Sprint football looks to avenge 77-0 loss to Army

The sprint football team (0-2 overall, 0-2 CSFL) is hoping that home field advantage will help it end a pair of losing streaks when it faces Army (1-2, 1-0) at Frelinghuysen Field tonight.

The Tigers have lost 37 consecutive games, as well as their last 16 straight contests against the Black Knights. Two weeks ago, Princeton fell to Army 77-0 in the Adirondack Trust Allegiance Bowl, but the squad believes it has made considerable progress since.

"A lot has changed for our offense since then," sophomore quarterback Alex Kandabarow said. "We have made significant improvements since that point in personnel, strategy and execution."

Kandabarow will be the focal point of the Princeton offense as it tries to move the ball down the field through the air. For the Tigers to be successful, sophomore wide receiver Lon Johnson, Kandabarow's main target, will have to improve on his performance from two weeks ago, when he caught five passes for 45 yards.

The Black Knights will attack on the ground, an approach that worked successfully for them in their first game against Princeton when Army recorded 283 yards and six touchdowns rushing in their blowout win. Senior running back Patrick Hall, who rarely touched the ball in the game two weeks ago, has been difficult to stop thus far. Hall has rushed for a total of 204 yards this season, including 109 in a 33-3 loss to an undefeated Navy squad in the Pride Bowl last week.

"We are defined by the running game," Black Knight head coach Gene McIntyre said. "It is part of the mentality of cadets, and Army will always be a ground-based attack. We will throw when it is to our advantage or to set up another opportunity."

For the Tigers even to compete with Army, they will have to limit the number of turnovers. Princeton had seven turnovers last week in a 42-0 loss to Penn and seven in the first Black Knights' game.

Princeton is likely to blitz early and often in an attempt to disrupt the Army rhythm, a technique that was not used very much in the last game. But as far as practice preparation goes, the Tigers are maintaining their routine.

"[We're doing] the same things that we do every week for every game," said Kandabarow, who passed for 103 yards against Penn. "Army is no more special than any other team in the league."

Princeton is by no means dismissing tonight's game as a lost cause. On the contrary, the Tigers will be looking at every small success as an opportunity to turn their fortunes around and end the two streaks that have been haunting them.

"This is the point where we need to get our offense to operate cohesively and to put some points on the board," Kandabarow said. "We need to improve upon the score of 77-0. If we can do that, then we know we are making progress."

A solid performance this week is crucial for team confidence as Princeton heads into a contest at Cornell next week. The Big Red game is probably the Tigers' best chance to win all season. Cornell beat Princeton 32-19 last year in the Tigers' closest game.

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Judging by the players' attitudes, Princeton is mentally prepared for success. Tonight's game will be an indicator of whether the Tigers are capable of parlaying that into careful execution on both sides of the ball. Perhaps the added incentive of avenging the rout coupled with the familiar underdog role will spark a history-making performance from the Tigers.

"We fully expect Princeton to come out a different team and fight us for every yard," McIntyre said. "Revenge is the best motivation."