A tale of two scorelines

At halftime in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Tigers and Quakers were deadlocked in a scoreless battle, their relentless defenses stifling every opposing effort and forcing the offenses to fight for every inch.

Any Ivy League sports fan reading that sentence might assume the Princeton-Penn game in question was between the schools' field hockey or men's or women's soccer teams — all of which were facing off on Penn's campus last Saturday. But the 0-0 first-half stalemate came on the gridiron, and things only got uglier for the football team (3-5 overall, 2-3 Ivy League). The eventual 7-0 Tiger loss officially killed Princeton's hopes of repeating as Ivy League champions.

"Well, I think that game set offensive football back about 50 years," head coach Roger Hughes said.

The contest was strikingly different from last year's double-overtime thriller, in which quarterback Jeff Terrell '07 and then-junior running back Rob Toresco orchestrated a heroic scoring play to lift the Tigers to a 31-30 victory.

That game remains indelibly burned into the minds of the Tiger faithful as a battle between two explosive offenses. Saturday's struggle against Penn (3-5, 2-3) will only be remembered as the first time Princeton was shut out since 1999.

It was evident early on in this defensive back-and-forth that one crucial play would be the game's deciding factor. During the first Princeton drive of the second quarter, it seemed like the Tigers would be the ones to make that happen. Starting at the Princeton 20-yard line, senior quarterback Greg Mroz lasered a pass to junior wide receiver Adam Berry to move the chains. On the next play, Mroz completed a pass to a wide-open Toresco, who saw only daylight and the end zone ahead of him until Chris Wynn caught up with him to spoil the Tigers' hope for six.

The 66-yard gain put Princeton on the Penn four-yard line, but on third down Mroz looked for Toresco in the end zone and had his pass tipped and intercepted by Penn's Britton Ertman, who returned the ball to the Princeton 38-yard line.

The interception was Mroz's final throw of the day, as he suffered a concussion during the play. Senior wide receiver Brendan Circle and junior wideout Will Thanheiser also suffered injuries early in the game, further limiting an already debilitated Tiger offense.

While Princeton failed to capitalize on its offensive opportunities, Penn came away with a touchdown the only time its offense threatened all afternoon. During its first possession of the second half, Penn established an offensive rhythm and patiently moved the ball down the field from its own 40-yard line.

The Quakers scored the only touchdown of the day when quarterback Bryan Walker pitched the ball to tailback Joe Sandberg, who made one cutback and streaked through a hole into the end zone practically unscathed. Sandberg, an All-Ivy pick last season, was the game's only offensive star, churning out 158 yards on the ground and hauling in six receptions for 54 yards.

Despite Princeton's inconsistent offensive performance, the Tiger defense was outstanding. Princeton limited the Quakers to 264 total offensive yards on the afternoon despite the fact that Penn held the ball for nearly 34 minutes. Junior linebacker Collin McCarthy led the defensive effort with 14 tackles, nine of which were solo stops. Senior linebacker Tim Boardman contributed 12 tackles to increase his count for the season to 70. McCarthy, junior lineman Pete Buchignani and senior linebacker Doori Song each recorded a sack.

Sophomore defensive back Dan Kopolovich continued his impressive play in the secondary, breaking up two passes. Kopolovich ranks among the Ivy League's best in passes defended with 13, including 11 pass breakups and two interceptions.

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"I think our defense played the best they've played all year," Toresco said. "They were pretty much shut down. They gave [the offense] plenty of opportunities, plenty of great field positions to do something with and we just did not do anything."

The inability of the offense to remain consistent has been a huge concern for Princeton this year. In the first few weeks of the season, the Tigers averaged over 400 yards a game, but Princeton managed to gain only three rushing yards against Penn in the entire first half.

"It's frustrating. It's not only frustrating for the coaching staff; I think it's frustrating for the players and for the program in general," Hughes said. "One of the things we try to pride ourselves on is the consistency with which we play, the intensity and the passion with which we play the game every week regardless of the situation. For whatever reason, we're not, and clearly we need to find that answer and find it quick."

The solution will definitely have to come soon as the Tigers gear up to play Yale this weekend. Though Princeton will no longer be playing for the Ivy League title, the game against the Bulldogs remains significant.

"It's been a long road," Toresco said, "and we need to get this last one at home. I don't think we have to worry about getting up for Yale, and if we do, we're in trouble. We scrimmage them every year. Naturally there's bad blood between us, so we expect everything, and they should, too."

Both Princeton and Yale can be counted on to turn this weekend's game into an all-out emotional battle. The Tiger faithful can only hope to see something other than a donut on the scoreboard.