There were obvious feelings of frustration and disappointment among players and coaches following the sprint football team’s 55-0 loss in their first away game of the season at Army on Friday night. Despite a long week dedicated to preparing for the game, the Tigers (0-5 overall, 0-3 Collegiate Sprint Football League) were unable to compete with the very athletic and talented Black Knights (3-1, 2-1).
“Overall, the team is very disappointed in our performance, and we feel that we played very well short of our potential,” senior linebacker and co-captain Adrian Colarusso said.
Head coach Thomas Cocuzza expressed similar sentiments in an e-mail, saying that his team “did not do very much of what was asked.”
Senior running back and co-captain Andrew Gabriele said the game was most disappointing because “our goal is to get a little bit better every week, and most weeks this season we have done that. It felt like this game, however, we took a bit of a step backwards.”
Army dominated the game on both ends of the field. Its offense was able to accumulate 23 first downs, while its defense allowed the Orange and Black only two, both of which occurred in the fourth quarter. The Black Knights were successful in their rushing game, earning 303 yards on the ground, as well as in their passing game, where they collected an additional 218 yards.
“Army was very big and very strong. They ran the ball very well,” Cocuzza said. “Their line outplayed our line, plain and simple. Further, on the few chances we had to make plays, our players didn’t convert.”
The Tigers were disappointed with their lack of offensive opportunities. The team was only able to gain 10 offensive rushing yards and was unable to complete a pass. Of Princeton’s 13 passing attempts, two were intercepted.
Cocuzza said that the team struggled to compete with the Black Knights mostly because they were “outsized and overpowered.”
The Tigers’ defense received praise earlier in the season, most notably after the team’s close loss to Mansfield. In this game, Cocuzza said that junior linebacker Atraya Dixit “played well at times,” however the overall team defensive performance was very poor. Dixit is also a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.
Army’s scoring occurred consistently across the four quarters of the game. The Black Knights opened the game with seven consecutive rushes and a 9-yard touchdown. Following their first interception, the Black Knights rushed down the field and converted for another touchdown. The first quarter ended 14-0.
In the second quarter, Army continued to dominate, putting an additional 13 points on the scoreboard. The first play of the quarter, the Black Knights completed a 30-yard field goal attempt and later completed a 29-yard field goal. At halftime, Princeton was down 27-0. Army again dominated the second half, especially in the third quarter, when the Black Knights scored three more touchdowns.
“Army is a very good football team with depth, experience and athleticism,” Gabriele said. “The stats don’t lie. We were thoroughly dominated in every facet of the game: offense, defense and special teams.”
Despite the brutal loss to the Black Knights, the Tigers will continue training for another tough game against Navy.
“The team will be working on their assignments and tenacity,” Cocuzza said.
Colarusso said the team is trying hard to get a win before the season ends.
“This isn’t a position that we haven’t been in before, and we are confident that we will be able to bounce back and finish out the season stronger against Navy and Penn,” Colarusso said. “As seniors, we know that these next two games are the last chances we’ll get to play real football, so we will assuredly come out swinging.”
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