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Princeton University Athletics
Penn-Princeton Play To Draw
September 04, 2001 | Football
Sept. 4, 2001
Princeton - Brian Danielewicz tied it with a bomb. Mother Nature won it with a knock-out.
Princeton and Penn scrimmaged to a 7-7 tie Tuesday afternoon when a fierce thunderstorm ended the contest with 8:44 remaining in the second quarter. The teams had originally hoped to play three full quarters.
"It was good for both teams," said Princeton coach Roger Hughes. "The only disappointing thing is that we didn't get to finish. A lot of guys that we wanted to take a look at didn't get to play because of the weather."
The afternoon began with a series of drills, including 7-on-7, goal line, red zone and third down. After approximately an hour, the teams began their full scrimmage.
Penn scored on its first possession, an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 4:23 and ended when Michael Kapusta scored on a two-yard run. Princeton answered on its fourth possession, when senior quarterback Danielewicz threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Symanski, who had beaten the Penn defense deep. Symanski was well into Penn territory when he caught the ball.
"He did a great job of getting open," Danielewicz said. "The line gave me plenty of time, and he was out there. He's a big target and he runs well."
The 6' 5" Symanski is a freshman from Wichita Falls, Texas. He was a highly recruited centerfielder who turned down several Division I scholarship offers in baseball, and he will probably play both sports at Princeton.
"I caught the ball I should have caught," Symanski said. "He threw a great pass. My part was easy."
Both teams had one more golden opportunity to score, and interestingly it came on the same play.
Penn lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt that was kicked low into the Quaker line. The ball bounced to Princeton's Blair Morrison on the 25-yard line, and he returned it 75 yards for an apparent touchdown. Unfortunately for the Tigers, a blocking penalty brought the play back.
Princeton had 110 yards of offense, 103 of which came through the air. Starting quarterback David Splithoff played two series, completing 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards. Three Princeton players had four rushing yards each, including freshman Jon Veach, whose four-yard run was followed by several bolts of lighting, extremely high winds and finally torrential downpours. After 15 minutes of waiting, the teams decided to end the scrimmage.
NOTES - Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman, an All-America who was last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, was 6 for 12 for 59 yards and an interception ... Sam Snyder had the Princeton interception ... Morrison caught both of the passes that Splithoff completed ... Senior captain Bob Farrell led Princeton with five tackles ... Jon Ganter, Rob Currey, Blake Perry and Rob Currey had two tackles each ... Princeton opens its season against Lafayette Sepet. 15 ... The scrimmage came about after each team's longtime scrimmage partners decided to play a regular game against each other, Princeton's former scrimmage mate, Rowan, defeated Millersville, Penn's former preseason foe, 41-19 Saturday.