Princeton Football (3–2 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) took to the road Saturday afternoon to take on the Brown University Bears (3–2, 0–2) in sunny Providence, R.I. A dominant performance on the offense and big plays on defense led to a convincing victory for the Tigers.
Coming off a tough loss against Mercer the week prior, the Tigers were looking for a bounceback win. The offensive line was key to the victory, giving senior quarterback Kai Colón, who got the majority of playing time at quarterback, ample time in his dropbacks. Additionally, the offensive line paved the way for a successful rushing attack of 195 yards, compared to just 66 the previous week.
“The guys up front did a great job,” senior running back Ethan Clark, who averaged 7.1 yards per carry, told The Daily Princetonian. “It felt like every single run there was a wide open hole, so that’s all credit to them and we just executed all of that.”
The offense put together a series of solid completions and strong runs to march down the field on the game’s opening drive. The Tigers continued the drive through the fourth down twice, once on Brown’s 36-yard line and then again on their 3-yard line. Their aggressiveness paid off, allowing them to take an early 7–0 lead to set the game’s tone.
On the ensuing drive, Brown recovered a muffed punt, giving them the ball in Princeton territory. They capitalized quickly, ripping a 27-yard touchdown rush on the next play to square up the game for the Bears at 7–7.
With 4:17 left in the first quarter, Brown quarterback James Murphy dropped back and felt the pressure of a Princeton blitz. Murphy overshot his receiver, and senior defensive back Nasir Hill tipped the ball right into the hands of senior linebacker Jalen Jones, who would return it to the Brown 21-yard line.
The Princeton offense failed to convert a first down, settling with a 37-yard field goal from junior kicker Esteban Nunez Perez to take a 10–7 advantage.
Brown then marched down the field to take back the lead with a 15-play, 75-yard drive to make it 14–10. The drive included two key fourth down pickups, including a 4th-and-5 at the Princeton 36 and a 4th-and-goal situation on the Princeton one-yard line.
Though Colón would be picked off on a long pass towards the endzone on the ensuing drive, the Princeton defense quickly forced a Brown punt. It did not get much air time, and the Tigers started on the Brown 37-yard line, even better field position than before the interception.
Flushing his mistake, Colón dished the ball to first-year wide-receiver Josh Robinson for a touchdown, Robinson’s first as a Tiger, on a well-placed dime. Robinson was named Ivy Rookie of the Week for two weeks in a row going into Saturday’s game and recorded yet another impressive performance of eight catches for 91 receiving yards.
“He’s so fast, twitchy, great hands, goes and attacks the ball,” Colón said. “It’s so much fun throwing to a guy like that that I know is gonna make a play once I get it in his hands.”
Late in the second, the Tigers took over after they stopped Brown on fourth down. Perez tacked on 3 later in the drive with a 29-yard field goal to make the game 20–14 before the teams hit the locker rooms.
Looking to take back the lead in the second half’s opening drive, Brown steadily drove into Princeton territory. However, junior defensive back Torian Roberts had other plans and picked off Murphy in a shot to the endzone. Though Princeton would go three-and-out, a muffed punt scooped up by sophomore linebacker Sam McCormick put the Tigers at the Brown 44-yard line.
The offense hit a groove, making easy work of a fatigued Brown defense that got little rest off the field after the two Brown turnovers. Sophomore quarterback Asher Weiner subbed in on the one-yard line to punch it in on a quarterback keeper for the Tigers’ third touchdown of the day. After a failed two-point conversion, the score was 26–14.
With all the momentum on their side, the Orange and Black looked comfortable on their next offensive possession. Two explosive plays from sophomore running back Kai Honda of 20 and 34 yards, respectively, set up a 12-yard touchdown run from Clark. After a successful PAT from Nunez Perez, the score was 33–14.
Early in the fourth quarter, Brown scored a much-needed touchdown on their next drive to cut the deficit to a two-score game. After stopping the Tigers’ ensuing drive, the Bears started deep in their own territory, after junior punter Brady Clark pinned Brown inside their own ten.
Brown’s comeback hopes were short-lived as Hill snagged Murphy’s first pass out of the air to record the defense’s third interception and effectively ice the game for the Orange and Black. A two-yard touchdown rush from Honda a few plays later was icing on the cake, bringing the game to the final score of 40–21.
This weekend, the Tigers found themselves playing a far less competitive Brown team compared to the prior week’s matchup against Mercer. But Princeton also made some key changes on offense, including holding onto the ball better and creating a thriving run game. On defense, the Tigers got key turnovers to keep Brown at bay and much improved their coverage from the week before.
The Princeton Tigers look to take their momentum into their homecoming game against undefeated rival Harvard University (5–0, 2–0) at Powers Field on October 25th at 12 p.m.
“[Harvard] has been playing top football,” Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 said when asked about the Harvard matchup. “We’re going to have to have another great week of practice to have the same opportunity we had this week.”
Jordan Halagao is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
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