Against Lehigh (1-2 overall) last weekend, the football team fought off an opponent that came out strong to earn a season-opening win.
But if this weekend's opponent, Lafayette (2-1), comes out with barrels blazing, it remains to be seen whether Princeton (1-0) can hold up to what might be withering fire when the teams clash at Princeton Stadium tomorrow at 6 p.m.
"If they're coming in with a sixshooter they've got eight bullets in the chamber," head coach Roger Hughes said of Lafayette's capable football team.
Though the Tigers managed to recover from a 10-0 first-half deficit last weekend, the Leopards might not give Princeton that chance. Whether or not the Tigers can come out and match a possibly better offense this weekend may have important implications for this season.
For one, Lafayette will come to Princeton with an excellent quarterback in Brad Mauer, who as a junior last year amassed 1,562 yards passing, with nine touchdowns. Moreover, Mauer rushed for 271 net yards on his own, and so will pose a double threat for the Tigers. Even in the team's most recent 21-11 loss to Penn, Mauer passed for a career-high 286 yards.
Moreover, in between Mauer and the Tiger defense stands a formidable obstacle: the Leopards' offensive line.
"Their offensive line is big and much more physical [and] much more experienced than what we saw last week," Hughes said. "Defensively, we're not going to have the luxury of getting our feet on the ground."
That's not all, though. Lafayette running back Jonathan Hurt had a 1,000-yard season last year, rushing for 1,013 yards during the team's Patriot League championship season.
When Lafayette sends the ball in the air, they have equally talented players to catch it. Receivers Joe Ort and Shaun Adair are averaging 15.8 and 22.6 yards per reception, respectively, with the two receiving a total of 158 and 181 yards though three games this season.
"They've got the whole package," Hughes said.
Fortunately for the Tigers, the team's defense has shown it can come up with big plays when it must. Between senior defensive back Tim Strickland's big interceptions and junior linebacker Doori Song's momentum-shifting tackles last week, Princeton has already shown it knows how to stop an opponent's advance cold. Both players were critical in stopping the Mountain Hawks from coming back in last weekend's game.
Moreover, the Tiger defense has shown it can — and has to — play like a team. Of 41 total tackles made by Princeton players, 26 of them have been assisted, a good sign of players being in the right place at the right time.
"I don't know if there's going to be a kid like a [Jay] McCareins ['06] who's going to take a game over, but we learned that if everyone's in place good things will happen," Hughes said. "I think, frankly, on both sides of the ball, we've gained a lot more confidence in our teammates."
The team's overall performance last weekend was solid. But getting shut out in the first half won't work against Lafayette, so the Tigers have been practicing hard to fix things up.
In addition to correcting last weekend's errors, Princeton has gone hard in one-on-one situations in practice this week. The idea is to simulate what is sure to be a faster game in Princeton Stadium this Saturday and to get the players ready for the Leopards' team-wide speed.
Nonetheless, a come-from-behind win against a perennially strong Lehigh team is reassuring for the Tigers. In addition, the team's big questions, particularly the offensive line, were resolved favorably last weekend.
"I think we got exactly what we thought we'd get," offensive line coach Gregg Perry said.
Perry noted that freshman right tackle Mark Paski, senior right guard Kyle Vellutato, senior center Brett Barrie and junior left tackle Brendan Swisher, in particular, all had good games in the team's contest against Lehigh.
"Brendan Swisher has done a wonderful job bringing his athletic ability from the tight end position into that tackle position," Perry said. "He may very well be the fastest kid I've ever seen in the offensive line. We can stretch our blocking schemes out 30 to 40 yards down the field and he's willing to do that. He enjoys playing hard and hustling."
It seems as though the coaching staff's claims of a more athletic and mobile, yet still capable offensive line have come true. That's good news if the Tigers are to take any shots from Lafayette, and give a few of their own.
With a season still in the offing, how Princeton loads its own sixshooter — and how well the Tigers can shoot — really remains to be seen.
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