Tigers battle past Crimson

Some like to paint history in broad, melodramatic terms, replete with momentous events and great men. The football team's game against Harvard today was one of those rare moments when the reality lived up to the billing.

In a matchup full of history, Princeton (3-0 Ivy League, 6-0 overall) downed Harvard (2-1, 5-1), 31-28, with great plays by great players on both sides of the ball. In doing so, the Tigers started their own little historical movement: a 2-0 unbeaten streak against the Crimson.

Despite being down twice, including late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers pulled together to come away with a close and critically important Ivy League win.

"It was another team win," head coach Roger Hughes said. "We made plays when we had to and that's become, certainly, the defining characteristic of our team. There was never any panic on our sideline."

The drama unfolded early in the first quarter, with the Crimson scoring after a Princeton three-and-out. Senior punter Colin McDonough's punt attempt was blocked and recovered by Harvard on the Tiger 20.

From there, it took the formidable Harvard running back Clifton Dawson a single 20-yard rush straight through the Princeton defense to find the end zone with 11 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first.

Princeton responded quickly, though, putting together a steady drive down to the Harvard 29 after a big 16-yard reception by sophomore receiver Adam Berry on third down. Senior quarterback Jeff Terrell scored the touchdown for Princeton on first and 10 when he faked a handoff before running through a wide open gap and using his impressive speed to split two Harvard defenders at 7:25 left in the quarter.

"It was a triple option, like we practice all the time," Terrell said. "They did a great job of picking up the other two guys — the throwback and the pitchback — but there was a wide open lane for me. All I had to do was run to the end zone."

Terrell's score fired up the Princeton offense, which would notch two more scores before the end of the quarter as the defense frustrated Harvard. Sophomore kicker Conner Louden split the uprights from the 5-yard line to give Princeton its first lead at 3:36 left in the first.

A disastrous play by Harvard led to the Tigers' next score, as its punter failed to catch his snap and let the ball bobble all the way down to the Tiger 12. Out of the shotgun on third and four, Terrell found junior tight end Jake Staser as the quarter expired for a 17-7 lead.

In the second, a late hit on Dawson by senior linebacker Luke Steckel gave Havard a chance they capitalized on for seven points. There was more drama, too: rushing on his team's next drive, Terrell took a hard hit and fell around the Princeton 32, lying motionless on the turf for a few seconds before walking off the field. He didn't return until the second half.

"It was really just something with the trainers where I got my bell rung," Terrell said. "They just wanted to be cautious and make sure the headache's gone."

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No matter, though. Junior quarterback Bill Foran came in and the Tigers scored just the same, with sophomore tailback R.C. Lagomarsino running the ball in from 10 yards out to give the Tigers a 24-14 lead and some halftime momentum.

"There was no sense of letdown [once Terrell went out]," Hughes said. "These guys just got up and performed. R.C. made a great play."

You wouldn't have known that the Tigers had something going once the third quarter started. Harvard scored two touchdowns in the third, taking a 28-24 lead with 3:55 left in the third. Princeton, meanwhile, had more than a few three-and-outs.

Time after time, though, the Tiger defense held fast. McDonough had some monster punts — including a 62-yarder that would set Harvard up for a difficult drive late in the fourth.

The Crimson took the ball on their own 20, and managed to get one first down — but not more. On first and 10 from the Princeton 47-yard line, Steckel intercepted a pass around the 30 and hooked around to bring it back to the Princeton 39.

"We just said this is where we want to be, we just want one drive to win the game and we only need one possession to win the game," Hughes said.

Princeton quickly ran up against third and 13, but Terrell managed to find senior wide receiver Brian Brigham to advance to the Harvard 45-yard line.

On the next set of downs, Harvard made a third-down stop but also drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag that, crucially, gave the Tigers a first down at the 24. From there, it was easy: Terrell found junior wide receiver Brendan Circle for the game-winning score. Circle caught the ball around the 5-yard line and broke a tackle to get across the line with 4:37 left in regulation.

The defense, though, came up with an equally dramatic play to put the game away. A few minutes later, junior free safety Kevin Kelleher had his second pick of the game after senior nose guard Jake Marshall tipped a pass up into the air. His last interception put the game away for the Tigers, who took four knees to win the game.

Besides advancing to 6-0, the Tigers had done something else astounding: held Dawson to only 64 yards rushing. It was one of a bundle of feats for the Tigers, who now sit atop the Ivy League with fellow undefeated Yale.

"One of the things that's been on the back of our mind is we need to be undefeated in October," Hughes said. "Next week we have a chance to reach that goal."

History, indeed, suggests good things, with hints of the 1922 undefeated "Team of Destiny" coming to mind. But if the Tigers have a chance to even make history on the decade interval — Princeton hasn't been undefeated in over 10 years — that might be good enough.