Football: Ice-cold offense reaches absolute zero in shutout

Swirling wind, sporadic rain and a muddy field kept either offense from getting into much of a rhythm. Princeton’s attack was so toothless in the first half that head coach Roger Hughes resorted to drastic measures: Shortly before play resumed after halftime, the Tigers (3-6 overall, 2-4 Ivy League) took the field for 11-on-11 practice and ran several rushing plays out of the shotgun formation.

Hughes’ tactic came too late, however, as neither team scored in the lackluster second half. The opportunistic Bulldogs (6-3, 4-2) took advantage of turnovers and stonewalled Princeton’s offense, winning 14-0. The loss was Princeton’s first shutout at Yale's hands since 1937.

“I really felt like offensively, we gave the game away to them,” Hughes said.

Princeton picked up only 153 total yards, turned the ball over four times and managed to hold the ball for only 23 minutes, 15 seconds, including less than four minutes of possession in the fourth quarter. The Tigers never picked up more than three first downs on any drive and never reached the red zone.

For Princeton, the afternoon was horrible from the outset. After receiving the opening kickoff, senior quarterback and tri-captain Brian Anderson hit senior wide receiver and tri-captain Adam Berry for three yards on a short-out route. On the next play, however, Anderson’s option pitch slipped through junior running back Jordan Culbreath’s hands and was recovered by Yale strong safety Larry Abare.

The Bulldogs took over on the Tigers’ 24-yard line and wasted little time. Six plays later, on third and goal, quarterback Brook Hart hit wideout Jordan Forney in stride on a short swing pass. The six-foot, four-inch sophomore broke to the outside and wound his way around defenders en route to his fourth touchdown reception of the season.

Yale forced a three-and-out on Princeton’s next possession, and it appeared that the Bulldogs were poised to open up a big lead early. Strong rushing by running back Mike McLeod and calm execution by Hart allowed the Bulldogs to quickly move the ball back into Princeton territory. As it did much of the day, however, the Tiger defense held when it was most needed. On fourth and two from the Princeton 26, Yale opted against a field goal. Sophomore inside linebacker Steve Cody halted McLeod for a gain of one and a turnover on downs.

The teams then traded punts twice before Princeton surrendered its second turnover of the game. On third and four from the Princeton 28, Anderson’s pass was intercepted by linebacker Bobby Abare and returned 11 yards. Three plays later, Hart found Forney in the endzone from 12 yards out, and Yale took a 14-0 lead with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The teams traded possessions for the rest of the game. Swirling winds and a muddy field discouraged both teams from attempting field goals and necessitated seven fourth-down attempts, only one of which was converted.

Though the Tiger defense kept the Bulldogs from scoring for the game’s final 37 minutes, the offense was unable to capitalize.

Princeton ran the ball fairly effectively. Culbreath recovered from the early fumble to finish with 69 yards on 16 carries, while sophomore running back Meko McCray added seven yards on two carries. Overall, the Tigers picked up 96 yards on the ground.

It was the passing game that made the difference. While the weather was surely a factor in the Tigers’ aerial struggles, it could not have been the only factor. Hart, Yale’s sophomore signal-caller, finished the game 14 of 22 for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Princeton quarterbacks, on the other hand, completed only 10 of 27 passes for 57 yards. In addition to throwing three interceptions, the Tigers never completed a pass longer than eight yards.

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“I felt that at times we had open receivers and didn’t throw the ball on time,” Hughes said. “I felt that a couple of times, when we did have the receiver open, it bounced off the receivers or we didn’t make the catch — especially in the crucial drives at the end. I think it’s a combination of all those things.”

Anderson was spelled during the second quarter by freshman Tommy Wornham. Aided by strong rushing from Culbreath and McCray, Wornham led the Tigers on a 13-play, 35-yard drive that peaked with a three-yard quarterback keeper on fourth and one from the Yale 32. On the next series of downs, however, the San Diego native was unable to move Princeton any farther.

“I was very pleased with how Tommy played,” Hughes said. “I think Tommy has a very bright future, and we’re going to continue to rotate them both in the final game.”

On defense, Yale was led by the Abare brothers. Bobby Abare finished with two tackles and an interception, while brother Larry finished with a tackle, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Outside of the two touchdowns surrendered on short fields, the Tigers bent but never broke, holding Yale to 235 total yards. Princeton’s pass rush gave the Bulldogs fits, sacking Hart four times for 36 yards.

In the second half, Yale slowly bled out the clock against the Tiger defense without putting more points on the board. Crucial to this effort was McLeod, who enjoyed one of his best games of the season, rushing 31 times for 138 yards.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” Cody said. “The defense is looking to be big on third down and getting turnovers, and that’s one thing I really don’t feel like we do as much as other teams.”

Cody finished with seven unassisted tackles, one of which was for a loss. Junior safety Wilson Cates led the way with nine tackles, while junior outside linebacker Scott Britton added seven. Junior defensive end Brad Stetler finished with four tackles and a sack, while senior defensive end Pete Buchignani and sophomore defensive end Matt Boyer also added unassisted sacks.

Princeton has one game remaining on its schedule, with Dartmouth coming to Princeton Stadium this coming Saturday. The Tigers have lost five of their last six, but Hughes is confident that sending the seniors off strongly will be motivation enough to keep the Tigers on task this week.

“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble staying focused. I think we’re competitors, and we want to send our seniors out on a good note,” Hughes said.