Sprint Football: Princeton hopes for 1st points in 5 years at Navy

The sprint football team was shut out by Army last weekend, and the Tigers are no strangers to being shut out by their next opponent. Princeton (0-5 overall, 0-3 Collegiate Sprint Football League) will travel to Annapolis, Md., to take on the Navy Midshipmen (3-1, 1-1) tonight at 7 p.m. The Midshipmen have held the Tigers scoreless in their previous five meetings, with a cumulative score of 333-0. The shutout streak includes a 98-0 battering in 2005, the largest margin of defeat in Princeton’s program history.

Then, Princeton’s offense only managed to gain 10 total yards against Army. It will not be any easier for the offense tonight, as it faces the league’s toughest defense. Navy ranks first among the league’s seven teams in yards allowed, keeping its opponents to an average of 142 yards per game.

“We have really stressed offensive repetitions this week,” sophomore quarterback Jaison Zachariah said. “With injuries plaguing our already limited numbers, it’s hard to fill out the spots that we need. We really felt the effects of that last week with a breakdown in blocking and a lack of wide receiver presence.”

Sophomore running back John Moffat, one of Zachariah’s favorite targets, has yet to be cleared for the game. Also possibly out are sophomore offensive lineman Ricky Arietta and sophomore wide receiver Richard Youngblood. An active shutout streak, a struggling offense, injuries in key positions and the league’s best defense have stacked the cards against the Tigers.

Despite all indicators suggesting that Princeton’s chances of winning are slim, the team remains optimistic and refuses to settle for simply scoring or keeping the game close.

“Our mentality is that we go into every game to win it,” Zachariah said. “No one on the team is just satisfied with competing. In our locker room, we always reiterate that there are no moral victories.”

The five seniors on the team are running out of opportunities to get their first taste of victory. With only two games left on the schedule, the seniors are in serious danger of graduating Princeton winless. The underclassmen on the team draw extra motivation out of the seniors’ situation.

“We go out every week preparing to win, but it definitely is a motivating factor,” said junior running back Kevin Infante, who played for the first time against Army since sustaining a concussion Oct. 4. “We would love to send off our seniors — who have given so much to the program — on a high note by getting two wins.”

As senior linebacker and co-captain Adrian Colarusso noted, the will and desire to win is a burden that is not lost on his fellow teammates.

“I don’t believe there is a whole lot of pressure that we as seniors are forced to bear alone,” Colarusso said. “Our underclassmen are just as focused and determined to get a win as we are.”