Push to Ivy title reaches its end

The drive for the title is finished. You can officially crown the football team Ivy League champions for the first time since 1995.

It wasn't too flashy, nor was it soaked with drama like last week's game at the Yale Bowl, and it certainly wasn't easy. As it's managed to do all year, Princeton (9-1 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) bit and fought and clawed its way to victory over a tough Dartmouth team (2-10, 2-5) that came up short in its bid to play the spoiler.

The championship game was a story of two different halves; the first where the Tigers attacked through the air, and the second where they recaptured dominance on the ground. Over the course of the entire game, however, Princeton never lost its confidence or poise.

The Tigers got up to 17-3 early, but the Big Green rallied at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. Even though Princeton allowed its early lead to dissipate, the players still maintained a visible calm.

"Somehow I knew we were going to have to work for this one just like we had to work for every one all year; they weren't going to lay down for us," senior quarterback Jeff Terrell said. "We did get up early, but they're a good team, though, and they fought back. We were able to keep our confidence like we did all year, keep our poise and finish the game."

The Tigers used their stellar passing attack, conducted by Terrell, to jump out in front of Dartmouth. On the first possession of the game, Terrell completed passes to senior wide receiver Brian Brigham, junior tailback Rob Toresco, junior wide receiver Brendan Circle and finally to sophomore tight end Jordan Munde on an 11-play, 68-yard drive. Terrell never forced the ball into spaces where it didn't belong on an impressive drive that made the game seem over before it had even begun.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Princeton went back to its quick-pass offense that has served it so well time and again this season. This time, it was Toresco who ran it into the end zone on an option pass for a 14-0 lead.

The Big Green got on the board later in the second with a field goal, but the Tigers promptly responded in kind with a field goal of their own. It was the last series of the half that seriously altered the pace and tone of the game.

With a huge 45-yard completion to receiver Brian Evans, Dartmouth was right back in it. A couple of short plays later and quarterback Mike Fritz had the Big Green in the end zone for the first time of the game. The drive took a quick six plays to cover a massive 81 yards and took only one minute, seven seconds to complete.

The momentum had shifted.

After the Tigers were forced to punt in the third quarter, Fritz drove Dartmouth back down the field again. With four tries at the goal line, the Big Green made a gutsy call on fourth-and-inches. Fritz snuck it in, and the score was knotted at 17 points apiece. Fans may have been worried, but the players weren't.

"I can't speak for [head coach Roger] Hughes, but I don't think we were ever nervous at any point," Toresco said. "You know, we've done it all year, come back, at Harvard, at Penn, and we've always been able to finish it out. Like [senior linebacker] Luke [Steckel] said earlier this week, we just love each other, and we trust each other, and we trust each other to get the job done."

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Terrell immediately led Princeton down the field again. The offense, however, shifted from a more heavily pass-oriented offense to a more even mix of pass and run. More specifically, Princeton went to the option play or variants of it.

With a mix of passes and runs by sophomore running back R.C. Lagomarsino, the Tigers reached the eight-yard line but were unable to punch it in. Princeton had retaken the lead and responded like it had all year long.

Then the defense did its part, holding Fritz and the Big Green in check throughout the quarter. With only several minutes left in the game, Terrell took the reins yet again for a chance to seal the deal.

Ahead by only three points, the game was by no means over yet. Last year the Tigers came up short because they failed to close out games, but this time, they simply would not be denied.

A number of shovel passes, option plays and draws chewed up yards and time off the clock. On third-and-three, just outside the end zone, Terrell pitched the ball to Toresco yet again, who ran in unscathed and victorious for a 27-17 lead. The 12-play, 67-yard drive consumed 5:32 off the clock — exactly what Princeton needed. And every player in orange and black knew it. As it had done all year long, the team did its job.

"I think Luke Steckel probably said it best when we were at the press conference on Wednesday," Hughes said. "You know, we don't always have the best individuals on the field, but we have the best team on the field a lot of times."

With only 1:07 on the clock, the Tigers had iced the game with time-consuming plays that tired the Big Green defense. Unable to stop Princeton's offensive juggernaut, Fritz and Dartmouth found themselves out of time.

When you boil away all the extraneous information, the conclusion you arrive at is the following: this team was one-of-a-kind. Its closeness, great character and unselfish nature propelled the team to victory. If you ask Hughes, that great chemistry trickled down from the senior leadership of Steckel and Terrell.

"When I talk about this team's character, I'm not going to sit here and preach to you, but I'll tell you this — when kids do the right thing all the time when nobody's watching, good things happen," Hughes said. "I think Luke and Jeff epitomize what that is, and I think they force this team to do the right thing all the time."

The Tigers certainly got it right this time. Every player found a way to contribute to this victory, and because of that unity they are champions together.