In the final home game of the season, Princeton Football (3–6 overall, 2–4 Ivy League) fell short to the Yale Bulldogs (7–2, 5–1) in yet another close loss for the Tigers.
In this low-scoring, gritty showdown, the Princeton defense kept the team within striking distance, shutting down a Yale offense that had been averaging 29.8 points per game before Saturday. However, the team could not muster enough offensive firepower to overcome the Bulldogs and their aggressive pass rush.
Before kickoff, the team’s seniors walked out of the tunnel arm in arm with families and loved ones for Senior Day to be honored for their contributions to the program.
“You never think it’s going to come until it does,” senior linebacker Marco Scarano said as he reflected on the last time playing at Powers Field. “I couldn’t be more grateful. I love this place and this program.”
On the field, Scarano had a stellar performance, with nine total tackles. One would not have known that he had been battling an illness throughout the week.
“I didn’t know until game time if he was going to play,” Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 said. “I talked to him, and he’s like, ‘I’m not missing the game.’”
On Princeton’s opening possession, senior quarterback Kai Colón was sacked twice in a row to end the drive, an early sign of how Yale’s pass pressure would affect the game. Yale went on to sack Colón six times in total, which is tied for the most Princeton has allowed this season.
On the ensuing drive, Yale was knocking on the door in the Princeton red zone. A pass to the end zone went off the hands of a Yale receiver before junior defensive back Torian Roberts tipped it into the air. While on the ground, Roberts tracked the ball and came up with the interception.
“All week, our focus has been disguise, disguise, disguise,” Roberts said. “We just gave the quarterback a different look, and I was able to read the ball. Once I tipped it … my initial instinct was to find the ball and come down with it.”
On a third-and-nine after the interception, Yale brought heavy pressure. Colón stood in the pocket and delivered a 28-yard completion, taking a late hit in the process. A roughing the passer call tacked on an additional 15 yards to the end of the play. Though Princeton drove into Yale’s red zone, they wound up settling for a field goal to take a 3–0 lead.
As Yale breached Princeton territory on their next drive, Roberts rang the turnover bell a second time. He disguised the coverage look again before nabbing another interception to stop the potential Yale scoring drive.
Princeton then went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Yale, who evened the score at 3–3 with a field goal. After another Princeton punt, the Bulldogs followed it up with a one-yard rushing touchdown to go up 10–3.
Looking to get some points before the end of the half, Princeton made its way to the Yale ten-yard line. With 12 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, Princeton tried to take one last shot at the endzone. However, Yale again sacked Colón, causing time to run out. The Tigers lost out on a potential three points, which would come back to haunt the team.
Despite their offensive struggles, the team was just down by one score going into the second half. In an effort to find a solution to Yale’s pass rush, Princeton used a variety of quick screens and balls over the middle instead of taking shots down the field.
In the first drive of the third quarter, the Tigers again made it within Yale’s 20-yard line. Fighting for extra yardage, senior running back Dareion Murphy lost the ball, and Yale came away with it to leave the Tigers empty-handed on their second consecutive trip to the red zone.
Throughout much of the second half, the physical Tiger defense continually stopped the now-stagnant Yale offense, holding them to zero points and forcing three punts in the third quarter.
It was not until early in the fourth quarter that the Tigers found new life. First-year receiver Josh Robinson took a short screen pass 48 yards to the Yale 12-yard line, and Clark scored a one-yard touchdown rush to square the game at 10–10.
In response, Yale finally broke through Princeton’s steadfast second-half defense on the ensuing drive, settling with a field goal to go up 13–10.
But with three minutes and fifty seconds left, the game was not over yet, and the Tigers made it across midfield with over a minute to go. However, Yale’s pressure went to Colón yet again. After dropping back, he was hit as he threw, leading to an inaccurate pass that was picked off by Yale to ice the game.
The loss to Yale is the Tigers’ fourth in as many weeks. It also marks the third game in a row in which Princeton fell short by exactly three points.
“They left it all on the field,” Surace said. “It’s painful when you play these even games a few weeks in a row. We just got to get those little details done a little better.”
Despite a near month of struggles, the players still see a potential light at the end of the tunnel. A win on the road against rival Penn could partially help close the season on a high note.
“We have one more opportunity to send the seniors off the right way, and that’s what we're going to do,” Roberts said.
Princeton football will play its final game of the season at Penn, just an hour’s drive away, this coming Saturday at 1 p.m.
Jordan Halagao is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to sports[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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