Sprint Football: Offense, defense flat in loss to Penn

The sprint football team had a slow start Friday night and was never able to develop the positive momentum necessary to overcome its early deficit in its last game before its College Sprint Football League season begins.

Playing their second straight road game, the Tigers fell to 0-2 on the season with a 57-7 loss to host Penn (2-0 overall). After two straight three-and-outs to open the game, the Orange and Black quickly found itself in a 13-0 hole. A fumble to start off the following possession and the ensuing return put the team down 19-0 just 10 minutes into play.

Following this rough patch, the young stars of the Princeton offense started to show signs of performing up to expectations. Sophomore running back Kevin Infante began the drive with three straight solid rushes, including a 22-yard dash that put the Tigers in Penn territory for the first time.

Three plays later, freshman quarterback Ned Moffat broke free with a 39-yard run all the way to the Penn six-yard line. After a pass interference call on a toss to freshman wide receiver Kees Thompson gave the Tigers a fresh set of downs, Moffat punched it into the end zone for Princeton’s first score since Oct. 10, 2008.

Throughout the game, Princeton produced a handful of threatening drives — including one that stalled on the Penn seven-yard line — but was unable to tally any more points.

Moffat and Infante each finished the game with 16 carries, netting 53 and 43 yards, respectively. Through the air, Moffat completed five of 26 passes for 88 yards, but he was touched for two interceptions.

Overall, junior defensive leader and co-captain Andrew Gabriele said he was impressed by the play of the offensive rookies.

“Moffat is starting to improve throwing the ball,” Gabriele said. “And Infante is a really solid running back. He lowers his shoulder and runs hard. They are both really good young players, and we expect a lot from them going forward.”

Defensively, the Tigers were not nearly as strong as they were last week. The team forced just two Penn punts while giving up nearly twice as many yards as it did against Mansfield in the first game of the season.

“Our defense did not play anywhere near as well as we did against Mansfield,” Gabriele said. “In order for our team to be successful, we need to play more solid defensively.”

Princeton had an especially tough time stopping Penn running back Mike Bagnoli, who slashed the Tigers for 172 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries.

The pass defense fared slightly better but still yielded 226 yards as part of a 19-for-22 day for Penn quarterback Todd Busler.

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Penn was methodical throughout the game, producing few home-run plays but moving the chains very effectively en route to 27 first downs. The Quakers had exceptional success inside the red zone, netting four touchdowns and a field goal in five trips.

Despite their shortcomings in this game, the Tigers recognized some auspicious signs that could indicate a future turnaround.

“What was encouraging was that our offense was able to put together a solid scoring drive,” Gabriele said. “Hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll be able to put [offense and defense] together.”

Gabriele and the Tigers will continue their quest for a win this Friday at 7 p.m. in their home opener against Army. The game also marks the beginning of league play.