Football: Cody keys narrow victory

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — No one can accuse these Tigers of letting their games get boring. While the football team’s home loss last week turned into a blowout, its Saturday victory in the windy hills of Pennsylvania came down to the wire.

By the time Princeton (1-1 overall) emerged victorious over Lehigh (0-3) by a 17-14 margin, its defense was exhausted and its star offensive catalyst, All-Ivy League senior running back Jordan Culbreath, was injured. But the team still scrapped together a difficult victory away from home. Head coach Roger Hughes summed up his feelings after the game, saying, “We’re happy, not satisfied, and we’re going to have to play a lot better.”

But for now at least, the team can celebrate its comprehensive win, which seemed likely as early as seven minutes into the first quarter, when junior linebacker Steven Cody returned an interception 77 yards into the end zone. It was the team’s first defensive touchdown in four years.

The momentum from that score proved crucial, as the Princeton defense stayed on the field for most of the game — Lehigh had the ball for more than 36 of the game’s 60 minutes — and held the Mountain Hawks’ potent offense to just two touchdowns.

Starting the game at its own 20-yard line, the Princeton offense led a largely uneventful first drive that revealed the Mountain Hawks’ focus on stopping Culbreath. Last year, Culbreath torched Lehigh’s defense for 126 rushing yards, and the Mountain Hawks seemed determined not to let that happen again.

Lehigh appeared to threaten the Princeton defense on its first drive, using runs up the middle and passes to the flat to gain two first downs. Then, on second-and-seven, Lehigh quarterback J.B. Clark dropped back to pass and, under pressure, released a throw intended for tight end Alex Wojdowski that Cody swooped in on. After snatching the ball from Wojdowski’s outstretched hands, Cody sprinted up the right sideline to put Princeton up a score. An extra point by senior placekicker Ben Bologna made it 7-0 with eight minutes, 27 seconds left in the first quarter.

“I think that [play] got us going pretty good — even the coaches had a little smile,” Cody said after the game. “It got us a little swagger going on the sideline and got us a little confidence.”

In subsequent drives, Lehigh tried to confuse Princeton’s confident defense, which was bolstered by Cody’s return to the field after his absence against The Citadel. By bringing in quarterback Michael Colvin, the Mountain Hawks employed a Wildcat offense that proved largely ineffective, if creative.

The second quarter revealed the Tigers’ defensive woes against the run, as Lehigh running back Jay Campbell consistently ran through the heart of the Princeton line. The Tigers swarmed Clark whenever he dropped back to pass, though, essentially shutting down the Mountain Hawk passing game throughout the first half.

When the Tigers took over possession with 6:38 left in the half after a broken Lehigh play on fourth-and-third, the flood gates appeared to open. After one botched passing play in which sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham overthrew junior wide receiver Andrew Kerr, Princeton went back to the run. On second down, Wornham faked a handoff to Culbreath and rolled to his right. Seeing an open field, the quarterback sprinted 68 yards to the end zone, putting the Tigers up by two scores. The play, in which Wornham established himself as a legitimate running threat, was the Tigers’ longest touchdown run since 2005.

Unfortunately, the Tigers could not maintain their momentum for long, as Lehigh defensive back John Kennedy returned the ensuing kickoff to the Princeton 44-yard line. The Mountain Hawks took advantage of their positioning, rushing down the field before converting a seven-yard touchdown throw over the middle to receiver Jake Drwal to make the score 14-7.

Before the half ended, the Tigers’ fortunes seemed to take a turn for the worst, as Culbreath was removed from the game after sustaining an undisclosed injury. The Lehigh defense had been consumed with stopping Culbreath, holding him to 25 first-half yards. He did not play in the second half, and Hughes said after the game he did not know the nature or extent of the injury.

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The first half’s statistics were telling. Princeton failed to convert any first downs and had possession of the ball for less than half the time Lehigh did. Campbell racked up 75 rushing yards, proving that even, with Cody back, the Tigers struggled in defending against the run. Princeton’s two big plays proved the difference in the half, as both offenses failed to generate sustained attacks.

In the second half, heralded freshman running back Akil Sharp did not see any playing time despite Culbreath’s injury, as Hughes put in junior Meko McCray instead. McCray proved himself to be a serviceable option, but not the star Culbreath was last year.

Without Princeton’s top rusher in the game, the third quarter started unremarkably, though the Tigers managed to slow Campbell down, holding him to 13 yards in the entire second half.

The messy play of both sides resulted in a low-scoring quarter, the only points coming on a 31-yard field goal by Bologna. The unsettled play of the offense worried Hughes, but he said that he was not too pessimistic about the unit.

“I don’t think we brought our ‘A’ game, by any means, offensively,” he said. “But [golfer] Jack Nicklaus won a lot of tournaments with his ‘C’ game, and that’s the sign of a champion.”

Unfortunately for the Tiger defense, its job was not yet done. The subsequent offensive drive resulted in a three-and-out, and Lehigh took over, freshly motivated. With two first downs in three plays — one on a 30-yard pass from Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum to wide receiver Jim Potocnie — the Mountain Hawks picked up steam heading toward the Princeton end zone. A five-yard touchdown run by Lum made the score 17-14 with 5:27 left in the game, setting up an exciting last few minutes.

Princeton caught a lucky break in the first play after the extra point, though, as the kick from Lehigh’s Tom Randazza went out of bounds, giving the Tigers exceptional field position. Aiming to run down the clock, the Tigers ran the ball with McCray and junior fullback Matt Zimmerman before aiming a long pass at junior wide receiver Trey Peacock on third down. As was the case multiple times in the game, Peacock was one step behind Wornham’s downfield shot.

With 2:28 left, Lehigh started its final drive at its own 23-yard line. One first down was not enough for the Mountain Hawks, though, as they shot themselves in the foot with a holding penalty to give themselves a third-and-20 with only 1:46 left.

Two incomplete Lehigh passes gave Princeton the ball back just seconds later. The Tigers ran out the clock, relieved to have squeaked out an unattractive win, its second three-point victory over Lehigh in as many years.

All told, Lehigh held Wornham to just 47 passing yards, but Princeton’s defense, led by Cody, picked up the slack.

Cody finished with 11 tackles, lessening the pressure on senior linebacker Scott Britton, who finished with seven tackles. By the end of the game, the exhausted Tiger defense had been on the field much longer than expected.

“I’ll be honest,” Cody said. “I wasn’t feeling great. I wasn’t feeling very explosive.”

The general feeling after the game was upbeat, if cautiously so, in the Princeton camp. The team’s star running back was out, and its quarterback had struggled against a fast defense. The offense was outgained, 332 yards to 163.

Still, it had put together a gritty win against a formidable opponent. Speaking about his team and quarterback, Hughes summed up the game succinctly.

“As a young quarterback coming in, you want to maybe try to do a little too much and not let the game come to you,” he said, describing the team’s efforts in terms of Wornham’s performance. “Now, I’m not disparaging Tommy. Clearly, he made enough plays to win the game, and that’s what counts.”