HAMILTON, N.Y., Oct. 7 — Just when everyone else at Andy Kerr Stadium was gearing up for a second exhilarating period of college-format overtime, the Colgate Raiders decided they had seen enough of the Princeton football team.
They got their wish, trudging off their home field Saturday with an abrupt 27-26 loss.
After the Tigers (4-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) found the end zone on the opening overtime possession and kicked the extra point for a 27-20 lead, Colgate (2-3) responded with a touchdown to draw within a point of extending the game. Wary of their kicker and confident against the Princeton defense, the Raiders opted to try a two-point conversion for the win.
With the ball placed at the two-yard line, Colgate figured Princeton's eye would be on star Raider running back Jordan Scott, who had carried 33 times for 96 yards on the day. But when Colgate quarterback Mike Saraceno kept the ball and headed for the end zone, the Tigers were so unfazed they didn't need the shouts of "Quarterback draw!" coming from the sidelines and the visiting stands.
Sophomore defensive lineman Tom Methvin and freshman linebacker John Callahan stopped Saraceno dead in his tracks at the line of scrimmage, clinching the one-point win and sending their coaches and teammates into a celebratory on-field frenzy.
"I was pumped up, I feel a lot of energy when the game is on the line, but those are the plays when you forget about everything and just play football," Methvin said. "I was just doing my job and I was in the right place."
The game-sealing stop followed a gutsy overtime drive on the part of senior quarterback Jeff Terrell and the Princeton offense.
As per the college overtime rules, Princeton started with the ball on the Colgate 25-yard line, but by fourth down the Tigers were stalled at the 16 with less than a yard to go.
The kicking team came out and it appeared Princeton would settle for three points, until head coach Roger Hughes called a timeout. After the team huddled on the sidelines, Terrell marched the offense back onto the field and bullied through the line of scrimmage for a huge first down to keep the drive alive.
"I thought it was actually more, I thought it was about a yard and a half," Hughes said of the distance his team needed for a first down. "But Jeff came over and said, 'Coach, it's inches.' That's when I called timeout, and the look of those guys in the huddle said, 'We're gonna get this, coach, don't worry about it.' So we called the play, and they kept their word."
With momentum on their side, the Tigers used a nine-yard completion to junior fullback Rob Toresco and a one-yard rush by Terrell to pick up another first down at the four-yard line. From there, Terrell — who threw for 293 yards and a touchdown on the day — came out of the shotgun and kept it himse once again. Rushing up the middle, Terrell was met head-on at the goal line by Colgate strong safety Geoff Bean, whom he barreled over to charge into the end zone.
"This team is so even keeled emotionally, they really don't get too high or too low," Hughes said. "I talk about relentless monotony — they just come out and do their job and good things are going to happen. They play with a lot of passion, but it's not out of control."
Never has the Tigers' monotony been more relentless than in the final three quarters of Saturday's game and into overtime. After a miserable first quarter — one in which Princeton suffered a fumble on the opening drive and Terrell had to reach over his head to catch just about every snap — the Tigers steadily fought their way back into the game.
His team trailing 7-0 through 15 minutes, Terrell capped off the first drive of the second half with a 33-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Brendan Circle, whom he found streaking up the middle with nothing but open field in front of him.
It was Terrell's sixth touchdown pass of the season, each to a different receiver. He has thrown for 900 yards through four games and is on pace for 2,250 yards, which would be the fifth-highest total in Princeton history. For Circle, it was the start of a brilliant day in which he caught four passes for 116 yards to become the first 100-yard Princeton receiver in two years.
The Tigers took a 10-7 lead on their next drive with a 33-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Connor Louden. The Raiders went ahead again, going into halftime up 13-10, but Colgate kicker Jacob Stein's miss on the subsequent extra-point attempt proved crucial in a game that was tied after regulation.
"This year we've had the ball bounce our way," Hughes said. "Over the last seven years we've had the ball not bounce our way a little bit, so things are kind of evening out."
In the third quarter, the Tiger defense shut Colgate down and Toresco scored on a pitch play to give Princeton a 17-13 lead. The Tigers were close to taking a double-digit lead on the first drive of the fourth quarter, but at the Colgate four-yard line sophomore tailback R.C. Lagomarsino coughed up his second fumble.
The Raiders took advantage of the new life Lagomarsino gave them, and with six minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Raiders scored their third go-ahead touchdown to go up 20-17.
That left more than enough time for Terrell to respond to the score, marching the Tigers downfield with a 25-yard gain to Circle and an 18-yarder to senior wideout Brian Shields. The drive stalled at the Colgate 17-yard line, at which point Louden nailed a 34-yard field goal to tie the game with 4:02 to go.
Princeton then blocked a hopeless 48-yard field-goal attempt by Stein as regulation ended, setting up an overtime only the Raiders will ever want to forget.
Read More
Preview: Football names captains and looks ahead to their first game
Lily PampolinaPrinceton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
Princeton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
By the Numbers: Goals and medals for the Tigers’ start to the fall
Harrison BlankThis week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
This week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
Late goals lift men’s soccer past University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2–0
Harrison Blank and Matthew YiMen’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.
Men’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.