eventually setting up a field goal by senior kicker Derek Javarone that would seal the game for the Tigers.

"It was one of those things where we kept getting enough, getting enough, getting enough," Hughes said. "If you hear me in a quarterback meeting, I say three times four equals twelve, and that's a first down all the time."

Terrell also seems to have taken the lesson to heart both in his actions that fourth quarter and in his words after the game.

"You don't have to get a touchdown on every play," he said. "You just have to move the chains."

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And Terrell was certainly good at moving the chains on Saturday. He did it any way he could, passing to a total of seven different receivers for 197 yards. Early in the game, senior wide receiver Greg Fields was a prime target for Terrell, but it was sophomore wide receiver Brendan Circle who made severalof the biggest catches of the day, including several in the fourth quarter. He ended up with five receptions for a total of 75 yards.

"I love Brendan, but . . . that's just the way the read worked out. The defense was giving us Brendan, so that ball [went] to Brendan," Terrell said.

Remarkably, sophomore fullback Rob Toresco, junior wide receiver Brian Shields and senior tight end Jon Dekker also all had more than 20 yards each on the fly. For his willingness to follow the offense to a T, Terrell earned his coach's praise.

"[Terrell] went through [his] progression and took what the defense gave him. That's why we were able to be so efficient. He didn't try to take the game in his hands, he just did what the offense told him to do and hit the open receiver," Hughes said.

After the game, Hughes seemed decidedly pleased with his decision at the quarterback position, noting that he thought the win bore out the results of what he had seen in this fall's camp. In fact, Hughes didn't have much criticism of Terrell at all — at least, not yet.

"I thought he handled [things] very well," Hughes said. "Now, I'll say that now, but I'll look at the film tomorrow and rip him three or four hours straight. But, right now, I'm very pleased."

Most importantly, perhaps, Terrell's performance may help set a positive tone for the rest of the season.

"To be able to finally win a close game sets the tone for the entire season. When you win a close game in the fourth quarter, [we] now have confidence," Terrell said.

Senior cornerback Jay McCareins agreed, noting that younger players are now "coming up believing that we're a good team and knowing that we're a good team and proving that we're a good team, instead of wondering if we're a good team."

A superstar in the making? It's still to soon to say. But regardless of what you call Terrell, he's certainly an integral part of a team that, suddenly, looks like it just might become great.