Terrific in the trenches

EASTON, Pa. — Fresh off leading the football team to an impressive 20-14 victory over No. 22 Lafayette on Saturday, senior quarterback Bill Foran was asked if he had felt like he had something to prove. A week after suffering serious first-start jitters in a 32-21 loss to Lehigh, Foran certainly showed a different side of himself by completing 75 percent of his passes against the Leopards.

"You need to show your teammates the offense can score, and I think the whole team had something to prove tonight," Foran said. "We came out to play and prove that our team can play football."

The effort and physicality Princeton (1-1 overall) displayed in toppling Lafayette (3-1) was a marked improvement from its performance a week prior. The Tigers doubled their rushing yards while nearly halving the number of snaps the defense was forced to play.

"Overall, it was a great team win," head coach Roger Hughes said. "In all phases of the game, we improved from last week."

Trailing 14-13 with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter, Foran confidently led the Tigers on what would prove to be the game-winning drive. Twice, Foran found himself facing heavy defensive pressure in the backfield, and twice he found an outlet in the form of junior wide receiver Will Thanheiser.

After hitting Thanheiser for a 22-yard gain on third-and-12 earlier in the drive, Foran looked to the same target facing third-and-14 at the Lafayette 41-yard line. Foran charged past several Leopard defenders to the line of scrimmage before loosing a 37-yard bomb off one foot to a leaping Thanheiser, who came down with one foot on the field just four yards outside the endzone.

Junior tailback R.C. Lagomarsino — who suffered a broken nose earlier in the game — followed Thanheiser's catch with two consecutive rushes, the second of which put the Tigers ahead 20-14 with 30 seconds to go in the period.

The Princeton defense made good on that lead, toughing it out through a scoreless fourth quarter and earning the Tigers their first win of the Foran era.

"Lafayette is a good team and to come in here and win, I don't know if people realize how big a win this is," Hughes said. "And scoring 20 points on the No. 1 defense in Division I-AA is outstanding. I can't tell you what a great effort our offensive line and our defense gave."

The game almost began on a demoralizing note, with the Leopards' Maurice White returning the opening kickoff into the Tigers' end zone. Fortunately for Princeton, an illegal hold on the return brought the ball back to the Lafayette 31-yard line, where the Princeton defense forced a three-and-out.

The Leopards attempted to pin the Tigers in their defensive end, but Foran entered the game as a man on a mission, completing two quick passes to set the tone for the game.

With the offense amassing 356 total yards, Princeton made a statement about its ability to control a football game. On its first possession, the Tigers started on their own 15-yard line but advanced downfield far enough to pin the Leopards on their 20 with a touchback.

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"[It was] probably the most important drive of the game," Hughes said. "To change the whole field position, that was huge, especially early in the game to give our defense a longer field."

As it turned out, the Princeton defense didn't need much space at all. Three plays into the drive, senior co-captain and outside linebacker Jon Stem got his fingers on a pass, redirecting it into the outstretched hands of junior defensive lineman Tom Methvin.

After trading punts with the Leopards, the Tigers regained possession of the ball on their 32-yard line with five minutes, 35 seconds to go in the first quarter. Senior fullback Rob Toresco and Lagomarsino combined for 46 yards and three first downs on the drive, advancing the ball to Lafayette's 11-yard line. A 25-yard field goal by junior kicker Connor Louden followed, giving the Tigers an early 3-0 lead, their first of the season.

A pair of three-and-outs followed the Tiger score, with a monstrous 69-yard punt by junior punter Ryan Coyle pinning Lafayette on its own five-yard line. At the end of the first quarter, the Leopards were at second-and-six on the 11. With excellent field position, the situation seemed under control, but the Leopards came out blazing in the second quarter.

Fifteen seconds into the quarter, Anthony D'Urso was in the Tiger end zone, having darted to his left through a hole in the Princeton defense and sprinting past two Princeton pursuers for the go-ahead touchdown.

With the Tigers trailing by four points, Foran demonstrated his versatility on the ensuing drive. Following passes to Toresco and Thanheiser and a rush by sophomore tailback Kenny Gunter, Foran found himself T second-and-10. Taking advantage of his athleticism and quickness, Foran dashed away from a blitz for an 11-yard rush and a first down.

Twelve plays later, Foran once again pitched to Gunter, who ran into the corner of the endzone for his first career touchdown, putting the Tigers up 10-7 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.

"I think it gave us a lot of confidence going into halftime," Hughes said, "and to score without them having a chance to answer I think is always important."

The Tigers were confident enough coming out of halftime to put another three quick points on the board off a 34-yard field goal by Louden.

Princeton's euphoria was short lived, however, as Lafayette answered with a touchdown on the very next drive to go ahead 14-13.

All that did was set the stage for another heady drive by Foran, who proved that both he and his team are much more than what one bad week made them out to be.