QB breaks arm in loss to Quakers

In a sprint football game with 67 total points and 738 yards in total offense, the most important play of the game for the Tigers was undoubtedly a seemingly insignificant running play late in the first half that picked up 14 yards and a first down for the Penn Quakers.

On that play, senior quarterback/defensive back/punter Alex Kandabarow was pulling down Penn running back Max Greenky from behind when he got tangled with a teammate and landed on his right arm, fracturing it.

"I made a tackle, and I don't really remember what happened, but I hit the ground, and I felt my arm snap, and I knew it was broken," Kandabarow said.

The play on which Princeton scored its only points of the game might have been bigger, of course. With five minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Kandabarow launched a 64-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Lon Johnson to give Princeton (0-2 overall, 0-2 Collegiate Sprint Football League) its only points in its 60-7 loss to the Quakers (1-1, 1-1) at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday night. But those who have followed the sprint football team for the past three years know better.

The Tigers have gotten somewhat used to losing over that span, with an ignominious record of 1-14. What they have not grown used to is playing without Kandabarow, who, after the weight limit for the team was raised from 165 to 172 two years ago, became the Tigers' starting quarterback and the team's unquestioned offensive leader.

Even before Kandabarow got injured, though, Princeton was for all purposes out of the game by the end of the first quarter. When the Pittsburgh, Pa., native went down, the Tigers were already down 45-7.

But Princeton, who lost twice last year to Penn by a combined 58 points, looked poised in the early going to keep it closer this year.

After basically exchanging three-and-outs for the first half of the quarter, the Tigers' defense let the Quakers into their territory twice, but both times Princeton forced fumbles to keep Penn out of the end zone.

"We got a lot of breaks early in the game. Some we forced, others were just off of mental mistakes made by them," senior defensive back Henry Williams said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalize on all of them."

The biggest of those breaks came inside Princeton's red zone when junior defensive back Drew Dixon knocked the ball loose from Penn running back Rob Lombardi as he approached the goal line. Williams, who was also knocked out of the game with an injury midway through the second quarter, was able to pounce on the ball in the end zone for the touchback, stealing away the Quakers' excellent field position and preserving the 0-0 deadlock.

But starting on their own 38-yard line, Kandabarow threw an interception on third and long that Penn's Andy Feigenbaum returned 21 yards to the Princeton 34. Two plays later, Penn quarterback Mike D'Angelo found Marten Basta open for a 33-yard touchdown.

Princeton, however, kept the game interesting. Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards to the Tiger 36 and, on the next play, got behind the defense for a 64-yard touchdown reception. In just 30 seconds, Johnson had accumulated 84 yards of total offense and knotted the score at seven. Princeton's leading receiver for the past three years, Johnson led the team with 92 yards on the day while adding 59 yards returning on two punts and three kickoffs.

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"[The Quakers] were trying to jump the hitch routes that Alex and I were running, because the hitches had been pretty successful thus far," Johnson said. "[I faked the hitch] then I just turned it up field. I kind of knew that the play would be there if Alex hit me in stride, and he did just that. It was a good play call."

The Quakers did not relinquish the lead for long, though. On the kickoff following the Johnson touchdown reception, Lombardi returned the ball 84 yards to put his team up 13-7.

"They returned a kick for a touchdown, and then it sort of got away [from us]," Kandabarow said.

After that, Penn was just too much for Princeton to handle.

Ironically, it wasn't Penn's vaunted running game that began the onslaught. Rather, it was two pass plays of 34 and 51 yards that put the Quakers up 28-7 with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Early in the second, Lombardi scampered for a 58 yard score and Mike Bagnoli added another touchdown from five yards out.

Princeton put together what was probably its most methodical drive of the day late in the first quarter. Aided by a holding penalty and a personal foul for a late hit from Penn's Feigenbaum, the Tigers marched from their 39-yard line all the way to the Quakers' 22. But the drive ended when Kanabarrow threw into thick coverage in the end zone and his pass was picked off by Feigenbaum.

Shortly thereafter Kandabarow went out with his injury.

This year, with an undermanned roster, the versatile senior is also playing safety on defense and handling punting duties on special teams. Last week against Cornell, Kandabarow threw for 270 yards, rushed for two touchdowns, returned an interception 31 yards and averaged 39.7 yards on six punts. That's 548 yards attributable to one guy, and now he's out for the season.

"Our offense is based around not only his arm but his understanding of where things are on the field," Johnson said. "Our backups weren't really in a position to step up and make plays."

Sophomore quarterback Mike Chang came in for Kandabarow for the rest of the first half, and Dixon filled the quarterbacking role for the majority of the second. Though they played well, the Tigers definitely missed their starter from the past 15 games.

"The future of the team is more in jeopardy now than it has been," Johnson said. "But I think everyone is confident that were going to keep things going. At the end of the game, everyone had their heads up."

That has really been the Princeton sprint football team's story for the past few years. Despite its record, the team remains remarkably upbeat. And now, especially after injuries to key players and the well-publicized ineligibility of freshman Joey Cheek, the Tigers just need bodies to put on the field. Any volunteers are welcome.