Football: Lehigh next test for Tigers

The football team entered the 2009 season confident in its ability following a strong and competitive preseason. Despite a 38-7 loss to The Citadel in the team’s season-opener, Princeton (0-1 overall) remains optimistic about the season heading into its first road game of the year against Lehigh (0-2) on Saturday.

“I think our team still knows how good of a team we are, despite the result of the first game,” senior linebacker and co-captain Scott Britton said. “I think we definitely still have a swagger and know that this is a different team than we’ve had in past years.”

Last season, Princeton followed an opening loss to the Citadel with a last-second 10-7 win over Lehigh. The game was won on a 32-yard field goal from kicker Connor Louden ’09.

“Lehigh always gives us a great game. They have a good team this year, and I think we have a good team, too,” Britton said. “I think it will definitely be a dogfight all the way, and they’re going to play tough. I think it’s going to be a good game and an exciting game for any Princeton fan to watch.”

Sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham will make the second start of his collegiate career against the Mountain Hawks. Against The Citadel, Wornham passed for 198 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Princeton will look to Wornham to get off to a fast start and take some pressure off the Tigers’ running game. With the return of All-Ivy League senior running back Jordan Culbreath, teams have been stacking the box and gearing up to prevent the run. While this strategy puts added pressure on Wornham, it also gives the sophomore a chance to have a big game, since his receivers will often see one-on-one coverage.

Last weekend, the Tigers’ offense was plagued by an inability to score once it got the ball into the red zone. Though the team converted more than 50 percent of its third downs, Princeton scored on only one of four opportunities inside its opponent’s 20-yard line.

“We made some minor mental errors on the field which really hurt us against The Citadel,” Britton said. “This week we really focused on being mentally sharp and knowing our assignments and executing the plays and coverages properly. Hopefully, now that we worked on all that, we’ll have a better result on the field.”

On defense, the Tigers will be tasked with stopping Lehigh’s two-headed quarterback attack. The Mountain Hawks shift between quarterbacks throughout the game to keep defenses off balance.

“We definitely worked on some communication errors that we had, and that deals with assignments, too,” Britton said. “They use two quarterbacks who have a little bit different personalities, so we’ve been watching a lot of film this week to try and get a feel for their offense.”

“One is more of a pro-style pocket passer, and one runs the ball a little bit more. We’re prepared to handle each quarterback and what he’s trying to do out there,” he added.

Britton and junior linebacker Steven Cody, a returning All-Ivy League honorable mention, lead the Tigers’ defense. Princeton will also look to its relatively inexperienced defensive line — led by senior defensive end Joel Karacozoff — to put pressure on Lehigh’s quarterback in hopes of creating turnovers. Backing up the defensive front seven is an experienced secondary led by three seniors: safety Dan Kopolovich, safety Wilson Cates and cornerback Cart Kelly.

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“There are a lot of guys out there [for whom] it’s their first time out there. Now that they’ve been battle-tested, everyone is going to be a little more comfortable out there,” Britton said. “We’ve had a good week of practice. I think we’re getting better as a unit and more cohesive. I think that definitely [there will be fewer] opening game jitters, and I think that we’re definitely a closer unit now that we’ve had a game together.”

After giving up a number of extended drives and forcing no turnovers against The Citadel, Princeton’s defense is looking to turn up the heat against Lehigh.

“In the game, your goal is to get a turnover or a three-and-out,” Britton said. “If the defense is getting the ball back to the offense and we’re staying fresh and off the field, I think that pretty much signifies to the coaches that that’s what we want to do.”

If Princeton can force a few timely turnovers and get its rushing attack going against Lehigh, it has a great chance to return to form before Ivy League play begins the following weekend against Columbia.

“[After] the first game, learning from our mistakes is only going to help us,” Britton said. “We still know that all the hard work we put in is going to pay off, and we still know that we’re a great team. There’s still that exciting feeling that we had going into the season despite the first loss.”