In a season that was supposed to be one of rebirth, Princeton's sprint football team has been unable to end its tradition of disappointment. After falling to the Navy Midshipmen 58-0 on a windy Friday night at Princeton Stadium, the Tigers now stand with a winless 0-5 record, last in the Collegiate Sprint Football League.
Plagued by a stagnant ground attack, the Princeton squad was unable to make any offensive headway. The Tiger defense was no more successful, allowing 49 points in the first half and 234 total rushing yards to the powerful Midshipmen offense.
"For some reason beyond me, we left our focus and intensity in the locker room — and when you're outmanned and have to play perfectly just to compete in the first place, that's a foolproof recipe for an ass-kicking," senior co-captain Zach McKinney said.
The Princeton offense managed one first down and 64 total yards for the game, entering Navy territory only once. They were unable to advance beyond their own 40-yard line for the entire first half.
Perhaps the lone bright spot for the struggling Tiger offense was the performance of sophomore wide receiver Lon Johnson, who caught six passes for 56 yards. One of those passes was a 34-yard toss from junior quarterback Alex Kandabarow that Johnson caught down the sideline in Navy territory. Kandabarow finished the night completing 14 of 36 passes for 74 yards with one interception.
With the exception of that lone long pass completion, however, the night was mostly devoid of excitement for the lackluster Princeton squad.
"The effort is there every week, and we're working our tails off," senior co-captain Bennett Graham said. "We just didn't quite come to play Friday night — there's something about military academies — we just couldn't get an early start."
Indeed, Princeton's first drive ended whatever momentum had been built up in the week leading to the game, as Navy recovered a blocked punt on the Tigers' 9-yard line. From there it took just one play, a touchdown pass to wideout Tommy Tellson, for the Midshipmen to take the lead.
The rest of the game was much of the same for the Tigers as they were unable to find their rhythm.
Friday night was indicative of the kind of season that the Princeton squad has been having thus far. Expectations at the start of the year were high for the Tigers, yet a lack of players has hurt the team's potential.
"We expected a stronger recruiting season," Graham said. "The guys we have are phenomenal, but we're hurting on numbers."
Still, Princeton, led by head coach Thomas Cocuzza, remains confident for each game.
"We always prepare to win the game and we expect to win," Graham said.
Another factor to consider is the learning curve associated with the new coaching scheme that Cocuzza is implementing this season.
"It's a complex system, and not one that's easy to learn in a month or two," Graham said.
The Tigers' next and final game of the season is Nov. 3 at Penn, the last chance for them to avoid a winless season.
"We have two weeks to prepare and hopefully it will be a good game," Graham said. "It's a game we expect to win."
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