Career days overshadowed by last-second Colgate FG

“We were physical, and we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” football head coach Roger Hughes said. “We just didn’t make the key play at the end of the game to win it.”

The game was volatile from the first kickoff. Princeton (2-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) scored on the opening drive, courtesy of a 40-yard field goal from senior kicker Louden. The Red Raiders (4-2, 1-0 Patriot League) fought back, however, scoring a touchdown on their first possession, though they were aided by two defensive pass interference penalties. Senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson and junior tailback Jordan Culbreath took care of business on the next drive. Aside from a seven-yard rush by senior wide receiver Will Thanheiser on the first play of the drive, the quarterback and running back handled every play themselves.

The 62-yard drive ended with a 15-yard rushing touchdown for Culbreath, who became the first Tiger to score a touchdown in four consecutive games since running back Jon Veach ’05 accomplished the feat in 2003. Louden’s extra point attempt was blocked, and he injured himself on the kick. Junior Ben Bologna took over kicking duties for the rest of the game.

Colgate scored on its first possession of the second quarter. No points were scored on the next two drives, as Anderson threw his second interception of the year, and Stein missed a 37-yard field goal. Princeton regained possession with two minutes, five seconds remaining and drove to Colgate’s 24-yard line. On third and 16, Anderson took things into his own hands and ran the ball in for the score, dragging three Red Raiders defenders in with him.

Colgate stormed back in the second half, beginning with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Jordan Scott, which capped a 13-play, 85-yard drive that ate 7:29 off the clock. With 12:04 left in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Red Raiders were beginning to take control of the game. Colgate engineered a 12-play, 91-yard drive that lasted more than six minutes and culminated in a 24-yard field goal by Stein.

But the Tigers, who had seen their 16-14 lead dissolve into a 24-16 deficit, fired right back. Trickery on the kick return saw senior return man Pete Ploszek hand the ball off to sophomore defensive back Meko McCray, who reached the 41-yard line before being tackled. Following a personal foul penalty, Anderson hit Thanheiser for 42 yards, and three plays later, the quarterback found senior tight end Billy Mitchell in the endzone. Princeton went for two on a crossing pattern to Thanheiser, and the game was tied at 24.

The critical sequence of the game came in the final nine minutes. Colgate began its next possession from its 27-yard line and was eventually faced with a fourth and two on the Princeton 32. The Raiders went for it but botched an attempted handoff on the play. Though quarterback Greg Sullivan recovered the ball, the Raiders lost two yards on the play, and Princeton took over with 4:42 remaining.

Two carries by Culbreath and a clutch third-down scramble by Anderson gave the Tigers a first down on the 50-yard line. But three plays later, Princeton had only gained one yard and was forced to punt. Senior Ryan Coyle rocketed a beautiful punt that was almost downed at the one-yard line but trickled into the endzone for a touchback.

With 1:10 left, the Raiders stormed down the field. In one five-play sequence, Sullivan completed passes of 14, 21 and 10 yards and also ran a quarterback keeper for 16 yards. His 10-yard completion to six-foot, six-inch wide receiver Pat Simonds — who utilized his impressive size to catch 11 passes for 152 yards on the day — put Colgate well within field-goal range with five seconds left. Sullivan finished the day an outstanding 17 for 20 for 206 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 17 times for 84 yards.

“Going into the game, we committed most resources to Scott,” Hughes said. “You always give up something to get something, and we played pretty vanilla pass coverage. Our defensive backs were there the whole time, but their receivers just got the ball. Simonds had some catches on poorly thrown balls. It wasn’t like the coverage was awful, but they just seemed to have a hot hand, and the quarterback did a great job throwing and pulling it and running.”

Anticipation ran high heading into the game, as record-setting All-American Scott had rushed for 511 yards in his last two games. Princeton held the bruising running back to 27 carries for 116 yards, 88 below his season average. Culbreath, on the other hand, had a career day, gaining 153 yards on just 18 carries, for an 8.5 yard-per-carry average. Anderson chipped in with 77 rushing yards on 15 carries, and Princeton finished the day with 269 yards rushing on 36 carries.

“The offensive line really improved. Jordan had a great day rushing, and the line did a lot of things to help him and protect Brian from blitzes,” Hughes said.

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Princeton fared poorly in the passing game, however, as Anderson was only six of 14 for 105 yards. The lone highlight was the long completion to Thanheiser. Anderson was hit on the play, and the ball sailed high and short, but, as he has on multiple occasions this season, Thanheiser adjusted to the throw and made the catch. Except for this play, Anderson averaged only 4.85 yards per attempt and was sacked three times.

Defensively, the Tigers were led by junior safety Wilson Cates and sophomore inside linebacker Steven Cody. Both notched 10 tackles on the day, and Cody added an 11-yard sack. Junior inside linebacker Scott Britton and Ploszek each had eight tackles, while senior outside linebacker Collin McCarthy added seven.

For the first time this season, penalties played a key role in the game. The Tigers committed 10 penalties in their first three games but were flagged nine times for 92 yards in Saturday’s contest.