Football: Britton, Tigers fall to Brown

It was a story of two halves for the football team’s game against Brown on Saturday. The Tigers (1-4 overall, 0-2 Ivy League) and the Bears (3-2, 1-1) put up a combined 37 points in the first half before the game turned into a defensive battle that didn’t see an offensive touchdown scored until the 1:32 mark of the fourth quarter.

Princeton fell, 34-17. Compounding Princeton’s woes was the loss of senior inside linebacker and co-captain Scott Britton, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“Scott’s a huge part of this team,” sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham said. “He’ll still be a great motivator, but it just sucks not to have him out there.”

The key play of the game came on the first play of the second half. The Tigers had scored 10 points in the final three minutes, 14 seconds of the second quarter and found themselves down only a field goal with the score 20-17.

“There was definitely a momentum shift,” Wornham said. “It wasn’t like there was a complete change, but it was definitely a big shift with them putting points on the board right away.”

But Brown had other plans. Senior kicker Ben Bologna’s kick was low, and Brown wide receiver and kick returner Buddy Farnham found a lane and raced 92 yards for the score. It was the first time Princeton allowed a kick returned for a touchdown since 1988.

After picking up two first downs on their next drive, the Tigers were forced to punt. This began a string of six consecutive possessions that ended in punts for the two teams. It appeared that the streak would continue when Brown took over on its own 26 at the 12:40 mark, but the Bears buckled down.

Junior running back Zachary Tronti carried four consecutive times, earning the Bears two first downs and 15 yards. Brown then passed on its next play, with quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero hitting wide receiver Bobby Sewall for nine yards. Sewall fumbled, but was able to recover the ball himself. From that point on, the Bears did not gain more than six yards on a single play. But they were consistent, pounding the ball with Tronti and passing when they needed to.

Running back Spiro Theodhosi was brought in midway through the drive to spell Tronti. He promptly fumbled on his second carry, but once again the Bears recovered. In the end, it was Tronti who scored from three yards out. The drive was 19 plays long, accounted for 74 yards and ate 11:08 off the clock. The Tigers regained possession with 1:26 left in the game, but, though they picked up two first downs, Wornham was intercepted at the Brown 40-yard line by defensive back David Clement. The Bears then kneeled the ball to end the game.

“I have no idea what happened [in the second half],” Wornham said. “We came out ready to play [in the first half,] but they were putting up points. In the second half, they held the ball for a really long time, and we didn’t really get a shot in the fourth quarter.”

Princeton held the ball for all of 9:46 in the second half.

The Tigers started things off with a bang in the first half. Starting from his own 33, Wornham directed an 11-play, 67-yard drive that was capped off with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Aided by a kickoff out of bounds that allowed them to start at their own 40-yard line, the Bears responded with a field goal on their next drive.

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Princeton seemed poised to score on its next drive, but Wornham was intercepted by Clement at the Brown 15. Brown wasted little time in responding. After rushing once for five yards, the Bears took to the air. Newhall-Caballero launched a strike to Farnham. Sophomore safety Matt Wakulchik’s dive was not in time to make the tackle, and Farnham ran untouched for an 80-yard score.

The Tigers went three and out on their next possession, but freshman punter Joe Cloud launched a 60-yard punt that was downed at the Brown one-yard line. The field position didn’t faze the Bears, however. Brown drove 87 yards on 15 plays before kicking a 29-yard field goal to extend its lead to 13-7. Princeton was forced to punt on its next drive, and the Bears took over on their five-yard line after another sensational Cloud punt.

Brown picked up two first downs before wide receiver Trevan Samp was stripped by senior defensive back and co-captain Wilson Cates following a seven-yard reception. Junior cornerback Glenn Wakam made the recovery, and Princeton took over on the Brown 45. Six plays later, Princeton was faced with a fourth-and-one from the Brown 24. The Tigers elected to go for it, and the gamble paid off as Wornham found junior running back Meko McCray in the flat on a screen pass. McCray found space down the right sideline and scampered into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.

Brown responded with an incredibly quick drive, moving 75 yards in just 2:40. Newhall-Caballero found Sewall for a 17-yard touchdown to cap the drive, putting the Bears back on top, 20-14. But the Tigers weren’t finished. Princeton took over from its own 41 with 23 seconds remaining, and Wornham went to work. Completions of 11, 15 and 13 yards coupled with a 15-yard personal foul penalty got the Tigers to the Brown 10-yard line. Bologna booted home a 27-yard field goal as time expired to close the deficit to 20-17.

Princeton was led offensively by Wornham, who finished 28-of-35 for 193 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Wornham also carried seven times for a net of 16 yards and another touchdown.

McCray was the only other Tiger to finish with more than 10 rushing yards, totaling 24 on eight carries. Princeton as a team totaled only 51 net rushing yards.

McCray also led the team in receiving, with seven catches for 57 yards and a score. Junior fullback Matt Zimmerman finished with 51 yards on seven catches. Junior wide receiver Trey Peacock added six catches for 35 yards, while fellow junior wide receiver Andrew Kerr finished with three catches for 16 yards.

Cloud and sophomore punter Otavio Fleury both had impressive days for the Tigers. Cloud finished with an average of 43 yards on four punts, with a long of 60. He landed two of his punts inside the three-yard line. Fleury finished with an average of 41.5 yards on two kicks, with a long of 45. One of his punts landed at the one-yard line.

Defensively, Princeton was led by junior inside linebacker Steve Cody. Cody has been on a tear all season, and Saturday’s game was no exception. He finished with 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss totaling 10 yards and a sack for nine more yards. Britton added seven total tackles. Cates finished with six tackles, one tackle for a loss and a forced fumble. Wakam finished with five tackles, a tackle for a loss, one broken-up pass and a fumble recovery. Wakulchik added two tackles, an interception and a broken-up pass.

Farnham finished with 309 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns to lead Brown. As a receiver, he made 10 grabs for 199 yards and a score. He added 92 kickoff return yards and a touchdown as well as 18 punt-return yards.

Sewall added 59 yards and a score on seven catches.

Tronti led the Bears on the ground, with 126 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown.

Defensively, Brown was led by defensive back Chris Perkins, who finished with 13 tackles. Clement finished with six tackles and two interceptions, while defensive linemen David Howard and James Develin each notched two tackles for loss and a sack.

Princeton will head to Cambridge, Mass., for a showdown with Harvard next weekend before returning home on Oct. 31 to face Cornell.