Football team falls to second-half surge

The first half was characterized by dominant play from Princeton’s men in the trenches. On the first play of the game, senior outside linebacker Collin McCarthy sacked Citadel quarterback Bart Blanchard for nine yards. After forcing an errant throw on third down, Princeton took possession on its own 28-yard line. And on the Tigers’ first play of the game, senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson gashed the Bulldogs on a keeper up the middle for 26 yards.

Strong play from the offensive line had junior running back Jordan Culbreath running through wide holes and gave Anderson nearly five seconds before his throws. Princeton was forced to settle for a field goal on its first possession, however, as Anderson’s pass intended for senior wideout and tri-captain Adam Berry was batted away by Bulldog corner Ryan Jones.

The Tiger defense continued pressing Blanchard on the Bulldogs’ second possession, forcing two scrambles and preventing All-American junior wide receiver Andre Roberts from making an impact. A large part of Roberts’ ineffectiveness stemmed from the return of junior quarterback Dan Kopolovich to the secondary, where he started at cornerback all last season. Kopolovich gave the Tigers some much-needed experience on defense.

The first quarter ended with a 3-0 score. Princeton’s offense was unable to move the ball as effectively on its second possession, but the defense maintained its impressive performance all quarter. Roberts was held without a catch, and on his only punt return, he called for a fair catch following a booming punt from All-Ivy senior Ryan Coyle.

After getting the ball back, Princeton scored its first touchdown of the season with eight minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the second, as Culbreath took an option pitch from Anderson into the endzone from two yards out. The offensive line continued to rip wide holes in The Citadel’s undersized front seven.

The Citadel answered right back with an impressive drive of its own, however, and despite continued pressure from the Princeton front seven, the Bulldogs converted third downs. The drive was capped off with Roberts’ first catch of the day, an 11-yard touchdown reception.

Trickery on the kickoff return by Princeton saw senior defensive back Pete Ploszek hand the ball to sophomore defensive back Meko McCray on a reverse. McCray galloped to midfield before getting tackled, setting up great field position for the final 3:14 of the half. Unruffled by the Bulldogs’ touchdown, the Tigers tacked on their second touchdown of the day, as Anderson threw his first touchdown pass of the season to sophomore fullback Matt Zimmerman with 17.8 seconds remaining in the half.

“I was really pleased with the first half,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “[We] really played pretty flawlessly in the first half. We started getting our feet back on the ground about the middle of the fourth quarter [and had a] couple of drives that we put together in our two-minute offense, and I think that’s a lot of positive things to build on.”

The second half was a completely different story, however. After the game, Hughes summed up what changed things for his team.

“The blocked punt and punt return. Those were the two mitigating factors that gave them momentum, got us back on our heels a little bit, and we started playing a little too tentative,” Hughes said.

It was on the first possession of the second half that things started to go awry. The Bulldogs had already blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in their first game of the season against Webber International, and the fans were shouting in anticipation of another after Princeton went three and out. The Citadel’s special teams answered the cadets’ call, as sophomore defensive back Mel Capers blocked Coyle’s punt, and redshirt sophomore linebacker Reggie Rice returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

The Tigers would go three and out again on their next two possessions, while The Citadel added another touchdown and a field goal. Suddenly, a 17-7 lead had morphed into a 24-17 deficit. Princeton’s defense began showing signs of fatigue from spending so much time on the field during the quarter.

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A fresh possession at the start of the fourth quarter did little to revitalize the Tigers, as they were forced to punt yet again. This time, Roberts finally broke free, taking Coyle’s punt 54 yards to the Princeton 11-yard line, forced out of bounds by the kicker himself. The Citadel quickly scored, opening up an insurmountable 30-17 lead on an Asheton Jordan rushing touchdown.

As the Tigers punted for the fifth consecutive possession, The Citadel continued to demoralize the Tiger defense. Bulldog running backs dragged Princeton’s tacklers a few extra yards each play, and a fourth-down conversion on a second-effort rush with about nine minutes left in the game sucked the remaining steam out of the Tiger defense.

The Bulldogs capped that same drive with another touchdown pass to Roberts, extending their lead to 37-17 with 5:51 remaining in the game. Princeton rediscovered its offense late in the quarter, mounting three impressive drives. The first ended at the Citadel 14 with 3:29 remaining with a turnover on downs, but after the defense forced a quick punt, Anderson found Berry from 13 yards out on fourth-and-goal to put Princeton’s first points of the half on the board. Princeton mounted one final attack after recovering an onsides kick, only to see a long pass intended for Berry intercepted with seven seconds left on the clock.

“I was very proud of our efforts at the end of the game,” Hughes said. “I’m just not happy we lost. There’s no excuse for losing, and there’s no substitute for winning.”

Despite surrendering a comeback victory, there were positives to be taken away from the game. Anderson looked impressive, showcasing a strong arm and impressive agility as a runner that netted him 81 yards on 16 carries. Culbreath was also effective, with 20 total touches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

“[Culbreath is] a warrior, he’s a workhorse,” Hughes said. “He had a great game, but he started to cramp up a bit at the end. He can’t continue to play that many snaps all the time.”

The defense was also effective, as the front seven was vicious at times, and the secondary locked down All-American Roberts, who drew NFL scouts to the stadium, for much of the first half.

Princeton will need to address its punt coverage in the coming weeks and make sure that it is capable of putting together two halves of well-played football. The Tigers showed the talent and poise to execute both offensively and defensively against The Citadel. Now, they’ll need to prove that they have the focus to do it for an entire game next Saturday against Lehigh.