Pirates arrgh coming

The football team has already experienced a series of firsts this season — from playing its first game at newly named Powers Field at Princeton Stadium to defending an Ivy League title for the first time under head coach Roger Hughes.

Tomorrow, the Tigers (2-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) will have to be prepared for yet another new experience, as they host No. 13 Hampton (3-1) at 3:30 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Pirates, a perennial powerhouse in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, are coached by Joe Taylor, who is in his 16th year at the helm. As head coach at the historically black college, Taylor has forged a culture in which victory is always the expectation. His .713 career winning percentage ranks third in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly Division I-AA.

Senior quarterback Bill Foran noted that though Princeton has never faced Hampton before, the Tigers are preparing for this game as if they were playing a familiar foe.

"We have a standard way of preparing for teams by looking at films," Foran said. "And teams change from year to year even if you have played them before."

So while going up against a new team always presents a number of unknowns, one thing is certain with Hampton: Tomorrow's game will be no easy test.

Hampton is averaging 32.8 points and 396 yards per game this season, having charged out of the gates by putting up 59 points against North Carolina in its second game of the year.

The engine of the Pirate offense is quarterback T.J. Mitchell, a stellar athlete who can earn yardage in the open field. Like Foran, it is Mitchell's first year as a starter. The graduated quarterback he replaces — the aptly named Princeton Shepherd — was another Hampton signal-caller known for his mobility.

If Mitchell has a weakness, it is his occasional inaccuracy with the ball — he has thrown four interceptions on the year. Look for the Tiger front four to put pressure on the young quarterback and force him to make mistakes. Sure-handed Princeton senior safety Kevin Kelleher already has two interceptions on the season, so Princeton certainly has playmakers in the secondary who can grab the ball if it is thrown inaccurately.

When Mitchell puts the ball between the numbers, however, his wide receivers have the ability to make big plays. Mitchell's main targets are wideouts Jeremy Gilchrist and Kevin Teel. The latter is also a menace in the return game, having ranked second in the FCS with 31.2 yards per kickoff return last season.

After winning its first three games of the season, Hampton dropped a 24-17 decision to Delaware State last Saturday. In the game, the Pirates were penalized 15 times for a total of 159 yards. Hampton will certainly be hungry for a cleaner performance against Princeton.

Foran's mobility mirrors that of Mitchell. Foran seemed comfortable running with the ball last weekend, racking up 84 yards and two visits to the endzone.

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When asked about his performance last weekend, Foran gave a response that one would have expected to hear from Lagomarsino or Toresco.

"I would have liked to have run for more yards, but you have to take what the defense gives you," Foran said. "A runner always wants more."

Counterbalancing Foran's prowess with his legs is Princeton's backup quarterback, senior Greg Mroz, who engineered a critical touchdown drive against Columbia before leaving the game with a hand injury. Using Mroz helps the Tigers mix things up on offense, and it adds another dimension against which the defense must protect.

For either quarterback to be successful, Princeton's offensive line will have to watch out for the Pirates' big man on defense, 294-pound defensive end Kendall Langford. Last year, Langford was an FCS All-American selection and recorded eight sacks.

On paper, this matchup looks like it will be an offensive battle between two teams that have proven they can make big plays and keep a scoreboard-operator busy.

If the Tiger defense can steal a few of those game-changing plays back, Princeton could come out of this weekend with yet another first: a victory against the tough Pirates of Hampton.