Ball control not enough for win

The sprint football team did not look ready to break its losing streak last Friday when it faced Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.

Still, fresh off the previous week's forfeit to Army, the Tigers put together a tough offensive performance under its new quarterback and played a better game than was reflected on the scoreboard. Though Princeton lost the game 34-0, it won in terms of time of possession and stayed competitive in terms of offensive yards.

"We played Cornell tough on Friday night," junior captain and offensive and defensive lineman Rich Hagner said. "Cornell didn't expect us to come out as hard as we did. The team never quit."

Princeton held onto the ball for 33 minutes, 36 seconds. Junior Drew Dixon, who had played as a defensive back and wide receiver until just two weeks ago, made an impressive debut as he tried to fill the shoes of injured senior quarterback Alex Kandabarow. Dixon made 11 completions on 33 attempts for a total of 125 passing yards, nearly matching the Big Red's 144 passing yards. He also ran the ball 25 times.

"For not having played quarterback for three or four years, Drew played a great game," Hagner said. "I have got to give him a lot of credit. He was handed a tough task — he was given two weeks to learn a new position, and he stepped up and did it. Even though we didn't score, he ran the offense well, establishing himself as a presence on the field and a leader on the team. He was the center of our offense Friday night."

Dixon's use of the run also allowed the Tigers to put together a more balanced attack on offense. They gained 80 rushing yards, compared to just 24 rushing yards when they faced Cornell earlier this season.

Sophomore running back Mike Schoder led the Tigers in rushing with 64 yards gained on five attempts. Senior Lon Johnson added 18 yards on four attempts.

Johnson also led Princeton in receiving yards, gaining 65 yards on five catches. Junior wide receiver Doug Wolf added 28 yards on two catches.

The Tigers also showed a remarkable improvement on the other side of the ball as well, giving up just 278 total yards to the Big Red. In September, Cornell marched up and down the field to gain 430 total offensive yards.

In the end, the game came down to field position.

"We consistently gave Cornell good starting field position, and they were able to take advantage of that," Hagner said. "We had some long drives and held onto the ball for a long time, but unfortunately, when we got into the red zone, we just couldn't punch it in."

The Tigers drove 80 yards to Cornell's seven-yard line on their second drive of the game but had a field goal blocked. Their next-best chance came in the fourth quarter when they advanced to Cornell's 13-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.

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On the other hand, the Big Red started nine of 17 drives in Princeton territory, with two of its scoring drives beginning within Princeton's 30-yard line. After an 85-yard drive to take the lead on its second drive of the first quarter, Cornell took advantage of the short fields to add to its lead.

Overall, just one week after it was forced to forfeit its game against Army, Princeton put together a lineup that proved effective rushing, passing and on defense. The Tigers have two more chances to break their losing streak this season, facing Navy in Annapolis, Md., next week before ending their season at home against Penn on Nov. 2.