2006. The last year the Princeton football team opened its season with a victory. It seems, however, the Tigers had had enough of this ignominious streak.
What was for a bit a neck-and-neck game soon turned into a rout, as the Tigers demolished the Lafayette College Leopards 40-7. While the first quarter was scoreless, the Tigers would go on a crushing 40-0 run, where Lafayette would not score until just over 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
On offense, one of the big storylines is the ascent of junior quarterback Chad Kanoff. The highly touted recruit spent two years as the backup to Quinn Epperly ’15, and he looked more than ready to take over the reins today. Kanoff went 20-31 for 256 yards on the day, picking up a touchdown via a 5 yard pass to junior wide receiver Trevor Osborne.
Kanoff’s most effective target was senior wide receiver Seth DeValve, who caught six passes (all from Kanoff) for 72 yards. The longest of these was a 40 yard bomb that helped spur the Tigers to their second field goal of the game in the third quarter, putting them up 33-0.
In fact, all three quarterbacks for the Tigers got in on the action in this one. Sophomore quarterback John Lovett came in and made an impact, as he hit sophomore defensive linesman (!) Kurt Holuba for the 1 yard touchdown. It was, surprisingly, the first pass of Lovett’s collegiate career. Lovett would also rush for a one yard touchdown near the start of the third quarter. Senior quarterback Kedric Bostic also made an appearance, going 1-1 for 8 yards.
However, you can’t talk about Princeton’s success today without mentioning the dominant running game. Senior running backs Dre Nelson and DiAndre Atwater both had a field day. Nelson went for 116 yards on just 8 attempts, a career day for him, and scored a touchdown in the process. Atwater rushed for 93 yards on 14 attempts. Junior running back Joe Rhattigan and freshman running back Charles Volker added to the tally, picking up 66 yards on nine attempts and 33 yards off 6 attempts, respectively. Rhattigan also earned a touchdown off of a 26 yard run in the fourth quarter.
The running in particular stands a stark difference between these two teams during the game. Overall, Princeton put up 308 net yards on 45 total attempts. For Lafayette, only 58 net yards were gained from rushing, on 24 attempts.
Senior kicker Nolan Bieck was also effective on the day, going 2-2 in field goals.
Lafayette’s quarterback Drew Reed is probably going to have to deep clean his jersey – the Princeton defense was bringing him down, sacking him 4 times for a loss of 25 yards. Taking down Reed were Holuba (1 sack for 8 yards), junior defensive linesman Brannon Jones (1.5 sacks for 10 yards), junior linebacker Birk Olson (1 sack for 3 yards) and senior defensive linesman Dan Dreher (.5 sacks for 4 yards). Junior linebacker RJ Paige led the team in tackles for the game with 7.
The Tigers hope to continue their success on Saturday, as they come back to Princeton for their home opener against Lehigh.
Read More
Princeton softball stands atop the Ivy League standings after defeating Yale
Dalynn HoltzclawThe Tigers sit two games ahead of second place and are on an eight-game winning streak. Should they finish as the No. 1 seed next weekend, they will host the Ivy League tournament.
The Tigers sit two games ahead of second place and are on an eight-game winning streak. Should they finish as the No. 1 seed next weekend, they will host the Ivy League tournament.
Princeton Men’s golf falls just short in Ivy League Championships
Matthew YiDespite coming close, a tough round three and poor weather conditions led to the Tigers losing to Yale in the men's Ivy League Golf Championships.
Despite coming close, a tough round three and poor weather conditions led to the Tigers losing out to Yale in the men's Ivy League Golf Championships.
On senior night, No. 21 Princeton men’s lacrosse secures a dominant win over No. 12 Penn
Lily PampolinaWith a massive win over a ranked opponent, the Tigers will head to New Haven next week in hopes of sealing their Ivy League tournament berth.
With a massive win over a ranked opponent, the Tigers will head to New Haven next week in hopes of sealing their Ivy League tournament berth.
